TORONTO – Terry Snazel, vice-president technology at Bell ExpressVu, was this year’s CSUA Outstanding Service Award winner.
In making the presentation at the association’s recent annual conference held last week in Toronto, Corus Entertainment’s Gordon Lee, vice-chair of CSUA said: “Persistent and provocative perhaps, but always inquisitive and always on the leading edge of the technical assessment of the issues. Terry has shared his experiences with his peers and we have all learned from him. Terry you have made a difference in CSUA and you have made a difference in the Canadian broadcasting industry.”
Snazel began his career in broadcasting in 1963 at the London Television Studios of the BBC and came to work in Canada at CFCF TV in Montreal as a technologist and technical producer in 1967. In 1973 he joined the CBC and held various positions. Snazel was with TSN at its launch in 1984, as vice-president, engineering and operations and managed the construction of the TSN studio that employed leading edge digital technology.
After a stint with The Movie Network, he joined Bell ExpressVu in 1995, when he assumed responsibility for planning and implementing the launch of the service. In his role as vice-president technology, Snazel is now responsible for the technical systems and program delivery that make up the Bell ExpressVu Digital DTH Service.
A Gemini Award-winner for Outstanding Technical Achievement, he has been involved with CSUA since its inception and held the position of vice-chair from 1993 – 1995.
"Terry has always been a forceful champion of technical and business issues within CSUA. As a broadcaster he provided strong technical leadership in the early 90s when CSUA worked to encourage a common DVC standard in Canada. As a satellite service provider he showed strong business loyalty when in 1995 he introduced a competitive DVC system with ExpressVu," says the CSUA press release.
In 1998 the Canadian Satellite Users Association introduced the Outstanding Service Award to recognize significant contributions to satellite broadcasting industry. All members are asked to nominate individuals or companies that have a major contribution to the Canadian market. The executive committee then makes a choice.
Past recipients have been: Linda Rankin; Rolf Hougen; Claude Lewis, Telesat Canada, Michael Binder, Wilson Markle, Harvey Rogers, Roger Keay and David Lewis.
