The Association of Public Radio Engineers (APRE) is pleased to announce Jeff Welton as our 2019 recipient of the APRE Engineering Achievement Award.

Jeff Welton, CBRE, is Regional Sales Manager - Central U.S. for the transmitter manufacturer, Nautel.

The APRE Engineering Achievement Award is granted on an annual basis to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the art and/or science of radio engineering that has made a significant impact on, or improvement in the state of the public radio industry.

According to APRE President Victoria St. John, “Jeff helps make possible what we do, representing the approach to the ideals and engineering practices and training that APRE stands for and promotes. He is well deserving of this honor and recognition.”

Jeff Welton has been with Nautel for over 28 years, the first 17 of which were spent in field service and technical support positions, as well as assisting Engineering with design review of new products and improvement of existing systems. Since moving to Sales in 2007, Jeff keeps finding ways to get his hands dirty and can frequently be found assisting in the install of a transmitter he’s sold, as well as performing several site inspections every year, along with the occasional repair.

Jeff writes articles and gives presentations at regional, national and international conferences on a regular basis. Specialized topics include lightning protection, grounding, transmitter site safety and various other subjects of interest in the broadcast engineering field. He was also a contributor to the 11th edition, NAB Engineering Handbook, authoring the chapter on Facility Grounding Practice and Lightning Protection, among others.

In 2018, Jeff Welton was the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) honoree for the James C. Wulliman Educator of the Year Award.

APRE is honored and pleased to recognize Jeff Welton as our 2019 award recipient. The award will be presented Friday April 5, 2019 at the Public Radio Engineers Conference Dinner in Las Vegas, just prior to the NAB Show. Details at https://www.apre.us

Jeff Welton of Nautel, Inc. joins an illustrious group of honorees for the APRE Engineering Achievement Award, including the following:

Bruce Wahl, NPR
Dan Mansergh KQED
Ralph Hogan, past founding president of APRE
Ralph Woods, NPR
Bud Aiello, NPR
Gray Frierson Haertig, Consulting Engineer
Michael LeClair, chief engineer for WBUR(FM)
Mike Starling, former Vice President, Technology Research Center and NPR Labs
Roger Karwoski, Assistant Manager and Director of Engineering for KBIA      
Donald Creighton, VP of Technology for Minnesota Public Radio and APM
Richard Cassidy, Director of IT and New Media for WAMU(FM), Washington
The late Wayne Hetrich, one of NPR's 30 original employees
Chuck Leavens, Director of Engineering and IT management for WDUQ, Pittsburgh
Marty Bloss, former Director of Technology at NPR
Don Danko, Vice President for Engineering, Cincinnati Public Radio
John Kean of NPR Labs, part of NPR Distribution's Technology Research Center
The late Jim McEachern of NPR
Mike Pappas of KUVO in Denver
Doug Vernier of V-Soft Communications