Sam Foti is still providing inspiration to his son. And he will be in the room when Frank Foti receives the NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award in Las Vegas.
Frank told me this week, “I remember, as a young boy, standing and watching him tinker with stuff on the weekend. He could create or fix anything.”
Foti describes his dad as having been “the voice of reason all my life. Couldn’t tell you how many times he’d tell me, ‘Frankie, THINK!’ when faced with a challenge.”
Sam Foti, like his son, has an entrepreneurial spirit; son describes father as self-made. “He’s a mechanical engineering genius; and I meant that literally. He began his business at age 50, with four people. Today, his company Hosemaster is 300+ strong and tops in their field.”
Frank Foti said Sam Foti’s business advice has always been to keep things simple and use common sense — along with applying a strong work ethic.
Father and son are shown above in a 2005 photo. Look for Radio World’s profile of Frank Foti in April. Meantime, below is the full list of award winners over the years.
Honor Roll
Past winners of the NAB Engineering Achievement Award are listed. Beginning in 1991, radio and TV winners were named; radio winners are shown.
1959 John T. Wilner
1960 T.A.M. Craven
1961 Raymond F. Guy
1962 Ralph N. Harmon
1963 Dr. George R. Town
1964 John H. DeWitt Jr
1965 Edward W. Allen Jr.
1966 Carl J. Meyers
1967 Robert M. Morris
1968 Howard A. Chinn
1969 Jarrett L. Hathaway
1970 Philip Whitney
1971 Benjamin Wolfe
1972 John M. Sherman
1973 A. James Ebel.
1974 Joseph B. Epperson
1975 John D. Silva
1976 Dr. Frank G. Kear
1977 Daniel H. Smith
1978 John A. Moseley
1979 Robert W. Flanders
1980 James D. Parker
1981 Wallace E. Johnson
1982 Julius Barnathan
1983 Joseph Flaherty
1984 Otis S. Freeman
1985 Carl E. Smith
1986 Dr. George Brown
1987 Renville H. McMann
1988 Jules Cohen
1989 William Connolly
1990 Hilmer Swanson
1991 George Marti
1992 Edward Edison & Robert L. Hammett
1993 Robert M. Silliman
1994 Charles T. Morgan
1995 Robert Orban
1996 Ogden Prestholdt
1997 George Jacobs
1998 John Battison
1999 Geoffrey Mendenhall
2000 Michael Dorrough
2001 Arno Meyer
2002 Paul Schafer
2003 John W. Reiser
2004 E. Glynn Walden
2005 Milford Smith
2006 Benjamin Dawson & Ronald Rackley
2007 Louis A. King
2008 Thomas B. Silliman
2009 Jack Sellmeyer
2010 Steve Church
2011 L. Robert du Treil
2012 Paul Brenner
2013 Frank Foti
