• CEPro_logo_blue-new
  • TOPICS
      • News
        • People & Places
        • Product Briefs
      • Projects
      • Events
      • Control
        • Central Vac
        • Energy/Power
        • HVAC/IAQ
        • Interfaces/Devices
        • Lighting
        • Motorized Shades
        • Whole House Systems
      • Audio/Video
        • Audio/Video
        • AV Accessories
        • AV Racks
        • Cabling
        • Displays
        • Furniture
        • Headphones
        • Home Theater
        • Media
        • Mounts/Lifts
        • Multiroom AV
        • Projectors/Screens
        • Speakers/Subwoofers
        • Wireless AV
      • Security
        • Access Control
        • Alarms/Sensors
        • Services/Platforms
        • Surveillance/Cameras
      • Business Support
        • Associations/Buying Groups
        • Cell Phone Boosters
        • Distributors/Reps
        • Operations
        • Recurring Revenue
        • Research
        • Sales/Marketing
        • Software Services
        • Tools/Testers
      • Networking
        • Cellular
        • Devices/Equipment
        • Wireless
        • Wired/Installation
      • Markets
        • Builders
        • Commercial
        • Design
        • Europe
        • Outdoors
        • Resimercial
        • Wellness
      • CE Pro Hub Pages
        • Bose
        • Savant
        • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Integrator Jobs
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-iQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
  • DISCOVER
    • CEDIA Expo
      • September 29 – October 1
        Dallas, TX
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBIS
      • February 8 – 10
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      • October 26 – 28
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      • VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      • VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      • VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      • VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      • VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
    • CE Pro-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
  • Search
  • TOPICS
    • News
      • People & Places
      • Product Briefs
    • Projects
    • Events
    • Control
      • Central Vac
      • Energy/Power
      • HVAC/IAQ
      • Interfaces/Devices
      • Lighting
      • Motorized Shades
      • Whole House Systems
    • Audio/Video
      • Audio/Video
      • AV Accessories
      • AV Racks
      • Cabling
      • Displays
      • Furniture
      • Headphones
      • Home Theater
      • Media
      • Mounts/Lifts
      • Multiroom AV
      • Projectors/Screens
      • Speakers/Subwoofers
      • Wireless AV
    • Security
      • Access Control
      • Alarms/Sensors
      • Services/Platforms
      • Surveillance/Cameras
    • Business Support
      • Associations/Buying Groups
      • Cell Phone Boosters
      • Distributors/Reps
      • Operations
      • Recurring Revenue
      • Research
      • Sales/Marketing
      • Software Services
      • Tools/Testers
    • Networking
      • Cellular
      • Devices/Equipment
      • Wireless
      • Wired/Installation
    • Markets
      • Builders
      • Commercial
      • Design
      • Europe
      • Outdoors
      • Resimercial
      • Wellness
    • CE Pro Hub Pages
      • Savant
      • Bose
      • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Integrator Jobs
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-IQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
  • DISCOVER
    • Cedia Expo
      VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
    • CE Pro-iQ
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
News
Projects
Control
Audio Video
Security
Business Support
Markets
SUBSCRIBE CEDIA EXPO CEPro-iQ
Control | News | Whole-House Systems
January 8, 2021

Remembering Fred Bargetzi

CE Pro's Founding Editor Julie Jacobson has been the head of the Fred Bargetzi Fan Club for decades.
Julie Jacobson  
Fred Bargetzi with Julie Jacobson at CEDIA Expo 2014.
Article:
Control | News | Whole-House Systems
January 8, 2021

Remembering Fred Bargetzi

Over the past 20 years or so, anytime Fred Bargetzi’s name would come up, I’d announce: “I LOVE that guy.” And whoever was in range would respond, “I do too.”

And why not? Fred was smart, straight-forward, serious but easygoing, nice, and funny in a geeky sort of way. I always found him to be approachable, and at least in my case, extremely patient … since the early days when I knew nothing about anything, to the later years when I knew a little more, but couldn’t keep up with technology at the speed of Crestron.

He would dumb things down enough without patronizing, and without (as far as I could tell) rushing to escape this pesky reporter when he surely had more important things to do. At trade shows I would feel like the luckiest girl on earth if I landed Fred as my tour guide, as so many important customers and partners clamored for his attention. He wasn’t always looking around to see what he was missing; he was all mine (or at least faked it with aplomb).

Here’s what I adored especially about Fred: He was quick to give credit where it was due, and he breezily tapped colleagues to flaunt their own work (sinful! Let engineers talk to the press?!). The handoff always came with: “They’re really sharp. You’re going to like them.”

“If you were fortunate enough to know him as a Crestron dealer, partner, journalist, or other affiliation … chances are you were one of the people who proclaimed, ‘I love Fred too!'”

CE Pro 2022 Product Guide

CE Pro's 2022 Product Guide showcases some of the latest and innovative solutions from manufacturers serving the custom electronics industry in a cross-section of categories.

Download the guide now!

So either Fred was particularly kind towards his underlings … or he fostered an environment that attracted and nurtured such talent. Either scenario puts Fred on the “good guy” list. Inevitably, every product specialist, every friend of Fred, was smart, articulate and likable just like the man himself.

I’ll always think of Fred as a softy – one reason I long ago anointed myself president of the Fred Bargetzi fan club – but he was more than that. For 30 years he drove the technology and the business that was Crestron, along with founder George Feldstein and current CEO Randy Klein. You just might not have heard of him. But if you were fortunate enough to know him as a Crestron dealer, partner, journalist, or other affiliation … chances are you were one of the people who proclaimed, “I love Fred too!”

I reached out to Fred in 2019 when I learned of his ALS diagnosis. He had lost his voice; his arms had atrophied; but he was still working because he was “fortunate” enough to be able to type. I hoped Randy wasn’t getting soft on him, and he assured me, “No worries there. We still battle it out.”

He was still the enlightened, easy-going guy he always was. I only wish I knew that guy better. He told me, “I have had a great life so if it all ends tomorrow, I am good.”

He had married his high school sweetheart; he’d traveled the world; he had made the most of his life; no regrets.

He leaves a legacy of extraordinary professional accomplishments, but more than that he leaves us with memories of a sweet, affable, no-nonsense guy who so many people – me especially – admired, adored and feel blessed to have known.

My deepest condolences go out to Fred’s “real” family, his Crestron family, and all who grieve this terrible loss.

Always Fred’s #1 fan,

Julie 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Jacobson
Follow
Julie Jacobson:
Julie Jacobson is founding editor of CE Pro, the leading media brand for the home-technology channel. She has covered the smart-home industry since 1994, long before there was much of an Internet, let alone an Internet of things. Currently she studies, speaks, writes and rabble-rouses in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V, wellness-related technology, biophilic design, and the business of home technology. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, and earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a recipient of the annual CTA TechHome Leadership Award, and a CEDIA Fellows honoree. A washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player, Julie currently resides in San Antonio, Texas and sometimes St. Paul, Minn. Follow on Twitter: @juliejacobson
View Julie Jacobson's complete profile

ARTICLE TOPICS

Control • News • Whole-House Systems

ARTICLE TAGS

Crestron

SHARE

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Linkedin
Share On Whatsapp
Share Via Email
Copy URL
← Previous Article Next Article →
Article ControlLightingMotorized ShadesProjectsWellnessWhole-House Systems

Audio Impact Has Lutron Choreograph the Colorful Lighting of This Ocean View Home

The San Diego integration firm shows how a little change in color goes a long way in this luxurious smart home.
Article Audio/VideoCommercialDesignDisplaysHome TheaterMarketsMultiroom AVNewsProducts

Sony Announces BH and CH Series MicroLED Displays

Sony's latest microLED products provide integrators with a choice of high brightness or wide color gamut customizable display solutions.
Article ControlLightingMotorized ShadesProjectsWellnessWhole-House Systems

Audio Impact Has Lutron Choreograph the Colorful Lighting of This Ocean View Home

The San Diego integration firm shows how a little change in color goes a long way in this luxurious smart home.
Article Audio/VideoBusiness SupportDesignDevices/EquipmentISENetworkingNewsWireless

Origin Acoustics Partners with Netgear

Origin Acoustics will resell and support Netgear’s CI-focused wired and wireless networking products from newly created Netgear AV division.

SHOW NEWSLETTER

Sign Up

CE Pro

Subscribe Sign Up

Content Types

News
Products
Projects
Companies
Downloads
Webcasts
Podcasts
Events

Specials

IntegratorJobs
CEDIA EXPO
CE Pro 100
CE Pro Summit
Awards Programs

Company Info

About
Contact Us
Customer Service
Media Solutions & Advertising

Subscribe

Magazine
Newsletters
Digital Edition

Connect

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feed

Categories

AUDIO/VIDEO
AV Accessories
AV Racks
Amplifiers/Receivers
Cabling
Displays
Furniture
Mounts/Lifts
Multiroom AV
Projector Screens
Speakers/Subwoofers
Wireless AV
CONTROL
Central Vac
Energy/Power
Interfaces/Devices
HVAC/IAQ
Lighting
Motorized Shades
Whole-House Systems
NETWORKING
Cellular
Devices/Equipment
Wireless
Wiring/Installation
SECURITY
Access Control
Alarms/Sensors
Services/Platforms
Surveillance Cameras
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Associations/Buying Groups
Distributors/Reps
Operations
Recurring Revenue
Research
Sales/Marketing
Software/Services
Tools/Testers
MARKETS
Builders
Commercial
Design
Europe
Outdoors
Wellness
FOLLOW US ON
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

© 2023 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  • ABOUT
  • CAREERS
  • TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY