The NSCA Education Foundation has established scholarships in the name of Randy Vaughan as a tribute to his commitment to the systems integration industry. The Vaughan Founder’s Award is specifically designed to fund the registration costs for first-time participants to attend the NSCA Business & Leadership Conference, an event Randy helped to create.
Randy Vaughan (left) and Chuck Wilson, executive director of NSCA.
The first awards will be available for the 2012 event. Applications will be available at www.nsca.org/foundation in October and due by November 1; winners will be notified by December 1. The scholarships will provide free registration.
“Randy was a passionate advocate of what BLC contributes to systems integrators and the electronic systems industry,” said Andy Musci, NSCA Education Foundation board president. “He understood the importance of being of professional. It went beyond just technical training and knowledge, but rather how to run a good business, and this conference has turned into the event to train integrators into business professionals. Much of this is due to Randy’s dedication to this event.”
Vaughan was a charter member of NSCA, and served on the NSCA Board of Directors from 1997-2008, including a two-year term as president beginning in 2005. He served as an instructor for NSCA University for more than 12 years, and was named its Educator of the Year in 2007. He also served as chairman of the NSCA Education Committee for a number of years. His accomplishments for NSCA include the creation of NSCA University and the Business & Leadership Conference, and his role as a subject matter expert and content developer for the industry.
“In honor of Randy and what he stood for within our industry, the Vaughan Founder’s Awards will work to raise awareness of the contributions and opportunities BLC provides,” said Barbra Snitker, NSCA Education Foundation managing director.
The Foundation has received many contributions and pledges since the news of Randy’s death in late December. During the 2011 Business & Leadership Conference, long-time NSCA member and Education Foundation board member Loyd Ivey, Atlas Sound/IED, contributed $10,000 to kick off the Vaughan award. Ivey noted that Randy’s commitment to building better integrators would be passed on through the years of this conference because of this scholarship.