It may sound cliché, but it’s hard to believe that November already has arrived and 2007 is nearly over. For the Via Satellite team that means that preparations for SATELLITE 2008 are well underway.

SATELLITE 2008: The Sixth Decade will take place Feb. 25-28 at the Washington Convention Center and brings together thousands of attendees to network with each other and with the more than 270 exhibiting companies who provide the products, solutions and new technologies that will power the industry going forward.

Scott Chase, a familiar name for most of the satellite industry, has been named Conference Chairman. He chaired the conference for more than a dozen years during his time as editor of Via Satellite magazine and brings with him to SATELLITE 2008 both a wealth of experience as well as a fresh perspective.

Chase’s first order of business is  planning the content for the three-day conference and one-day pre-conference program and recruiting more than 300 speakers. The conference lineup can be found at www.Satellite2008.com, and for the first time, SATELLITE 2008 Exhibitors and members of the satellite-enabled communications marketplace are welcome to nominate speakers for the conference program. This has been a tremendous help in developing dynamic content.

The approach of SATELLITE 2008 also means it is time for the staff of Via Satellite magazine and the Access Intelligence Satellite Group to begin the difficult process of selecting the 2007 Satellite Executive of the Year.

Via Satellite has honored the most outstanding industry executive of the prior year as its Satellite Executive of the Year since 1988, when PanAmSat Founder Rene Anselmo was the first recipient. Since then, more than a dozen industry visionaries have been honored for making a durable contribution to the global satellite markets, technologies, business practices, services innovations or any combination of these contributions made during the calendar year.

Some honorees have been controversial; others have been obvious. In any case, it’s always been invigorating to debate the merits of the nominees and to share conclusions with the global satellite community in Via Satellite and during the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition.
If you would like to nominate someone for this honor, please complete the nominating ballot at www.SatelliteToday.com and click on “Submit a Nominee” by Nov. 15.

The outstanding nominees will be highlighted in our February issue and the 2007 Satellite Executive of the Year will be featured on the cover the March issue and be honored at SATELLITE 2008 with a Feb. 27 luncheon and evening reception.

We look forward to your contributions to the process of selecting the 2007 Satellite Executive of the Year and look forward to seeing you at SATELLITE 2008.