This Friday, Mihai Draganescu and Joaquin Salim won big at the SCADDY’S.

The two not only dominated by winning almost every possible award, their Rewind campaign won “Best of Show”. The special award was presented by none other than Tom O’Keefe, Draftfcb’s Executive Vice President and Executive Creative Director. But there is more. Draftfcb presented the first ever “Best of Show” Grant to the young talents, inviting them to join their team at the Cannes Festival. “An incredible opportunity” as Mihai and Joaquin call it to be part of the most prestigious Creativity Festival in the world. So incredible that the two didn’t even understand what was going on until after the awards when the judges reiterated, “You’re going to Cannes!”

How did you come up with this idea?

Joaquin: “We were just chilling with beers in an alley way and we started brainstorming. That is what we do all the time. It’s fun, we just love what we

do, we didn’t do it to win anything but I am happy we did!”

Mihai: “It’s funny you know. This wasn’t even a school project. We were just working on our books and wanted to do something cool to put in there. We were all into street art after seeing a movie about Banski and we thought that we can use it to advertise Sharpie”

What were you thinking when you found out you won?

Mihai: “When they called us up for the “Best of Show” award I could not believe it.

I looked at Joaquin and he was ecstatic too. When we went up on stage next to Mr. O’Keefe I thought, “Wow this keeps getting better. We are going to have pictures with him that I can post on Facebook and show to my mom. (Laughing) Then he started talking about the grant and Cannes and going there with their team, that is where I think my brain shut down.

Joaquin: “ It was a big surprise. I don’t think either of us knew what was going on until Professor Shanahan explained it to us after the show. Even then I still couldn’t believe it, before the SCADDY’s Mihai and I were talking about one day going to Cannes with our work. It’s just amazing that we are able to go this summer.“

You guys seem to work very well together; can you tell me about it?

Joaquin: “We are very different but we are both passionate and ambitious. We kind of compensate each other. Mihai is sharp and meticulous. He always digs deep to find ideas. When we brainstorm we always come up with the most insane stuff and often we are crazy enough to make it happen.”

Mihai: “We do compensate each other. Joaquin is the best to work with. He is easygoing and flexible. He is just a fun guy to have around and has a great eye. I always trust him in terms of design and I often ask him for advice.”

Starting from humble beginnings, Joaquin from Venezuela and Mihai from Romania, they both have an incredible drive and have worked their way through college by keeping their scholarships and working hard. Their ambition has always been to be the top tier creatives and they are ready to go as far as it takes to achieve that goal, even if it means as far as Cannes.

Democrat Barak Obama is the first African-American president of the United States of America and the 44th commander in chief. On Tuesday November 4th Americans demonstrated that they can change the direction that their country has been taken in the past 8 years.
Barak Obama is the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter to win a majority of the popular vote, a vindication of his “50-state strategy” that even members of his own party once viewed as quixotic. Before the end of Tuesday, America that had been solid red in the recent elections has undergone a dramatic change where all 50 states have become one, where it has become the true United States of America!
Today, there are more democrats registered than Republicans.  Republicans have dropped from 37 percent of the electorate in 2004 to 32 percent today, as the number of Democrats and independent has increased.

“Change has come to America” said Obama in this acceptance speech last night! But he also acknowledged the tough climate of the task he faces. “For even as we celebrate tonight,” Obama utters,  “we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.”
Obama is a charismatic leader whose appeal transcends partisan politics. Obama has built his support on a “three-legged stool” made up of African-Americans, Hispanics, and young voters of all races.  In North Carolina polls show 73 percent of 18-29 year olds voted for Obama, even though McCain was stronger among every other age group. In Virginia, too, Obama was ahead with every age group except those 65 and older.  There are 1.6 million more Hispanic voters this year, including a half-million newly naturalized citizens and they chose Obama over McCain by a margin of 2 to 1. And so New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada, Ohio, and Iowa voted for Obama. States like Virginia and Indiana had not voted for a Democratic president since 1964, which means that Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 has become a Moment in History!
In his speech, Obama also reached out to McCain’s supporters: “I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too!”
The Election 2008 embodies the American dream! In his acceptance speech, Obama mentioned 106 year old Ann Nixon Cooper from Atlanta, born a generation past slavery, at a a time when she could not vote because she was black and woman.  Ann Nixon “through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.”

The 2008 Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was celebrated on Saturday, August 23 at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles. 

The Philo T. Farnsworth Corporate Achievement Award was given to Burlington, ON-based Evertz Technologies Limited, a design, manufacture and marketing company for video and audio infrastructure.

The Philo is an award to honor the company whose contributions have significantly affected the state of television technology and engineering over a long period of time.

Content creators, broadcasters, specialty channels and television service providers utilize Evertz’ technologies to support complex multi-channel digital and high definition television broadcast environments.

The award was presented to Evertz’s vice-president of engineering, Alan Lambshead, and the company’s vice-president of sales in the United States, Joe Cirincione.