--Arlyn S. Powell, Jr
A highlight of last fall`s Cabling Installation Expo was the Installer Tips Contest, where show attendees wrote up their favorite cabling installation tips and shortcuts in competition for an Indy-style go-cart. The 3.5-horsepower grand prize, valued at $1300, went to Todd E. Myers, operations coordinator at Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA), for his tip, "Pulley eases cable-pulling at workstation outlet" (see page 41).
Runners-up, who received remote- controlled toy race cars as prizes, were: Barry Gregg and Scott Laughlin of Erico (Chesterland, OH), for their tip, "Cable-pulling trapeze roller;" and Gary Bowers, president of Communications Cabling Concepts (Brunswick, OH), for his entry, "The pull wire is already in the wall." Honorable mentions went to Bill Ebberts, director of Enterprise Electric (Baltimore, MD) and Samuel M. Whitson, project manager for Carolina Com-Tec (Statesville, NC).
Almost fifty entries were reviewed by a panel of judges that included Dennis Mazaris, registered communications distribution designer (rcdd), president of PerfectSite (Sterling, VA); James Lewis, southeast regional engineer for Anixter Inc. (Norcross, GA); and Doug DeShields, rcdd, communications distribution consultant for BellSouth (Charlotte, NC). The judges evaluated the tips based on usefulness, originality, simplicity, and safety- and standards-compliance.
The winning Installer Tips, along with many of the others submitted, will be featured in this and subsequent issues of Cabling Installation & Maintenance.