NSCA, a not-for-profit association representing the commercial low-voltage electronic systems industry, announced three award honorees for 2019. Recipients will be honored during the 21st annual Business & Leadership Conference, held Feb. 27-March 1, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
Mark Dundas — who served on the NSCA board of directors for 11 years, including his role as treasurer and president — is the recipient of the 2019 Per Haugen Lifetime Achievement Award. Dundas’ impact on NSCA and the industry is felt every day. Shortly after he joined the board of directors, he launched NSCA’s first ever accounting system. He also founded the NSCA Education Foundation and served on its board of directors until 2007.
His industry journey began in 1975, when he worked for 10 years for Industrial Communication Co. Nearly one decade later, in 1984, he founded United Communication Technology Inc.
“From the very start, Mark knew the industry’s future would involve integrating electronic systems,” said NSCA Executive Director Chuck Wilson. “His ideas and experiences shaped many of the processes that NSCA still follows today.”
In 1988, Dundas founded Tech Works after spending nights and weekends engineering technology solutions when customer requests called for specialized systems. He still actively runs this manufacturing company, which specializes in simplified audio and healthcare solutions for hospitals, clinics and detention facilities.
Jan Sandri is the recipient of the 2019 NSCA Education Foundation Founders Award. A founding member of FSR, a women-owned manufacturer of solutions for the AV, education, hospitality, government and houses of worship markets, Sandri has been instrumental in growing the company to 100+ employees and implementing green manufacturing processes.
In addition to serving the industry, Sandri also finds time to give back to her community. She has served as mayor of Little Falls, N.J.; sat on the city council; served as the fire and police commissioner; and was the Little Falls Board of Health president. She serves on the board of Kindness Shared Happiness Squared, a charity that helps children in need, as well.
“Jan has been a major industry contributor for many years,” said Wilson. “She is an inspiration to professionals at all stages of their careers, as well as to women who are forging their own paths in the systems integration world today.”
The 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award is being given to Guy Grace, director of security and emergency planning for Littleton Public Schools and Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) K-12 chairman. Grace was instrumental in forming PASS, which developed the Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools (currently in its fourth iteration).
“Under Guy Grace’s leadership, and with his experiences in school security, PASS has grown to become a national resource for schools, integrators, architects and other professionals,” said Wilson. “Guy has been instrumental in helping create school security guidelines based on a tiered approach that takes individual needs, best practices and available resources into consideration.”
