The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) on Thursday issued a call for nominations for the annual Jens Halle Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism, and the Peter Mead Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Gaming Media & Communications. Award winners will be announced at G2E in Las Vegas, to be held October 10–13.
Nomination submissions of 300-700 original words identifying current gaming professionals must be received via email by August 31, and must meet certain criteria that aim to capture the attributes displayed by Halle and Mead during their storied careers.
Previous recipients of the Jens Halle recognition are Len Ainsworth in 2016, Rick Meitzler in 2017, Gavin Isaacs in 2018, Tom Nieman in 2019, the late Robert “Bob” McMonigle in 2020, and Sebastian Salat in 2021. As for the Peter Mead Memorial Award, previous recipients were Howard Stutz in 2016, Roger Gros in 2017, Frank Legato in 2018, the late Dave Palermo in 2019, David Orrick in 2020 and Alan Feldman in 2021.
AGEM created this unique awards program six years ago to acknowledge the lasting impacts on gaming by two distinctive industry veterans following their unexpected deaths in 2015. Halle, a longtime Bally and Novomatic executive in Europe whose career ended as CEO of Merkur Gaming based in Florida, died suddenly on May 20, 2015, at the age of 57. Mead, the founder and publisher of Casino Enterprise Management magazine, died suddenly in Las Vegas on June 24, 2015, at the age of 54.
Criteria for Jens Halle Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism: “Nominees must have experience working in the global gaming supplier sector for a minimum of 10 years and possess the following traits and qualities that Jens displayed throughout his working life: Professionalism, business success, international scope, attention to detail and timely follow-up; a willingness to ‘go the extra mile,’ both figuratively and literally; a sense of humanity in an oft-times cutthroat business; a recognition of the importance of a handshake and a fair deal for all; and a dedication to the health of the industry as a whole.”
Criteria for Peter Mead Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Gaming Media & Communications: “Nominees must have experience working in the mainstream media, gaming trade press or individual gaming company PR/communications for a minimum of 10 years and possess the following traits and qualities that Peter displayed throughout his working life: Quality reporting and communication with an emphasis on personal contact to generate ideas and gather information; taking risks and questioning the status quo; challenging the industry to consider new ideas; and identifying trusted partners to improve the overall product.”
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) opened registration on Thursday last week for its 2022 edition, as announced by its organizers American Gaming Association (AGA) and RX.