PLASA Bestows Stewart Award on the PERG Council

PLASA presented the 2011 Frank Stewart Volunteer of the Year Award to the members of the Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) Council on Thursday evening, October 27 at PLASA's cocktails and awards reception. The members of the council are chair, Marc Stephens (MPS Studios), Carly Barber (Illumination Dynamics), Leigh Blicher (Videofax), Charlie Davidson, Tom Fletcher (Fletcher Camera and Lenses), Greg Meyers (Cinequipt), JR Reid (JR Lighting), Scott Taylor (Taylor and Taylor Associates), Mark Tye (Citation Support), and Mark Wofford (Production Consultants & Equipment).

The award was presented by the chair of the PLASA North American regional board, Eddie Raymond, who told the crowd, "This past year, the PERG Council undertook a number of initiatives to foster dialogue between parties within the film and television market. Through continuous effort the council was able to build momentum that has ultimately resulted in gains for the industry, and new membership in PLASA.

"One of the best outcomes of the year sprung from a meeting the PERG Council hosted bringing together members of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) and rental house management. The meeting led to the formation of a joint committee which has created a consensus document of agreed terms and conditions." The completed document is being formally announced this weekend at the AICP Conference in New York and the LDI show in Orlando. Addressing the widespread problem of red-lining rental contracts, the consensus terms and conditions document promises to remove a serious and unnecessary burden for producers and rental companies alike. Building on this success, the council has already begun discussions with the major motion picture and television studios to try and agree on standard terms and conditions with each of them.

The Frank Stewart award was created to honour Stewart's unrivalled service to ESTA during the 18 years that he served as its Treasurer. This award recognizes extraordinary effort by a volunteer or group of volunteers during the previous year and is bestowed by the PLASA North American regional board.