Former president of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) Tom Nieman was announced as the recipient of the 2019 Jens Halle Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism at this year’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E).
AGEM has also recognized the work of Dave Palermo, who will receive the 2019 Peter Mead Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Gaming Media & Communications.
The two awards have been created to recognize the gaming legacies of two industry veterans, Jens Halle and Peter Mead. Halle served as a Bally and Novomatic executive, is well as the CEO of Gauselmann Group’s Merkur Gaming based in Florida. While Mead was the founder and publisher of Casino Enterprise Management magazine.
After a 47-year career in the industry, Nieman played a pivotal role in the development of the US lottery industry, as well as holding senior positions at Bally Manufacturing and JCM Global.
Nieman also served as AGEM President 2017-19, and for the past 15 years was the driving force behind the annual AGEM-AGA Golf Classic that has raised more than $2 million for the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG).
“It’s hard to fathom a career in gaming that began in 1972 and yet Tom Nieman helped shape our industry not simply through a half century of working, but more importantly by being innovative, creative, humble and generous,” said Luke Orchard, President of AGEM.
“Tom and Jens crossed paths many times, and like Jens, Tom has traveled the world, shaking hands and spreading his positive energy while moving business forward and representing the supplier sector with integrity and vision.
“It is my honor to succeed Tom as AGEM President and we hope this memorial award will serve as a reminder of his legacy in gaming as he moves into a well-deserved retirement and hopefully more time focused on grandchildren, golf and Michigan football.”
Palermo worked for 13 newspapers during his 33 year-long career, having become recognized as the preeminent reporter on Native American gaming issues. Palermo’s work strongly focused on Native American sovereignty, history and social problems and programs, with an emphasis on assisting tribal communities progress in a positive direction.
“Dave was certainly one of a kind and his gruff exterior could clash with his soft side, but the dedication to both his craft and Native American issues overall was evident to all who followed his work,” said Marcus Prater, Executive Director of AGEM.
“We let the nominating criteria guide the selection of these AGEM Memorial Awards, and when you see the Peter Mead trait of ‘taking risks and questioning the status quo,’ that’s exactly what Dave did when it came to advocacy for tribal issues and where gaming intersected with those issues.
“It’s very sad Dave chose to leave us early and we will miss him and his unique insight, but his legacy lives on through his stories and the impact they made and now through this award as well.”
