Bodio of LAN-TEL honored with 2020 NECA Coggeshall Award

West Newton, MA  On June 29, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) said that Joseph Bodio, CEO and founder of Lan-Tel Communications, Inc.was selected as the honoree of the association’s 2020 Coggeshall Award. The award, established in 1956, is presented annually to a NECA electrical contractor who has made outstanding contributions to the industry in the technical and service field.  

A past president, governor and now director of NECA Greater Boston Chapter, Bodio has dedicated much of his career to education and training.  He was a founding member of the Boston Chapter’s telecom division, served on the joint conference committee as a trustee from 2010 to 2012 and was also as an active member of the telecom training subcommittee for six years.  

“On the Training Committee, Joe was instrumental in the growth and enhancement of the Boston’s five-year JATC Telecommunications Apprenticeship Training Program,” said NECA Boston senior advisor and former executive manager, Glenn Kingsbury.

Bodio’s relationship with the Boston JATC telecom program began in the early 90’s when he, along with his lifelong friend and Local 103 member Paul Woods, assisted the administration with improving the newly founded telecom program. In the late 1990’s, Bodio was the instructor of the “Blueprints for Telecom,” course at the JATC, which has evolved to become the current “Systems Drawings & Specifications” course. In 2007, he participated in the JATC Telecom Curriculum Review Committee, which brought updated and emerging technologies into the telecom curriculum. Concurrently, the Review Committee was instrumental in bringing state-of-the-art improvements to the JATC’s telecom shop areas. 

In 2009, Joe’s helped establish the JATC’s Paul Woods Scholarship, which awards $500 annually to the outstanding telecom graduate. 

Most recently, Bodio has provided his leadership and expertise to the Systems Integration Task Force, created during the 2019 collective bargaining process, which was founded to determine the role of a systems’ integrator, its place in the telecom industry, and job classification within the union.

Nationally, Bodio currently serves on the NECA management development committee as the Chapter’s representative for ELECTRI-International, an organization that funds, conducts, coordinates and monitors the electrical industry’s most vital research and delivers exemplary management education and supervisory training programs.

Learning of the award, JATC Greater Boston training director Chris Sherlock said, “Joe Bodio has been a consistent leader in the training of our apprentices for the last 30 years.  His knowledge, and vision for future industry trends in technology, have greatly assisted the JATC in keeping the telecom training program ahead of the curve.” 

Sherlock said “Joe has always put the JATC program, our apprentices and the telecom industry first. He is true industry professional and it’s fitting that NECA has honored him with the Coggeshall Award for his outstanding contributions to the technical and training field. Joe always had his eye on the future of our industry and the JATC looks forward to our continued collaboration with him, in our mutual focus on the success of our training program.”

NECA Boston Chapter manager Kristen Gowin said, “In addition to his dedication to training and education, Joe has been a tireless advocate for updating and strengthening Massachusetts’ electrical and telecom system licensing laws to adapt to integration and include communications systems.” 

“It is an honor to be recognized by NECA and my peers for what to me is the most important thing we can do in our industry and many others... that is, to help provide a great education and opportunities for dedicated young professionals,” Bodio said.  He added, “I’ve been fortunate to be able work closely with leaders at the JATC, NECA and IBEW Local 103 to try to ensure we leave the industry better than we found it.” 

The Coggeshall Award will officially be presented during the NECA 2020 Live Convention and Trade Show, October 5 - 7 which will take place online, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.