A birthday that’s worth noting

I’ve never understood why people make such a fuss about birthdays. The first one, well, I can see why people get excited about that—the day one comes out of the womb definitely is worth noting. After that, not so much. To me, it’s just another day on the calendar. That said, I do think that birthdays take on significant meaning when they pile up to the point where you begin to think of them in terms of decades. A good example of what I’m talking about is EFJohnson Technologies, which last week commemorated its 85th anniversary. Now, I can’t speak to the quality of the company’s products, as I don’t use portable or mobile radios in my line of work. But I do know that surviving for more than eight decades in a marketplace dominated by a behemoth is a significant achievement. Curious as to how EFJ has done so, I spoke last week with Max Safavi, the company’s chief operating officer, and Ed Kelly, vice president of marketing. I’ll share what they told me in tomorrow’s edition of the Urgent Communications Today e-newsletter. … A shout out to attorney Robert Schwaninger, who has authored an illustrated humor book, “A Married Man’s Guide to Christmas,” the Radio Club of America reported in its November newsletter. Schwaninger wrote the book, which is available through Amazon.com, under the nom de plume “Robert Henry.” … Speaking of the RCA, its annual banquet, which features keynote speaker Paul Jacobs, the CEO of Qualcomm, will be held Nov. 21 at the New York Athletic Club in NYC. Jacobs will receive the prestigious Sarnoff Citation—as will Brian Williams of the NBC Nightly News—which is awarded in recognition of contributions to the advancement of electronic communications. Tickets to the awards banquet are available until November 14. Contact Karen Clark at 303-948-4921.