CEDIA announced that Luke Dixon of Imagine That Audio and Video as the 2015 Humanitarian Award recipient for his work on the Lone Survivor Foundation Crystal Beach Retreat Facility. The facility provides all-expenses-paid educational and therapeutic retreats for service members, veterans, and their families, and these new technologies have helped create a true haven for its guests. The retreat, which opened in April, spans 5,008 square feet and includes two houses; the staff house sleeps nine and includes individual session rooms, while the soldiers’ house can accommodate up to 17 people.

Dixon donated his time and expertise while leading a team to deliver a tailor-made, intuitive system. The project required meticulous planning as the facility was six hours away from Dixon’s office in Frisco, Texas. He also spent time coordinating with other CEDIA members who were donating products, services, and time to the project.

“From this experience I learned that we, as custom integrators, can really affect people’s lives in unique and positive ways through projects like this. It’s very easy to plug away at the paying clients day in and day out and chase lead after lead for new clients,” Dixon said. “Doing a project like this really puts things into perspective when you are able to assist in making a difference in someone’s life by simply doing what we do every day, by doing what we’re good at.”

The Humanitarian Award was introduced earlier this year and seeks to recognize a company or individual who is working to improve life at home for those with special needs. “Luke identified the opportunity to give back and took on this project with few resources and remained completely dedicated to it, often staying at the project for several days at a time in an effort to complete it. This is exactly the type of work we hoped to recognize when we created the Humanitarian Award,” said Hagai Feiner, CEDIA board member.

“Rivaled by few, Luke’s hard work and dedication to the Lone Survivor Foundation’s Crystal Beach Retreat Facility is reflected throughout the finished build. Our goal is to take the service member out of their normal, everyday environment to a peaceful place of healing and Luke worked side-by-side with our staff and counselors ensuring the attendees’ experience at the facility is as seamless and stress-free as possible. Luke organized fundraisers, enlisted fellow companies, and donated an incredible amount of his own time to this project and we thank him,” said Terry Jung, executive director of The Lone Survivor Foundation.

Dixon will be honored at the annual CEDIA Awards Celebration on Saturday, October 17, during CEDIA EXPO 2015. Tickets for the Awards Celebration may be purchased through the registration system. A list of contributors to this project can be found on the CEDIA Award Winners page.