Austin, TX – Leonard Leech, Design Engineering Manager at the Nashville Electric Services, and Miguel Angel Sánchez Fornié, Director of Telecommunications and Control Systems at Iberdrola in Spain, were honored by their peers with the highest distinguished services awards presented by the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC).

Leech was given the 2007 Dondanville Award, named in honor of UTC's first president, Russell V. Dondanville, which recognizes an individual’s career of service to the industry through their work at UTC. Leech has been one of the most active members of the Council, serving on several UTC Committees, as UTC's Chairman of the Board from 2005-2006, and most recently as the Chairman of UTC's Forward Planning Committee that created UTC's strategic plan for 2007-2008.

Sánchez Fornié received the 2007 Meehan Award, named in honor of UTC’s first executive director Charles M. Meehan. The Meehan Award recognizes leadership in a particular UTC effort over the past year that significantly advanced the interests of the industry. Sánchez Fornié is the Chairman and driving force behind the European Utilities Telecom
Council. Under his leadership, EUTC has established a strong policy presence with the European Commission and European Parliament, launch UTC’s first utility telecom benchmarking study for European utilities, and continued to expand the annual European Utility Telecom Conference. He has also been recognized through an invitation to represent UTC on the European Union’s Smart Energy Grids Advisory Board.

Both men were presented with their awards at the Annual UTC Awards Banquet during UTC TELECOM 2007, UTC's annual conference in Austin, TX.

For more information about the conference, visit www.UTCTELECOM2007.utc.org [2].

Utilities Telecom Council

The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) is a global trade association dedicated to creating a favorable business, regulatory, and technological environment for companies that own, manage, or provide critical telecommunications systems in support of their core business. Founded in 1948 to advocate for the allocation of additional radio spectrum for power utilities, UTC has evolved into a dynamic organization that represents the broad communications interests of electric, gas, and water utilities; natural gas pipelines; other critical infrastructure entities; and other industry stakeholders.