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10 A HOTEL/GAMING Terry Trough Corporate Telecommunications Administrator Cannery Casino Resorts Fixing what's broken comes naturally to Terry Trough, who started out more than three decades ago, at the age of 17, installing telephones for Ohio Bell. He was the company's youngest installer at the time. By the end of 2010, he had saved Cannery Casinos more than $240,000 in one year, as corporate telecommunications administrator. Trough said that a highlight of his career has been participating in the evolution of communications from analog to digital and Internet. But some things remain the same. "Having a strong background in traditional systems helped me to diagnose all kinds of problems," he says. "The basic structure remains the same. It's the enhancements around it that change." Yet, when he arrived at Cannery Casinos in 2009, even he was "taken aback" at what went on behind the scenes in the gaming industry–and what could go wrong. Telecommunications determines whether housekeeping can service rooms efficiently. It also impacts the auditing system, and therefore whether a resort charges guests properly for rooms. For guests, it affects most matters of business, pleasure and family. It makes the difference between having a pleasant or terrible experience with online check in and check out. And, having access to good Internet services in their room affects many guests' opinions of their stay. In the course of one year, Trough negotiated and renegotiated contracts for services such as audio conferencing, put cable bills in order, terminated unused services and restructured bills. Plus, he focused on creating proper backup and working circuits in case systems went down. Whether converting cell phone service, simplifying the bill payment process to save labor hours, setting up communications for the entertainment, or collaborating with CenturyLink on Ethernet circuits for better bandwidth, Trough improved the quality of life at Cannery Casinos, and did it while cutting costs. The average number of trouble tickets per week has dropped from approximately 45 to 10. He'd impacted Cannery, Eastside Cannery, Rampart Casino, corporate headquarters and operations in Pennsylvania. "Staff knew they could focus on running the hotel instead of wondering how many customer credits they'd have to issue for things that went wrong," he says. As for the ongoing evolution of telecommunications, Trough considers himself a life-long learner with a penchant for self-teaching, as well as for teaching others. He continues to play with new technologies, and keeps up with "who's buying who." The demand for speed and connectivity is never satiated. But Trough sees that as a positive that drives breakthroughs in the worlds of finance, gaming and medicine–or simply in the act of tracking down old friends. "If you'd have told me at the beginning that half of this stuff would come about, I'd never have believed you," he marvels. "I used to say, I'll never have a cell phone. Why would you want a phone all the time?' Now I have a Droid 3." His current consulting business involves VoIP and SIP Trunking, and impacts Wall Street. It underscores his belief that he's in "one of the most fascinating professions in the world." — Gina Rose DiGiovanna LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Troy Wade Chairman of the Board Atomic Testing Museum A Lifetime Achievement Award for Troy Wade isn't very hard to justify. "I'm honored to be considered a 'leading light' in the field," Wade admits. "I think that's come about because I've been involved in the Nevada Test Site for 50 years, which certainly has been the leading-edge of technology as far as this country's defense was concerned." Well, that's part of it. Wade's entire adult life has been spent working at the highest levels of technology, advising U.S. Presidents and utilizing his expertise with a number of large high-tech companies. He was previously President of AWC, a Lockheed company, and of the International Disarmament Corp., and has served on the boards of S.M. Stoller Corp., ABB Government Services, MACTEC , and Design Engineering Associates. During his 31 years of service with the U.S. Department of Energy, Wade served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Programs after a succession of key positions associated with the nation's nuclear programs. He also served as Deputy Manager of the Nevada Operations Office, and as Director of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. He is a past member of the Secretary of the Energy‚ DOE Openness Advisory Panel, and of the Secretary of Energy‚ DOE Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Facilities. He was integral to the operation of the Nevada Test Site, used today for First Responder Training, Defense Training, and other technology related industries, such as aerospace and the military. In addition to his membership as a Trustee of the DRI Foundation, Wade is a member of the Board of Directors of WSI; a member of the board of directors of Global Technologies; Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Nuclear Security Technologies; and a member of the Advisory Board of the UNLV Howard Hughes School of Engineering. He also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Nevada Alliance for Defense, Energy, and Business, a group of more than 20 technology companies that support the Nevada Test Site and help bring new science and technology programs to the state. Wade is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive for DOE, the Secretary of Energy‚ DOE Medal and the DRI Presidential Medal. Among the projects with which he is currently involved through the Alliance is the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, which was to be a deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other high level radioactive waste. Funding for development was terminated effective with the 2011 federal budget passed by Congress on April 14 of this year. There are, Wade says, "some very large facilities there that the Alliance is helping to find other uses for. "The alliance is also involved in helping UNLV with its new accelerator center, part of the Harry Reid Center. And it was involved in the establishment of and discussions about one of the big solar arrays down in El Dorado Valley." Not surprisingly, Wade has his eyes set squarely on the future. "It's hard to attract high-technology businesses to come to Las Vegas if you don't have a strong educational system," he laments. "I'm very interested in making sure that the university system and UNLV in particular prosper and becomes a research university, and I'm very interested in diversifying this economy after having lived here all these years." As if all that were not enough Wade, a Las Vegas resident for 53 years, now heads up his own management consulting firm, too. As he notes dryly, "My wife will tell you that I have miserably failed retirement." — Howard Riell