The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) White Pin Group announced that John Hutson, CPMR, of the Massachusetts-based MacInnis Group is the 2017 recipient of the Jess Spoonts — ERA White Pin Scholarship Award. Hutson will receive a $1,000 grant that can be used to fund his continuing education as a professional field sales representative. He was nominated for the honor by White Pin member Tobi Cornell, CPMR, of Kruvand Associates.

To qualify for this award, nominees must be from an ERA member rep firm, must have been involved in ERA activities and leadership roles on the local and/or national levels for a minimum of two years, and must be willing to devote significant volunteer time to ERA in the foreseeable future.

“John Hutson is a passionate, creative volunteer who epitomizes the new generation of rep firm owners involved in ERA,” said Mark Motsinger, CPMR, of Wallace Electronic Sales, a past president of ERA and the coordinator of the White Pin Group. “His accomplishments include serving on the current and several past ERA Conference Committees, many leadership roles in his New England ERA Chapter, assisting with ERA’s participation in the Electronica trade shows in Munich and supporting the Women in Electronics event held earlier this year. He is the ultimate volunteer whom Jess Spoonts had in mind when this award was created.“

When notified of the award, Hutson commented: “I am privileged and honored to have been selected as this year’s Jess Spoonts Award recipient. Although I met Jess early in my career, it is unfortunate that I never really had the opportunity to get to know him. Nonetheless, his reputation as a man of integrity and a visionary was well known among his peers, and his volunteerism within our industry was extraordinary. My mentors, Norman and Ronald MacInnis, instilled in me the same sense of responsibility to give back to our industry in the ethical and profession manner that Jess exemplified. Receiving this award reminds me how important it is to continually strive to be like Jess, and I encourage everyone in our industry to do the same.”

Hutson received his award at the 2018 White Pin Group Reunion held on February 25 at the ERA Conference in Austin, Texas.

The ERA White Pin Group was formed in 1960 and is comprised of member reps who have held volunteer leadership positions at the national level of ERA for at least two years and have given extraordinary amounts of time and talent to ERA.

About ERA

The 82-year-old ERA is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories. For more information visit www.era.org.