Seventeen TPSA Awards were presented in sixteen categories at the association’s road show and AGM at Vodaworld in Midrand, Johannesburg on 18 May 2009. The winners represented twelve different companies, reflecting a fairly even distribution of the prized glassware, although Shattered Glass led the field with three awards, followed by Gearhouse, Matrix Sound and MJ Event Gear with two each.

The Best Newcomer Sound Engineer category delivered two awards because, as vice chair Robbie Blake said, “Even using the weighted system, it was impossible to break the tie.”

During his introduction to the mid-afternoon event, Blake expressed doubts about the need to continue using the weighted system, which gives companies extra votes when nominating their own staff. “We chucked that out for a while during the counting process and evaluated the votes on a one-on-one system. Even after adding back the weighting system, it changed none of the results in any category. Everybody who receives an award this afternoon can rest assured that it was achieved on a one-on-one basis.”

He added: “There has also been a great cross-pollination evident in the voting, where companies would vote for technicians employed by other companies. I think that this is a very healthy sign.” Steadily growing membership of the TPSA in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, coupled with the fact that awards are now only made to members of the TPSA, contributed to the highest ever number of nominations being received for this year’s awards.

AWARD LIST
Best New AV Engineer: Brian Koen (Shattered Glass)
Best New Lighting Designer: Lucky Nkosi (Gearhouse)
Best New Sound Engineer: Chris Sutherland (Shattered Glass), Gerhard du Plessis (Matrix Sound)
Favourite AV Rental Company: AV Unlimited
Favourite Lighting Rental Co.: MJ Event Gear
Favourite Sound Rental Co.: Sound Stylists
Favourite Marquee Rental Co.: Oasys
Favourite Stage and Set Co.: Stageworks
Favourite Technical Staging Co.: Gearhouse
Favourite Technical Venue: Sandton Convention Centre
Favourite Special Effects Co.: Fireworks for Africa
Best Set Designer of the Year: Francois van der Merwe (MJ Event Gear)
AV Engineer of the Year: Denzil Smith (AV Systems)
Lighting Designer of the Year: Richard Horwell (Shattered Glass)
Sound Engineer of the Year: Marius Marais
Production Manager of the Year: Graham Cunningham (Mushroom)

The TPSA has also instituted a “Hall of Fame,” which allows the association to recognise a broader group of people who make outstanding contributions to the industry. Previous Lifetime Achievement winners will be incorporated into the Hall of Fame. The first inductees are:

•Attie Van Wyk (Big Concerts)
•Dan Riley (DWR)
•Johann Kruger (Multivisio)
•Mark Steinhobel (VWV)
•Simon Oates (TADCO)
•Steve Collins (The Staging House)
•Terry Acres (Prosound)

All have a long history of developing the industry to the level of professionalism it enjoys today. Rather than being presented as a single event, the awards were interspersed with talks by Discovery Health managing director Phuti Sebidi, a presentation on Occupational Health and Safety by Errol Ninow, and the TPSA Annual General Meeting.

Most of the 190 people present were probably overwhelmed by the plethora of slides, graphs and statistics that accompanied the Discovery Health presentation on the Keycare Network, a low income medical aid scheme. The salient points were however summed up by Robbie Blake afterwards: Any company able to gather 35 members will be accorded “Status C” and exempted from having every employee undergo a medical examination before joining the scheme. Employees earning under R3 500 per month will pay R187.50 per month, with the employer contributing a further R187.50. Employees earning up to R5 500 per month would pay R225 matched by a further R225 from the employer, while a salary of up to R7 500 would attract a fee of R315 per month each from employee and employer.

Employees earning above R7 500 pay R469, but are encouraged to investigate higher level Discovery Health Plans. Blake also announced that the TPSA is negotiating with Discovery to achieve a Status C certificate in order to facilitate medical cover for the 2 500 indirect members by virtue of their employers’ membership of the association. Contact TPSA administrator Tiffany Reed for further information. Alex Gintan MD Errol Ninow’s presentation on the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993 was as forthright and uncompromising as his presentation in Cape Town and Durban - companies are either compliant or they are not.

Blake pointed out that it is a requirement of the law that a Health and Safety File is taken to every event and that Ninow is offering a special to TPSA members: a reusable Health and Safety file for R5 000 (a reduction of R2 000) For R8 500 companies will get the file plus an audit of the Workplace. Consideration is being given to making possession of a Health and Safety File a requirement for membership of the TPSA.

The AGM was dealt with in under ten minutes, since chairperson Barry Snow and vice chair Robbie Blake are mid-way through their two year term and the present committee was re-elected unopposed.
Digby Young