Thomas Bridges

Senior Account Manager

Accomplishments

I Started my career as a jazz trumpeter and performer. I made my first jazz record album (yes, on vinyl!) at age 14, on DELMARK records (#DS-219) in Chicago, IL. I've been lucky enough to perform with some of the GREAT traditional jazz artists, in my years, like: Peanuts Hucko, Wild Bill Davison, Milt Hinton, Jimmy & Marion McPartland, Jim Cullum Jr., Barrett Deems (Louis Armstrong's famed drummer, featured in the 1955 film "High Society") and many others. I founded a website, www.tradjazz.com, in 1998 to promote my favorite style of jazz music.

After graduation from Syracuse University in 1987, with a degree in Music Industry and a strong background in television and audio, I started my career as a 'Video Professional', and have 17 years experience selling; CCTV, Broadcast TV, Access Control, Audio Visual, Lighting and Studio gear.

Experience

Alcorn McBride Inc., Orlando, FL
Senior Account Manager

In house sales for entire product line.

UNIVISIONS VIDEO SYSTEMS, Syracuse, NY
Audio Video Consultant

Reported to Bob Romano, a legendary upstate NY dealer. Sold Broadcast TV systems, in a 13 county upstate New York territory, for Sony Broadcast, JVC Industrial, Telex, Panasonic Industrial, and many others.

VISUAL TECHNOLOGIES CORP.
Syracuse, NY. Sales Manager

Reported directly to the company president. Sold numerous AV systems to higher education and New York State industry. Sales doubled under my tenure, to about $2.5 Million per year. Primary product lines sold were: Infocus, Sharp LCD, Barco, Stewart Filmscreen, Draper, Bogen Audio and Anchor audio.

F.M. VALENTI,INC. Boston, MA
Sales Manager

Upstate New York Sales Manager for this well known New England manufacturer's rep firm. I worked closely with the Valenti family; Fran, Sean, Sarita and Steven. The main product lines we represented were Panasonic CCTV, Winsted Video Consoles, Maxell Tape and Recognition Systems-Biometric Handkey. During this time I gained valuable experience and insight into the electronics business. Responsible for a $4 million dollar territory, of sales to dealers and distributors. Forged strong relationships with Kodak World Headquarters' in Rochester, NY and with Xerox, Baush & Lomb and Carrier-UTC.

COM TECH, Albany, NY
Western Zone Manager

Sold Buhl Studio Lights, Strand/Century Lighting, Global Streams HDTV and Trinity DVE editing/suites, Thompson Broadcast, Pinnacle, AVID, For.A, JVC Industrial, BAF Broadcast Vehicles and many other lines.

Education

Syracuse University, 1987. Bachelor of Music Industry. Course studies focused in concert production, media production, audio recording, video production, music publishing, marketing and artists management.

Numerous AV and Security manufacturer courses and certificates: Panasonic CCTV certificate, Pelco CCTV training certificate, Winsted Boot Camp, Jeron Nurse Call systems, Identicard Access Control, IVIS plus 2000, Perimeter Products (Magal), The Charlie Pierce CCTV Institute, Pinnacle DVE course, and Recognition Systems-Biometric Handkey, and Stentofon/Zenitel Intercom systems and Beyer-Dynamic Audio.

Trade Associations

Member, SBE, Society of Broadcast Engineers, Chap. 22, Syracuse, NY
Member, SME, Sales and Marketing Executives
Member, ASIS, American Society of Industrial Security
Member of Local 78, A.F.M. American Federation of Musicians, Syracuse, NY

Certifications

CTS, Certified Technology Specialist, ICIA Institute, Indianapolis, IN.