The induction process begins each summer with a call for nominations for the CE Hall of Fame. Notices appear on the home page of CE.org, in CEA SmartBrief, our Digital Dialogue blog and CE Vision magazine. The nomination form can be submitted via the Web, fax or mail. Nominations also are accepted onsite at the CE Hall of Fame awards dinner. Nominations are submitted by manufacturers, retailers and journalists, and include the name of the person, the company, the date of invention or contribution and the significance to the industry.

When the nomination process concludes, CEA calls upon a panel of media and industry professionals to select the year's inductees. CEA would like to thank the following judges for their participation in the 2009 CE Hall of Fame: Jim Barry, Rob Calem, Henry Chiarelli, Richard Doherty, Peter Fannon, Brian Fenton, Bob Gerson, Joe Palenchar, Janet Pinkerton, Steve Smith, Herman Sperling, John Taylor and Jack Wayman.

The judges review the nominations and discuss the merits of each nominee. Narrowing down the list to the final group involves several rounds of voting. The nominees are voted in several categories: founders/inventors; sales and marketing executives; retailers; one journalist per year; and a special miscellaneous category. In the end, the nominees with the highest vote tallies are inducted in to the CE Hall of Fame with no more than 10 inductees per year. The number of individuals may be higher if one or more teams are inducted.

The new class is announced at CEA Washington Forum. In addition, inductees and their guests are invited to attend the CE Hall of Fame dinner at the CEA Industry Forum. Each inductee also receives a special award in honor of their contribution.