Martyn Kemel from Berwick made a trip to Las Vegas last week to collect an Emmy award for technology and engineering at the 60th Annual Emmy Awards.By Kelly Yates
IT was lights, camera and action as a Berwick man walked the red carpet in Las Vegas last week to collect an Emmy award at the television industry’s night of nights.
Martyn Kemel travelled to the glittery desert playground of Las Vegas representing Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), the global broadcast and cellular infrastructure specialist, which scooped the prize in the technology and engineering category at the awards dinner on 7 January.
With the coveted Emmy award back on Australian soil, Mr Kemel told the News he was proud to have accepted the award, which recognised the company’s work in making the transition from analogue to digital television run smoother.
The 60th Annual Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, honour development and innovation in broadcast technology and recognise breakthroughs in technology that have a significant effect on television engineering.
Mr Kemel, who has been living in Berwick for 11 years, said the technology they developed ensured the company stayed right at the forefront of digital television broadcast technology.
This is the first time the company has won an Emmy award.
“We were surprised we won but the nerves had left me when I started to walk up to the stage,” he said.
Mr Kemel, the CEO of the company for seven years, said he broke the ice while on stage by cracking a small joke in front of the audience of 300.
“I said to a fellow colleague to turn the statue upside down so we could see what it would look like in Australia,” he laughed.
Mr Kemel described the gold statuette as being “very heavy and impressive.”
“We’d never imagined winning this award,” he said.
“It’s the highest and most prestigious award globally for the industry.”
Mr Kemel said the Emmy award would be displayed at the Kilsyth office.
