NEWS FROM THE 2009 ANNUAL MEETING

The 2009 Annual Meeting held at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort, from January 26 to 29 was a great three-day event.  A total of 289 representatives of 135 companies attended the conference.  The attendees traveled from 27 different countries and territories to participate.  There were 78 exhibitors and traffic in the Exhibit Hall was brisk.  If you are interested in receiving the names and contact information for all attendees, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we can provide this data in the form of an Excel spreadsheet.  The information is only available to members of the CCTA. 

At the Annual Membership Meeting held on Wednesday, January 28, new officers and directors of the association were elected.  For the 2009 year, the Board of Directors are Chair Terry Roberson of Bermuda Cablevision; Vice Chair & Chair-Elect Brendan Paddick of Columbus Communications; Past Chair Beulah Jonis of St. Maarten Cable TV; Director and Treasurer Jose Alegria of Liberty Communications of P.R.; Director David Burrows of Cable Bahamas; Director Bill Ewing of The Cable; and Director Roderich Pietersz of T.V. Distribution Systems. The Associate Membership elected John Kurpinski of Alloptic Inc. and Brad Trullinger of NBC Universal Cable to serve the two Associate Directors. 

Sponsorships of the various activities associated with the Annual Meeting were generous, and for that the Board of Directors is extremely grateful.  A full list of sponsors can be found on the web site, www.cctanet.com, in the “Who’s Who” piece under 2009 Annual Meeting.  The Auction and Raffle to raise funds for the Community Charities Program did well, bringing in $8,769.03 for this worthwhile activity benefiting non-profit organizations throughout the region.  Much of the credit for this success goes to our outstanding auctioneer Patrick Harrell of the Outdoor Channel.  We also must thank all the companies and individuals who provided such great items for the auction and raffle. 

The annual Golf Tournament attracted 52 players this year, making it one of the largest tournaments in recent years.  The first place team winners of the Golf Tournament were Chris Annesley, Willy Hamilton, Bruce Littman, and Guy Plouffe.  The second place team included Al Kernes, Ryan Roberson, Bernie Segura and Chris Shirling. The third place team was made up of Mike Adams Jr., Mike Adams Sr., RoAnn Adams, and Rowland Fowler.   Yne Gonzalez and Bill McCall were closest to the pin, while Jim Holanda and Paula Smith had the longest drives.  Congratulations to all! 

We welcome two new members to the association.  Those approved for Associate Membership prior to the Annual Meeting were NCM Supplies, Inc., and Scientific Satellite, Inc.  We thank these companies for their interest in the association and look forward to their continued participation.    

19 CARIBBEAN CHARITIES RECEIVE $1,000 GRANTSFROM CARIBBEAN CABLE & TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOC.            

        ST. THOMAS, USVI, June 2, 2008 – The board of directors of the Caribbean Cable and Telecommunications Association (CCTA) unanimously agreed to award a total of $19,000 to 19 charitable organizations located in the Caribbean.  Each individual charity was nominated by a cable system operator that is an active member of the CCTA.            

        Beulah Jonis, chairman of the CCTA and managing director of St. Maarten Cable TV, stated that “the missions of these 19 outstanding nominees made it difficult to decide between them.  The CCTA originally established the program to give just ten grants per year, but the program has generated so much interest among our members that the number of applicants continues to grow annually.  This year’s 19 nominees are very worthy organizations, and we are delighted to be able to award grants to all of them.”  Each nominee will receive $1,000.  The board took this action at their meeting on May 14, 2008.           

        The 19 grant recipients and their sponsoring companies are:  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda nominated by Bermuda Cablevision Ltd.; BVI Red Cross nominated by BVI Cable TV; Abilities Unlimited nominated by Cable Bahamas; Teen Challenge Aruba Foundation nominated by Cable Television of Aruba; The Arijah Children’s Foundation Anguilla Limited nominated by Caribbean Cable Communications Holding Ltd.; Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos nominated by Choice Cable TV of Puerto Rico; Promise Inc. nominated by Columbus Communications Trinidad; Father Mallaghan’s Home for Boys nominated by Columbus Communications Grenada; Queen Louise Home nominated by Innovative Cable TV St. Croix; Humane Society of St. Thomas nominated by Innovative Cable TV St. Thomas-St. John; Hogar San Jose nominated by Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico; Marian Home nominated by St. Lucia Cablevision; Meals on Wheels & Care Organization nominated by St. Maarten Cable TV; Dominica Infirmary nominated by SAT Telecommunications Ltd. of Dominica; Fundacion Pediatrica Por Un Manana nominated by Telecable of the Dominican Republic; Fundashon Nos Grandinan nominated by T. V. Distribution Systems of Curacao; Eagle Boyz Club nominated by The Cable of St. Kitts; National Council of Voluntary Organisations nominated by WestStar TV Limited of the Cayman Islands; and St. Maarten Soccer Educational Foundation nominated by Wireless Telecommunication Network.           

        Formed in 1983 and based on St. Thomas, the Caribbean Cable and Telecommunications Association represents cable and telecommunications companies throughout the Caribbean, and programmers, software and hardware suppliers that support their activities.  The Community Charities Program was founded in 1993 and has awarded nearly $190,000 during its existence.   

March 8, 2008 --The CCTA’s 2008 Annual Meeting held at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from January 28 to 31, was a great three-day event.  A total of 355 representatives of 158 companies attended the conference, making it the largest to date!  The attendees traveled from 32 different countries and territories to participate.  There were 100 exhibitors, another new record for the Annual Meeting. 

Much of the success of our Annual Meeting was due to this year’s speakers who covered a good mix of topics for the region.  It’s A Digital World panel discussion featured Jose Alegria of Liberty Cablevision of P.R.; Jay Cox of RGB Networks; Michael Hochman of EGT, Inc.; and Pablo Kagioglu of Advanced Media Technologies. Piracy – Fighting Theft in Your Community  highlighted the efforts of the Puerto Rican cable operators in conjunction with satellite service providers to combat piracy in the Commonwealth. Speakers for this panel included John Conrad and Gaby Palerm of Liberty Cablevision of P.R, and Jorge Hernandez of OneLink Communications. The Seven Keys to Marketing Anything…Including Yourself was very well-received. Marketing expert John Zamoiski of NMA Entertainment and Marketing gave this presentation to a rapt audience.  Special thanks go to John Kurpinski and the CTAM Caribbean chapter for coordinating the speaking sessions.  You can find the presentations by Jay Cox of RGB Networks, Michael Hochman of EGT, Inc., and Pablo Kagioglu of Advanced Media Technologies under Applications and Downloads on this web site.

At the Annual Membership Meeting held on Wednesday, January 30, new officers and directors of the association were elected.  For the 2008 year, the Board of Directors includes Chair Beulah Jonis of St. Maarten Cable TV; Vice Chair & Chair-Elect Terry Roberson of Bermuda Cablevision; Past Chair Bill Ewing of The Cable; Director and Treasurer Jose Alegria of Liberty Communications of P.R.; Director Tony Butler of Cable Bahamas; Director Brendan Paddick of Columbus Communications; and Director Roderich Pietersz of T.V. Distribution Systems. The Associate Membership elected John Kurpinski of Mainstream Innovations to serve as one of two Associate Directors; Amy Bennett of QVC/ASM will continue as the second Associate Director. 

Sponsorships of the various activities associated with the Annual Meeting were outstanding, and for that the Board of Directors is extremely grateful.  The Auction and Raffle to raise funds for the Community Charities Program did well, bringing in over $9,638.78 for this worthwhile activity benefiting non-profit organizations throughout the region.  Much of the credit for this success goes to our outstanding auctioneer Patrick Harrell of the Outdoor Channel, who was most ably assisted by Cheryl Reno of Rainbow Networks and Beverly Kurpinski.  The CCTA is most grateful to the companies and individuals who provided such great items for the auction and raffle.

The annual Golf Tournament attracted only 29 players this year, but the competition was fierce.  The first place team winners of the Golf Tournament were Tim Aden, Jose Alegria, Brandi Bilyeu, and John Kurpinski.  The second place team included David Adcock, Hyun Berglund, Bill McCall, and Bernie Segura.  The third place team was made up of Rick Anderson, Daniel Otaola, Vince Soleto, and Edwin Stevenson.   Jose Alegria and Cliff Radziewicz were closest to the pin, while Jose Alegria and Alan Smith had the longest drives.

The site for the 2009 Annual Meeting has not yet been selected, but potential host hotels on Aruba, New Providence in the Bahamas, and Trinidad are being considered.  As soon as the dates and site have been determined, the CCTA’s membership will be informed and a notice will be posted on the web site.