R.I.P. Edward Matthews, Visix Founder and Chairman
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
AV industry icon Edward D. Matthews III, the 73-year-old chairman and founder of Visix Inc., passed away in his sleep Feb. 15, 2016, at his home in Atlanta, Georgia.
For almost 50 years, Matthews has been a fixture in the AV industry, and been a key player as the industry has changed over the decades.
Matthews went into the Navy immediately after high school, where he learned that he had an aptitude for electronics. After receiving a degree in Electronics and attending Atlanta’s Southern Technical Institute, he started in AV as a service manager and worked in engineering sales back in 1967 for Ampex Video Company. Two years later, he moved to the Calhoun Company, which he later shepherded into becoming Technical Industries, Inc. – one the largest AV companies in the Southeast. While with them, Matthews led the team which designed and installed the International Broadcast Center (IBC) for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and was personally asked to repeat and expand this work for the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
When MCSi bought Technical Industries in 1999, Matthews became president of the Southeast Region for the parent company, and continued working on the Olympics. He was, again, key in the design and implementation of the IBC, as well as the Olympic Stadium and Superdome control rooms for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and worked with the Japan Olympic Consortium for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, creating the broadcast center all Japanese television crews used for the games. His work on the Olympics remained one of Matthews’ proudest achievements.
In 2004, he began running Tech Electronics Inc. which became Visix Inc. in 2006. Visix became a nationwide software development firm, and eventually Matthews’ son, Sean Matthews, became CEO and his daughter, Christy Greer, became CFO.
Matthews was always active in the industry, being involved with InfoComm since its beginning. In fact, he volunteered his time and expertise for the very first InfoComm CTS-Installation and CTS-Design certification committees, helping create the curriculum.
A dog lover, he was also very actively involved with the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals.
Our sympathies go out to his family, which also includes four grandchildren, as well as his friends, and Visix employees.
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