“Having been on the board for four years and working as an officer for three other presidents gave me a great view of what was going to be needed throughout my term,” explains Thorburn. “The economy was the element that made the journey a wild ride.”

Despite the global recession, under Steve’s leadership the TEA made a variety of noteworthy accomplishments:

• Long-term high-interest debt was restructured and paid down through a series of micro-loans made from members.
• The association’s director, Gene Jeffers has been repaid for the year he donated his salary to the association in order to make ends meet.
• The Thea Awards and IAAPA party made a profit for the first time in 2003 and have ever since.
• The association has doubled its membership base, and added a staff member focused on membership development.
• The TEA SATE Conference in Orlando this year had record attendance, and SATE Europe is planned for 2011.
• The association’s Bylaws and Code of Ethics have been reviewed and rewritten to better meet TEA’s needs, providing future guidance for the governance of the association.
• The website has been continually updated and the foundations of a new website will be unveiled soon.
• New membership categories have been created for non-profit organizations such as museums, academic students and faculty, and for TEA member staff displaced during the economic downturn.
• TEA’s social media program has been launched, including Facebook and LinkedIn resources.
• TEA reached out and partnered with the industry’s major players in new ways and committed to finding them the talent they need to continue producing award-winning attractions and entertainment.
• TEA is waiting for final IRS approval for the Themed Entertainment Association Foundation, which will be a true 501c3.

“I came in to the office stating to the board: I am not the Cheerleader, I am the Project Manager,” says Thorburn. “I feel proud to have provided more structure for the Association.”

At the November 17th meeting, Steve became the Immediate Past President of the association and remains on the board for two years. Rick Rothschild was sworn in as TEA’s new president.

About Steven J. Thorburn

TEA president Steve Thorburn, principal of Thorburn Associates Inc., is an active and visible participant within his industry. Altogether he has served as project manager and engineer on more than 2,000 projects, including the lead engineer role on four projects that received Thea Awards. As an educator and lecturer in the field, he has logged more than 40,000 student hours. Thorburn has been a TEA member for 16 years, and served on the TEA International Board as Treasurer for four years prior to becoming president.

Thorburn's other association ties include the Large Format Cinema Association (five years on the Executive Committee) and ICIA/InfoComm (1996 Educator of the Year). He has had some 100 articles published in the trade media and writes a regular column for Systems Contractor News. Within his own company, Thorburn Associates, founded in 1992 with his wife Lisa, Steve Thorburn has fostered a service- and education-oriented culture and encourages his staff to continually advance in their professional development and training.

Steve Thorburn began working as an acoustical engineer for Salter Associates (San Francisco) in 1985, after receiving his degrees at Michigan Technological University (dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Technical Theatre). He worked on studio projects for Lucasfilms, Todd-AO, Dolby and Disney, then entered the Experience Industry headlong as the acoustical engineer for the Disney MGM Studios Tour. Shortly after that, designers at WDI asked him to help with the acoustical design of Pleasure Island, when they found it had not been reviewed for acoustics.

He subsequently worked on Knott's Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America, and hundreds more leisure and entertainment projects for major operators. He provided technical design services on various specialty theaters, large format theaters, family entertainment centers and the development of construction guidelines and feasibility studies for a host of international projects.

Thorburn Associates has exerted a steady influence on the building and construction industry through its advocacy of Acoustically Integrated aRchitecture (AIR) and successful projects that embody its principles. AIR is a holistic best practice which, recognizing that the foremost purpose of buildings is to foster human community, seeks the optimal interface of disciplines for a result that supports the specific intended uses of the building.

About TEA

The TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) is an international nonprofit alliance founded in 1991 and based in Burbank, Calif. TEA represents some 7,500 creative specialists, from architects to designers, technical specialists to master planners, scenic fabricators to artists, and builders to feasibility analysts working in more than 680 firms in 39 different countries. TEA presents the annual Thea Awards and the TEA Summit, and the SATE Conference (Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience). TEA also produces a variety of print and electronic publications, including the TEA/ERA Global Attraction Attendance Report, TEA Sourcebook, TEA Project Development Guidelines, and TEA Annual & Directory. Visit www.teaconnect.org.

About Thorburn Associates

Thorburn Associates Inc. (TA) is a professional service firm providing acoustical, technology and lighting design for commercial, corporate, leisure, residential, retail, and houses of worship. TA works in both new construction and renovations. TA is an independent consulting firm - not associated with the sale of any specific brand - offering unbiased designs to improve communication and fully realize the functionality of all projects.

Headquartered in Castro Valley, CA, with regional offices in Los Angeles, Orlando and Raleigh-Durham, NC, TA specializes in highly technological projects. Thorburn Associates has been recognized as one of the leading firms in the acoustical and audiovisual system design industry. In the course of 18 years in business, TA projects have received multiple awards, from the International Communications Industry Association (ICIA-InfoComm), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). Visit www.TA-Inc.com.

Thorburn Associates is Press-Friendly! Do you need information or quotes pertaining to audiovisual technology, design, acoustics, architectural lighting design or engineering? We've got the expertise and we'll cooperate with your editorial deadline. Thorburn Associates principal Lisa A. Thorburn, LEED AP, CTS is a recognized voice in the A/E/C industry. Thorburn Associates principal Steven J. Thorburn, PE, LEED AP, Associate AIA is a respected industry spokesperson, educator, columnist and immediate past president of the Themed Entertainment Association. Contact us for a timely response.

Thorburn Associates: 18 years of Designing Quality Environments

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