Home Entertainment for America’s Heroes: Crestron Eagles Program

Crestron introduces its new Eagles Program, an initiative that donates state-of-the-art home theater systems to military hospitals. The Eagles Program was conceived by George Feldstein, Crestron President, to provide comfort and entertainment for wounded service men and women returning from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first two hospitals to receive home theaters from Crestron with support from several partners are Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital in Washington, D.C. and The Wounded Warriors Battalion East at Camp Lejeune in Charlotte, NC.

While visiting Walter Reed and Camp Lejeune, Crestron National Government Sales Manager and Retired U.S. Marine, Pete Baca, was impressed by the optimism and determination of the wounded soldiers and Marines. When they were not in physical therapy working hard to recover, they passed time in the lounge or recreation room which provided few amenities or comfort. Learning of the basic conditions in the lounges for these heroes and their families, Mr. Feldstein was immediately motivated to take action.

“I believe that every company in the private sector should do whatever they can to support and honor the men and women who have selflessly sacrificed so much to defend our country,” said Mr. Feldstein.

Crestron is donating Adagio Media Systems for control and digital video and surround sound processing; TPMC-8X WiFi touchpanels including docking stations and wireless gateways; and 52-inch HD plasmas. Crestron also reached out to partners LG Electronics for Blu-Ray players; Velodyne subwoofers; Triad speakers; and Marshall Furniture for custom designed cabinets.

Crestron Authorized Independent Programmer, Kevin Busza, of ICD Systems is donating his time and expertise to program the systems and touchpanels. Crestron also received enthusiastic support from Tom Corzine of Audio Video Innovations (AVI) and Jose Rodriguez of Dal-Media to install the first two theaters. AVI in Charlotte, NC is donating the infrastructure and installation for the Camp Lejeune Theater and Dal-Media of Phoenix, AZ is installing the home theater at Walter Reed.

The Crestron Eagles Program was inspired by the ELF Foundation, which donates home theaters to Children’s Hospitals, for which Mr. Feldstein was awarded the 2006 Volunteer of the Year. “We are grateful to all our partners who gave so generously,” said Feldstein. “We strongly urge everyone to support our troops who give so much for us.” For more information about the Crestron Eagle Program contact Jeff Singer at jsinger@crestron.com.