Awards
2024 INDUSTRY AWARDS
Congrats to the Industry Award winners
THE JIM LYNCH HALL OF FAME AWARD
Gay Gordon-Byrne. The Repair Association is the new name of The Digital Right to Repair Coalition and reflects our growth and mission serving the industry of independent technology repair.
Anyone engaged in repair of technology products has common problems and common interests. We support a variety of networked communities through member benefits such as access to tools, testing equipment, supplies, education and certifications. Members also form the backbone of our legislative advocacy.
The Repair Association has been instrumental in fighting for the right to repair in the Congress and in States. It was our team that won the right to unlock cell phones, including having to muscle a bill through Congress. It is our team that won multiple exemption requests in front of the US Copyright Office to unlock cell phones tablets and other mobile devices. It was our deliberate plan to file copyright exemption requests to allow tinkering with land-based motor vehicles on behalf of modern agriculture.
We have created and promoted Fair Repair and Digital Right to Repair bills in 4 states this year. New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Nebraska are all in various stages of consideration. This is the same state by state strategy that secured consumers of cars and trucks the right to repair following one legislative victory.
Anyone that owns even a single gadget with a chip has a reason to get involved.
Billy Johnson a longtime ReMA staff member and industry pillar passed away Saturday, Sept. 28, at his home in Alexandria, Va. He was 61.
William (Billy) Harrison Johnson was born Jan. 14, 1963, in Alexandria. He earned a B.A. in political science/public administration from North Carolina State University. He supported his alma mater by serving on the Dean’s Board and on the Advisory Board for the School of Public and International Affairs. Billy and his wife Tracy established the William H. Johnson and Tracy Schario Johnson Endowment to benefit the school. Billy went on to earn a Master of Public Administration and Public Policy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
An accomplished government relations executive and mentor, he was a masterful public policy expert, advocate and fundraiser. For the last 20 years, he was a highly respected and much-loved ISRI/ReMA staffer, most recently serving as the association’s Chief Lobbyist.
Among his many distinctions, Billy was named a Top Lobbyist by the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics in 2021. And, in 2022, North Carolina State University chose him as its Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Alumnus.
Billy was an avid sailor who loved luxury cars, hotel bathrobes, an icy martini, and fine food. He cherished his life at Antidote, the waterfront home he and Tracy enjoyed on Virginia’s Northern Neck. He entertained their guests as grill master, oyster roaster, cocktail connoisseur, and the unofficial “wine ambassador” of the William Harrison winery. Billy and Tracy sailed the creeks and tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay on Invictus and Miss GoGo and enjoyed golf, burning yard debris, leisurely sunsets, and stargazing. He is known for his Wolfpack fervor, compelling conversation and storytelling, buoyant optimism, and his abiding love for family, friends, and country.
We thank ReMA and the Gulf Coast Region for this beautiful tribute.
THE INNOVATION AWARD
Petri Hayrynen, Global Head of Product Marketing, Human Mobile Devices (HMD). As the Global Head of Product Marketing, Petri has been integral in shaping how Human Mobile Devices challenges the status quo in the ultra-competitive mobile tech market. Petri is a big advocate of designing for repairability and building more responsible product roadmaps and has almost 20 years of experience in the industry with brands like Apple and Nokia.
THE RISING STAR AWARD
Billy Marion, ASCDI. Focused on pushing for a sustainable, earth-friendly secondary IT market. Helping to guide technology service providers, resellers, and ITADs to a more eco-conscious process and mindset.
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