Commercial Integrator June 2021 - 4

EDITOR'S NOTE
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Remembering
Vinny Testa
VINNY TESTA, president of Testa Communications,
home to many trade publications
including Sound & Communications, passed
away April 19 at the age of 76.
Commercial Integrator and Sound & Communications
are competing magazines. In a world
that is becoming increasingly polarized, it is
important to remember that competition is not
a negative word.
In the case of our publications, competition
means respect and admiration.
We at Commercial Integrator
respect and admire Vinny Testa
and what he built. We off er our
sincerest condolences to all who
knew him.
I want to take this issue's
Editor's Note to remember a man
who, by all accounts, cared about
the integration industry deeply.
He expressed that through ensuring
that his publications brought
pertinent, unbiased information
to the channel.
" He's someone who very
much believed that Sound & Communications'
greatest asset is its readers, " says Dan Ferrisi,
editor of Sound & Communications. " When he
was talking about editorial independence what
he instilled in us was the idea that we should
have a true journalistic ethos where we're
giving objective information that people can
learn from.
" He was as passionate about the products
and the technology as [integrators] were, " says
Ferrisi. " He didn't passively publish while sitting
in an ivory tower somewhere. He was immersed
in the industry. He had strong relationships with
people. He was really, genuinely interested. "
Perhaps not a coincidence, Testa began his
career as many AV integrators do - in a recording
studio.
" He started off as a recording engineer in
the '60s, " says John Carr, associate publisher
of Sound & Communications. " He was in
the recording studio when Iron Butterfl y did
'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.' That was recorded in
4
Commercial Integrator JUNE 2021
Hempstead, New York. "
Aſt er partnering with others to create a
recording and engineering school, Testa
created Modern Recording, his fi rst magazine
based on the trade of recording engineering.
This sparked a lifelong career in publishing and
trade news coverage that continues even aſt er
his passing.
" All of us really appreciate what he created
here, " says Carr, noting that the average tenure
of employees at the company
may exceed 20 years. " He really
let us do what he thought we
were all best at. "
Testa was exceptionally caring
and fostered relationships that
ran the full spectrum from professional
to personal. There was
little diff erence to him.
" Of course he cared about
the business relationships, but
he really built very strong personal
relationships and nurtured
them over time, " says Carr. " The
relationships mattered to him so
much. He was a mentor to so many people. "
" That family ethos extended to his employees,
friends, colleagues, people with whom he
did business, " says Ferrisi. " He was a very warm
person. He really did treat you like family. "
Sound & Communications will be writing
an extensive memorial encapsulating much
of the history and impact Testa had, including
stories from members of the industry that Testa
mentored, assisted, and worked with.
I encourage all of our readers to seek that
out and learn more about a one-of-a-kind member
of our community.
" Vinny was a true original. There are a certain
amount of people in culture that really make
their mark and you know there's never going to
be anybody quite like them ever again. Vinny
was really of that ilk, " says Carr.
Jonathan Blackwood, Editorial Director
jonathan.blackwood@emeraldx.com
@BlackwoodTweets
EDITORIAL
Editorial Director
Jonathan Blackwood, 774-505-8048,
jonathan.blackwood@emeraldx.com
Chief Content Offi cer
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D. Craig MacCormack, 774-505-8040,
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Associate Editor
Zachary Comeau, 774-505-8006,
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Technology Editor
Robert Archer, 774-505-8049,
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EMERALD CORPORATE
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Commercial Integrator June 2021

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