Four area technology professionals, two area firms, and two students
were recognized for their contributions to the region’s technology
industry at the AIM Institute’s 13th
Annual Technology Celebration Banquet held Tuesday, April 4,
2006, at the Qwest Center Omaha.
Anthony
DeCanti, Werner Enterprises; Yvette Holly, UNMC; Robert Sweeney, AIM;
Craig Dassner, COX; Patrick Artz, Bellevue University; Angelo Privetera, HDR;
Leonard Kwapnioski, Columbus Public Schools
K-12 Technology Educator of the Year:
Leonard Kwapnioski, Technical Coordinator, Columbus Public Schools
Technology Professor of the Year:
Patrick Artz, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Bellevue University
Technology Guru of the Year:
Craig Dassner, Senior Sales Engineer, Cox Business Services
Technology Chief of the Year:
Yvette Holly, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Technology Services, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Technology Companies of the Year:
HDR, Inc.
Werner Enterprises
College Intern of the Year:
Alexis Fisher, Peter Kiewit Institute, University of Nebraska-Omaha
High School Intern of the Year:
Codie Bourn, Norfolk High School
The
award recipients were selected from nominees in the award categories.
Selection was based on the nominees’ contributions, either through
sustained performance or a special notable achievement, to the region’s
worldwide reputation for excellence and innovation in information
technology.
Master of Ceremonies: Dan Hunt, President of HCI Holdings and Chairman of the Board for the AIM Institute
 Keynote Speaker:Steve
Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc., addressed the crowd of
over 600 as the evening’s keynote speaker. The “Woz” offered some
historical anecdotes and put to rest a few “urban legends” from the
early days of Apple Computer. He expressed his strong support for
helping young people find excitement in learning and suggested that we
do not all have to be good at math. We just need to find something we
are interested in and pursue it with passion. A philanthropist and
humanist, he concluded his comments by saying, “In the long road of
technological development, it’s important to remember that the human
being should be considered more important.”
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