SMTA 'Members of Distinction' Awards Announced

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The SMTA is proud to honor the 2025 “Members of Distinction” award recipients who have shown exceptional dedication to the association and the electronics manufacturing industry.

The association's highest honor, the Founder's Award, recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions to the industry, as well as support and service to the SMTA. This year, the organization selected Dave Hillman to receive this prestigious award. A member since 2001, Dave's involvement in the SMTA goes back to the mid-1990s with regularly recurring roles as an author or presenter of over 80 papers or presentations at SMTA events, and a technical committee member for several conferences.

The Technical Distinction Award recognizes individuals who have made significant and continuing technical contributions to the association. This year the Awards Committee selected Keith Sweatman, Nihon Superior, as the recipient of this award. Since 2003, Keith has been an enthusiastic and active participant in SMTA events, contributing as a speaker, authoring over 50 technical papers, technical committee member, and a supporter of knowledge-sharing forums.

The Excellence in Leadership Award honors strong leaders who continue to support and elevate the association. This year the award goes to Jessica Molloy, Asteria Sales & Marketing. Jessica has been an officer in the Capital Chapter and served on various committees since joining SMTA as a member in 2018. Her efforts range from leading marketing campaigns to facilitating collaboration across industry regions and sectors. The SMTA thanks Jessica for her many valuable years of service.

The Excellence in International Leadership Award recognizes members who have provided outstanding support and leadership to the SMTA's international members, chapters, or educational programs. The recipient selected for this award is Eduardo Ortiz, USM Reps. Eduardo joined SMTA in 2006 and is one of the founding officers of the Mexico-Juarez Chapter since 2019. Through his leadership the chapter has made a massive impact connecting industry with academia to empower a stronger electronics manufacturing workforce in the region with hands on training and university programming.

Celestica received the SMTA+ Corporate Partnership Award this year. As a Corporate Gold member, Celestica has shown support at every level of the association from supporting global and chapter leadership positions to technical contributions for conferences and committees. They embody the SMTA mission by encouraging employees to become members, attend meetings, and share their knowledge. Celestica is most deserving of this honor.

SMTA has recognized exceptional individual and corporate members for their immeasurable contributions to the association since 1994.