Cable TV Pioneers Name 13 In 2011 Class

The Cable TV Pioneers will welcome 13 more individuals into its ranks on June 13.

The candidates will be formally inducted into the organization at the group's 45th annual gala in Chicago on Monday, June 13. As in previous years, the Pioneer banquet on Monday evening kicks off the start of the annual Cable Show, the annual convention of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

This year's class includes pioneering local operators, MSO executives, engineers, technologists, programmers, media experts and financiers from across the United States and Canada. The basic requirement for a nominee to be considered for selection is to have worked for a minimum of 20 years in the cable television industry. Candidates must also have made significant and meaningful contributions to the success and development of the cable industry.

More than 550 members have been inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers over the years. This year's theme is "Grand Reunion," as the dinner in the Red Lacquer Ballroom at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel is the same venue as the group's first dinner held in 1967.

The class:

Ellen Cooper, InDemand Networks, New York, N.Y.;

Terry M. Cordova, Suddenlink Communications, St. Louis, Mo.;

Randy Elliot, Shaw Communications (retired), Calgary, Alberta, Canada;

Michael T. Fries, Liberty Global Inc., Denver;

Richard "Rick" Howe, Winstone Management, Darlington, Conn.;

Jeffrey R. Huppertz, Tellabs Inc., Glen Ellyn, Ill.;

Arthur "Skip" Kraus, Kraus Electronic Systems Inc., Joliet, Ill.;

William D. Myers, Starz Entertainment, Englewood, Colo.;

Steven D. Neu, Mountain Zone Cable Systems, Alpine, Texas;

Steven K. Richey, 4Cable TV Inc., Conway, S.C.;

Eileen Rivard, Eileen Rivard Event Management, New York, N.Y.;