James Hendricks, a 49-year-old group VP at Charter Communications's Spectrum Reach ad-sales business, died in September while on a visit to the New Jersey Shore, only weeks before he was set to be honored as a Next Generation Leader at the annual NAMIC Conference in New York. At the NAMIC conference on Wednesday, David Kline, the Spectrum Reach president and an executive VP at Charter, said Spectrum Reach was establishing an annual James Hendricks Award "to recognize an employee who exemplifies integrity, tenacity, collaboration and intelligence."
"Simply put, James was an agent of change," Kline said after relating how he and other Charter employees had traveled to a memorial service for Hendricks in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, and learned about non-work aspects of his life, including his devotion to family and community organizations in Ohio and New York. Hendricks had only been at Spectrum Reach for about two years, after working in human resources at ESPN and NBCUniversal, so most of his Charter colleagues only knew him professionally, Kline said.
Spectrum Reach also noted the Next Generation Leader honor for Hendricks in a social post.
Other Next Generation Leaders honored at the ceremony paid tribute to Hendricks as well. Freddy Rolón, senior VP, programming and scheduling at ESPN, said he and Hendricks were in the same Executive Development Leadership Program class at NAMIC and then worked together at the sports network. He said Hendricks was someone who would encourage people he knew to step up when he saw opportunities for them. "If he believed in someone, he would want them to succeed," said Rolón.
Rolón asked leaders at the conference, inspired by Hendricks's memory, to look for chances to "lift someone up," encourage them and if appropriate coach them "or just let them know that you believe in them."
The NAMIC Conference is part of the cable industry's Diversity Week, which continues Wednesday night with the Walter Kaitz Foundation annual fundraising dinner, supporting foundation grants to organizations including NAMIC. ■
