Winners of the first-ever Ventus Awards will be announced and celebrated at Washington, D.C. Gala
For Immediate Release: November 11, 2021
Media Contact: Melinda Skea
Washington, D.C. – The Oceantic Network will host the inaugural Ventus Awards Gala on Thursday, November 18 in Washington, D.C. to bring the industry together and honor the trailblazing people, companies, organizations, and work ushering in the global adoption of offshore wind power. The Ventus Awards Gala, a first-of-its-kind industry event, is the Network’s highest level of professional recognition and brought in submissions representing the entire supply chain from large OEMs and Tier 1 manufacturers to multi-generational family businesses. Finalists competed in seven of nine categories ranging from Innovation of the Year to Supply Chain Advancement and Next-Gen Leadership (full list here).
The Ventus Awards, launched earlier this year by Oceantic Network in partnership with Recharge, are a celebration and recognition of the challenging work a broad range of businesses, organizations, and professionals do every day to move this emerging industry forward. Two of the Ventus Awards are named after industry titans who will be honored at the Gala: Bill Heronemus (1920-2002), known as the father of modern wind power, and Larry Viterna, the NASA scientist who developed a method to predict wind turbine performance and increase efficiency of output. Each of the award categories is designed to honor contributions and facets of the offshore wind industry, from products, programs, or technology, which allow us to harness offshore wind and better the lives of those around us through clean energy, a safer environment, and innovative jobs.
“We created the Ventus Awards and the accompanying Gala to both acknowledge and celebrate those who are making critical strides for the global adoption of offshore wind power,” said Liz Burdock, CEO and president of Oceantic Network, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated solely to growing the offshore wind industry and its supply chain. “The Gala will be an exciting night for everyone in this growing industry to come together to celebrate the incredible progress we’ve made through innovation, hard work, and collaboration in the past year.”
Submissions in each award category were judged by industry experts representing the breadth of the offshore wind industry, including Walter Musial, principal engineer and offshore wind research lead at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Carrie Hitt, executive director of the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, Jay Borkland, director of Ports & Supply Chain at Avangrid Renewables, and James Manwell, Director of the Wind Energy Center at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (list of judges here.)
Ventus Award Gala
Presented by Oceantic Network
Location: Schuyler, 1001 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 10025
When: November 18, 2021
Time:
Champagne Reception at 6:30pm EST
Awards Dinner at 7:30pm EST
Black-tie optional
Oceantic Network is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a robust offshore wind supply chain in the U.S. It advances the industry forward through education, facilitating partnerships, and events, including the International Partnership Forum, the largest offshore wind conference in America. Learn more at Oceantic.org.
