Antonio Ortiz, an engineering assistant at Pacifica station KPFA(FM) in Berkeley, Calif., is the recipient of a scholarship to pay expenses to attend this year’s Public Radio Engineering Conference.
The scholarship provides the winner’s registration to the PREC and the accompanying Engineering Awards Dinner.
Ortiz wrote in his nomination letter to the Association of Public Radio Engineers that he would love the opportunity to tap into the wealth of knowledge at PREC “because the more I learn, the better suited I am in troubleshooting technical problems.” He helps maintain both studio and editing workstation equipment.
In recommending Ortiz, KPFA CE Michael Yoshida noted to organizers that the station’s IT director will soon go half-time and “Antonio will hopefully take up some of the slack by becoming full-time and taking on some network duties in addition to his PC tasks.” He described the graduate of KFPA’s apprenticeship program as a fast, motivated self-learner who would benefit from attending the meeting.
PREC Scholarship Committee Chair Rich Parker, the director of engineering for Vermont Public Radio, said APRE “has a strong commitment to building and encouraging the next generation of public radio engineers.”
Scholarship funds are provided by conference supporters, which include Broadcast Electronics, DTS-Neural, ERI, Harris, Nautel, NPR Labs and PRSS.
The APRE Public Radio Engineering Conference is being held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, on April 8 and 9. Registration includes the SBE Ennes Foundation Workshops on April 10. Registrations for the PREC, including Ennes sessions, close March 31. Direct questions and return forms to Jobie Sprinkle at WFAE(FM), Charlotte, N.C. at [email protected].
