Inaugural Innovation Awards Overcome Nature's Elements

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10/25/2008 9:28:00 AM

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Jody Espina, creator of JodyJazz Inc. was the winner for the DV and DV NY series of 24 kt. gold-plated single reed woodwind mouthpieces.

Inaugural Innovation Awards Overcome Nature's Elements
The Creative Coast Alliance doled out its first-ever Innovation Awards Friday night and the winners stretched across the full range of technology industry in the Coastal Empire - from a revolutionary design for saxophone mouthpieces to a cutting edge aviation research and development complex that will work on such problems as sonic boom suppression.

Dr. Thomas Z. Jones, president of Armstrong Atlantic State University, was named the recipient of the 2008 Howard J. Morrison Leadership Award, considered the most prestigious of the honors handed out at the event. It was named for Savannah businessman Howard J. Morrison, its first recipient in the earlier incarnation of these awards, previously known as the Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance Technology Awards. This award honors an individual whose leadership is considered to advance creativity, innovation or technology through partnership building and collaboration-oriented contributions.

Dr. David Frost of Georgia Tech Savannah handled the announcement of Jones' award at the banquet, held this year at the Historic Roundhouse. He said it was important to note that the selection committee - composed of previous recipients of the award, minus Morrison himself - had chosen Jones for the award before the educator announced his pending retirement for the end of this academic year. In other words, he said, the award was not given to Jones as a retirement gift but based on ongoing achievements at Armstrong.

Frost pointed to the nuclear medicine programs at Armstrong, its other health-related professions programs, support for the electrical engineering programs and the dual admission program between Georgia Tech and AASU, computer programming and the development of the Cyber Security Institute.

"In all of those cases, those things happened because of partnerships, and I think that is one the hallmarks of (Jones) as an individual. He is not about trying to do it all alone, he's about forming a team," Frost said.

While the honor itself is solemn, Frost opted for some levity in the announcement. In the slide show leading up to the announcement, he slipped in a photo of the famous singer who shares the honoree's name, and reference was made to Jones' football favorites, the Pittsburgh Steelers. In keeping with the scientific and technological nature of the evening, Frost displayed the 10-year wins/losses record of the team in a histogram.

Category Awards

The Innovation Awards were presented in six categories. The winners and their categories were: Education - Savannah Technical College for a course revolving around solar-powered electrical units; Government - the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department for its E-Police software, which provides the public with a means of tracking crime in a given neighborhood; Emerging Business - JodyJazz, for an innovative saxophone mouthpiece's development; Mature Business - Gulfstream Aerospace's Phase II Research and Development Center; Sustainability - Farmer D Organics for its Biodynamic Compost Product and sustainable farm system; and Community - Union Mission for its collaborative social services model.

Each category had three previously announced finalists, with the revelation of the winner a surprise at the banquet. This year's presentation took a "green" theme, with a focus on sustainability, and was sponsored by the Savannah-based commercial architecture, sustainable design and land planning firm of Lott + Barber.

Gulfstream Aerospace's multi-million dollar expansion plans are the focus of its award in the "Mature Business" category. The announcement described it as "one of the most sophisticated aerospace R&D centers in North America." The complex will include a 108,750-square-foot office building and an 80,500-square foot laboratory. Inside, the company - Chatham County's largest private employer - will conduct research on composite materials, acoustics that include an innovative sonic boom suppression system with the potential for changing the private aviation industry, advanced flight deck technology, advanced cabin technology, and advanced machine and tooling.

The winner of the "Emerging Business" category's award demonstrates the versatility of Savannah's technology community. JodyJazz Inc. was the winner for the DV and DV NY series of 24 kt. gold-plated single reed woodwind mouthpieces, created by Jody Espina, a veteran performer and music educator. The saxophone mouthpieces are "based on the Golden Mean or Phi proportions," according to the announcement. "They introduce a secondary window in the mouthpiece which increases the harmonics in the mid and bottom sections of the sonic spectrum and improves the efficiency of breath passing through the mouthpiece. With the potential to redefine sax playing, this product enhances the sound of the instrument through fatter tone, improved intonation, more harmonics, heightened altissimo, increased power and projection, cleaner articulation and facilitated playing."

Farmer D Organics, the winner in the "Sustainability" category, was recognized for its biodynamic compost product and sustainable farm system. The compost is described as an extremely high quality soil made from organic waste through a closed loop system. Using byproducts from farms and grocers, including its commercial partner Whole Foods Market, Farmer D produces its product while diverting more than 50,000 pounds of waste weekly from landfills. In addition, the company runs several regional gardens, including one at Trustees Garden, aimed at providing education and nutrition to youth and low-income families.

The Savannah-Chatham Metro Police Department won the "Government" category for its E-police software implementation. The program enables the public to track crime in their neighborhoods, in almost real-time. The software provides homeowners, home buyers and apartment seekers access to crime data affecting any given locale within a five-mile radius.

For "Education" category winner Savannah Tech, the award was project centered, focusing on a student-constructed solar generator and photovoltaic program, worked on by students in a variety of disciplines. The program trains students how to support, update and maintain solar-powered electrical units - a new but rapidly growing need. The project involved students in electrical engineering, drafting, welding and photovoltaic programs. The project produced a solar generator capable of powering emergency communication systems for the City of Savannah in an emergency, and of supporting a 5000 BTU air conditioner at the school for more than eight hours without battery drain.

Union Mission Inc., winner in the "Community" category, was recognized for its work to reduce health care costs, and to provide treatment and counseling for substance abuse offenders, family violence offenders, and those with mental health issues. According to the award announcement, in 2007, the agency saved Chatham County more than $35 million in diverted incarceration costs and diverted emergency room visits and hospitalization.

For more photos from the 2008 Creative Coast Innovation Awards, click here

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