As an audio engineer, Armando served as the Director of Studio P, the Technical Media Ministry at The Park Ministries, Charlotte, NC.  He serves as the front of house engineer for Israel and New Breed and Martha Munizzi. Armando has over 25 years of experience in Technical Productions some of his projects include:  Lighting Director and Audio Engineer for the “Twinkie Clark” live video; Technical Director for Donald Lawrence “Go Get Your Life Back”, Bible Stories and Parables”; Audio Engineer for Donald Lawrence’s live recording “Finale” in Atlanta GA; Technical Director and Live Audio Engineer for University Park’s Live Recording “One thing I Desire”; Television Engineer for Bishop Andrew Merit’s “One in Worship Conference”;  Audio Engineer for TD Jake’s 2006 crusade and international choir recording in Nairobi Kenya; Live Audio Engineer for Martha Munizzi’s “Change the World-Live “ recording; and technical engineer of over 30 recording studios. 

Armando has served as the Audio Clinician for Church Production Magazine’s T3 Tour, which is one of the largest church production magazines in the country.  This platform presents Armando the opportunity to see all aspects in the body of Christ in action in Technical Media Ministry.  He was also a bass player and drummer in “Young American Showcase” and has been known to sing off key while mixing and will wear his beret into a country music environment!

Daniel Craik is the House of Worship Marketing Manager for Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. He joined Yamaha 1998 as a Product Manger to help launch the ground breaking PM1D digital console. Following that, Dan was intimately involved in the marketing and development of Yamaha Commercial Audio’s digital console line from 1998 to 2007. Prior to joining Yamaha Dan was the Audio Director for the School of Performing Arts at California State University, Chico CA. During the same period, Dan also served as the Director of the Aspen Music Festival Recording Institute in Aspen, Colorado. A teacher at heart, Dan has a passion for enabling and training the audio team and encouraging them to seek excellence in serving the church through technical ministry.

David is the Creative Media Director for Providence Baptist church in Raleigh North Carolina, and has been on staff there for 7 years. His experience includes full systems integration, Design, and installation.  Associate Fellow Member Audio Engineering Society, NSCA member, with over 20 years experience working with tech teams in the church. He is Married to his lovely wife of 25 years with one Son, and 3 grandkids. He also enjoys playing drum with the Worship teams when time allows.

Don is a lay volunteer with experience in church tech running audio, video, lighting, and more for many years.  He produced stock photography where he first ran into copyright issues. Now, as President of Wow Me Now Shows, Inc., he produces Christmas light shows synchronized to music bringing with it a whole new set of copyright issues.

As National Sales Manager, Commercial Audio for CAD Audio in Solon, Ohio, Gary is responsible for North America sales, product development and brand marketing under the commercial audio division of CAD Audio. Gary has a B.A. in Electronic Media Production from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. He started his career as a freelance audio/video engineer working with customers such as the Cleveland Indians, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, US Food Service, PBS, and the House of the Lord Church. Before coming to CAD Audio, Gary worked at a small A/V integration firm in Hudson, Ohio. Specializing in house of worship, schools and wellness facilities, Gary participated in all aspects of installation from sales, design, install and commissioning of the A/V system. Gary continues to work in his community volunteering his time with the summer “concerts on the green”, assisting with the local cable television station’s productions and general audio/video consulting and training with churches, schools and assisted living facilities in Northeast Ohio. Gary continues his education as a member of the A/V Integration community. He has successfully completed Syn-Aud-Con Sound System Optimization Seminar and continues to attended many classes and discussion organized by AES and infoComm.

Speaker Information - Coming Soon

Greg Pine, longtime Philips Electronics technology and marketing executive and the winner of two Emmy Awards for video technology, is Vice President for Broadcast Sales of Telairity, with a mission to lead the video compression company’s global expansion. The Santa Clara, California-based company’s encoders are designed for live HD and SD broadcasts delivered over the air and on cable, satellite and the Internet. The products are also used in post, video conferencing, and security and surveillance. “The industry understands that compression is the key factor that makes the HD revolution financially and technologically feasible,” said Pine. “Telairity’s patented H.264 compression uniquely combines ultra-low latency and reduced bit rate while preserving crystal clear picture quality: a system that finally enables the industry to produce flawless, natural live HD & SD broadcasts between studios and remote locations.”

Before joining Telairity, Pine was senior technology strategist at NXP Semiconductors and managed worldwide demonstrations of the company’s media processing and set-top boxes. He was also key developer of the “Rooster”-concept household media server for Philips Digital Networks; business development and marketing sales manager for Philips Key Modules; marketing manager of Philips Camera Products; and manager of the Philips broadcast video camera production facility in Breda, The Netherlands. Pine also worked for Sony Broadcast as a product specialist and manager.He received two Emmy awards: for the Dynamic Pixel Management concept, enabling cameras to optimize both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios on the same camera; and for the “Skin Contour Detail” circuit, a patented process for reducing age lines of on-air talent. Pine also holds six Philips patents, three each in CCD sensor development and multimedia recording technology.

Speaker Information - Coming Soon

Kent Margraves has many years of experience as a full-time, professional worship audio director and mixer focusing on sound reinforcement, live recording, post production and broadcast audio of worship events of varied styles and sizes including worship services, concerts, pageants, conferences, and tours.    He now concentrates on Worship and Installed Sound applications at Sennheiser Electronic Corporation and operates TCG Media part-time, which supports worship ministries through audio mixing and training services.

Speaker Information - Coming Soon

Luis Guerra has been actively involved in the professional audiovisual industry since 1989. He hasextensive knowledge and experience with many aspects of AV and IT systems, facilities design, product support, product development, training, user interfaces, and RF technology. He has worked for Shure for over 13 years, and is currently Associate Manager of Technical Training, with a particular emphasis on products for installed sound and advanced wireless microphone training. With his electrical engineering background and extensive understanding of commercial audio systems, Luis has ib contributed significantly to the design and development of Shure’s entire line of digital audio products. Throughout the various positions Luis has held at Shure, including Applications Engineer, Product Development Specialist, and Sales Engineer, he has become a knowledgeable, effective presenter and is recognized for his ability to explain complex technical subjects in a way that everyone can understand. Luis has presented seminars and workshops on Shure products and audio principles all over the world.

Michael Laiacona is the president and founder of Whirlwind.  He has been in the pro-audio industry for 35 years and was a founding member of MXR Innovations, Delta Amplifiers, and Whirlwind.  Michael spent 38 years as a touring musician and system designer, and installer.  Many national stadiums, theme parks, government projects, and touring sound have used his products and designs.

A Music Technology graduate from Berklee College of Music, Miguel worked for several years at Staccato Systems and Analog Devices, developing the first interactive DSP audio engine for video games, based primarily in physical modeling. In 2000 he joined Lake Technology to support and continue development of the Lake Huron platform and Lake Contour product family. Once acquired by Dolby Laboratories, he worked on developing and supporting the Dolby Lake Processor. Now with TC Group Americas, Miguel is in charge of technical sales, system design and integration, training and technical support for the Touring division.

Mike DeFreece is a Regional Manager for BIAMP Systems, an internationally recognized leader in the audio electronics industry. Mike is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and has more than 20 years of experience in the sound and audio-visual industry. His background includes diverse experience in the areas of system sales, design and integration, as well as the operation of large-scale sound reinforcement systems. Prior to his recent move to the Atlanta area, Mike also served on the staff of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tennessee as the Front of House Sound Engineer for nine years. In addition to his regular gig of mixing sound for the 3000 seat worship center, he also trained the church's many volunteers and maintained the sound systems throughout the campus.

Mike speaks regularly with some of the most influential integrators and system designers in the audio visual industry, and thus has gained a unique perspective on where our industry is now and where we are headed. Mike has taught various classes on the proper techniques of sound system design and operation, as well as provided instruction for specific digital signal processors. Mike has presented technical seminars for a variety of groups, including churches, theme parks, and integration companies, and provides technical training on an ongoing basis for his customers. His areas of expertise include designing large sound reinforcement systems, programming complex digital signal processors, and applying appropriate sound system theories and methods to maximize the performance of sound systems.

Speaker Information - Coming Soon

Richard Hill is the Southeast Market Development Manager for Digital Projection International.  For over three years, he has worked closely with the top-level sales, marketing and applications divisions of all of DP’s worldwide hubs.  Specializing in application and sales support, as well as product training and demonstration, Hill addresses the needs of the large screen worship market from DP’s Atlanta headquarters.

A graduate of Electronic Engineering Technology in 1971, has been involved in both film and video projection technology for more than 35 years. Steen first joined Eiki in 1979, ultimately becoming Vice President of Technical Services. In 1989, seeking a change in career, he became Western Regional Sales Manager for Eiki, a position he held until 1996 when he decided broaden his experience. Over the intervening 10 years Steen has contributed his expertise as Western Regional Sales Manager to several other significant members of the ProAV industry.

Tom Knesel has been involved in audio system design and consulting for over 20 years with an emphasis on church and installed sound. In addition to his background in the audio industry, Tom has served on numerous worship teams both as a musician and tech director. He has contributed as a speaker, clinician and musician at several national worship events and seminars including past staff positions at Worship Institute and Seminars4Worship. Tom and his wife are currently based in Rochester NY and is Director of Business Development for Corevalus Systems / SamePage™.

Tom Stanziano's twenty-year career in lighting has taken him from lighting local bands to cruise ship productions to a down-home theme park and on to designing television lighting for the largest mega church in the United States. After graduating from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Tom worked in local venues learning the ropes of stage lighting. Soon after, he was hired on with Celebrity Cruises, designing looks for Broadway-style reviews and magicians alike. He even had the privilege of bringing a new ship, the Celebrity Century, straight out of production and on to its maiden voyage. Returning to dry land, Tom became a designer at Opryland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee. His experience in theater design allowed him to create looks for professional artists such as Martina McBride and the Temptations. A move to Texas put Tom in the designer seat yet again, but in a more religious location—Lakewood Church in Houston. It was here that Tom really used his skills in lighting design and operation up to six times a week for internationally-broadcasted services. In addition to the in-house work, Tom toured with Joel Osteen for 4 years, creating attractive and innovative lighting and set design. His newest endeavor is with Seachanger by Ocean Thin Films division in Largo, Florida. This current appointment will allow him to impact the worship market by demonstrating the proper use of lighting techniques whether it is a drama or a worship service.