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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – May 11, 2005. The Network Professional Association® (NPA) recognized five individuals as the Association hosted its fourth annual Awards for Professionalism ceremony at NetWorld+ Interop 2005, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. The awards program, in cooperation with NetWorld+Interop, honors individuals for their outstanding achievements within the international network computing industry. Each winner received a specially designed personalized trophy and a one-year membership in the NPA. All event attendees received several book selections compliments of Que/SAMS Pearson Publishing.

The distinguished panel of judges led by Barry Sellers of Capital One included Dirk Smith - President and Founder of Alexander LAN, Tayler Wang - President and Founder of Computer Network Synoptic, Dan Lewis of Avaya, Teri Sanders of StoneFly Networks, and Ross Chevalier – CTO/CIO of Novell Canada Ltd.

According to the NPA vice chairman Steve Delahunty, “As an annual event the awards provide needed recognition for outstanding individual professionals in our industry, their valuable contributions, their continued focus on networking and professionalism, and the respect of their peers. Through an annual mutual relationship with NetWorld+Interop, the NPA enhances the prestige and visibility of award winners while continuing the awards as a standard ceremony at this definitive annual networking event.”

Rand Morimoto was honored with the Best Networking Professional Career Achievement Award due to the many significant contributions he has brought to the networking industry. There was heavy competition this year for this award. Rand is President and CEO of Convergent Computing, a best selling author, and a twenty-five plus year industry veteran. He has been an advisor to the White House on Cyber-Security and Cyber-Terrorism, Vice-Chairman of the Board for the NASA and Smithsonian Institute affiliate Chabot Space and Science Center, and is a board member for the IIE/Fulbright Scholars organization. Rand received the award in person and noted, “I am honored to have received this international award and to have been able to contribute to the networking industry in various ways. I would like to thank the Network Professional Association for its valued support of the networking professional and also SAMS of Pearson Publishing for their support.”

Sean Curry was selected for the Professional Excellence and Innovation Award, Corporate Fortune X. Sean is Manager of Infrastructure Engineering at Calpine Corporation. Answering the corporate challenge to reduce expenses, Calpine's Communication Engineering team developed and implemented a Wide Area Network (WAN) optimization project that slashed operating costs by 75%, saving several million dollars per year. This communication network is used 24x7x365 to help Calpine generate, deliver and liquidate its megawatts of electricity - therefore the cost reductions could not compromise network performance, availability or reliability. Using forethought, creativity, and innovation, the team was not only successful in achieving the objective but they also boosted network performance by 250%.

Bob Kraus was selected for the Professional Excellence and Innovation Award, Corporate Small Business. Bob is Network Services/PC Repair Supervisor at Washington Inventory Service (WIS). His award is for the successful planning, organization and implementation of a roll out of Windows XP to the proprietary inventory PCs. This was accomplished with minimum disruption to critical core business. The program also saved shipping costs and repair time. Bob coordinated the effort with the over 130 WIS field offices and over 700 inventory machines.

Kenneth Poorman was selected for the Professional Excellence and Innovation Award, Education, for contributions as the Head of the College of Information Science and Technology for the San Diego Campus of the University of Phoenix. Kenneth is responsible for the quality in the classroom through the hiring and selection of additions to the faculty, continual review of faculty performance, and additional training and motivation for current faculty to achieve goals. Kenneth attended the award ceremony and was very appreciative of the award explaining “the NPA has provided critical aid for our efforts to support the students in our facilities and their contributions have made a difference on campus.”

Laura Chappell was selected for the Professional Excellence and Innovation Award, Independent Network Contractor. Laura is Founder and Senior Protocol Analyst at the Protocol Analysis Institute (PAI) LLC. Laura announced and presented the first train-the-leader course on Internet Safety for Children. Through this program, PAI hopes to raise awareness of internet-based threats, predator tactics and protective steps to audiences who will deliver the provided information on a local and regional basis.

In keeping with the professionalism themed event, the attendees were provided an insightful presentation from Chris Henley of Microsoft . Chris connected with the Interop theatre audience through a discussion of his experiences and viewpoints with an emphasis on the network professional's role in today's technology-reliant business world.