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ETA Announces the Technician and Educator of the Year for 2025

(Greencastle, Indiana) March 27, 2026: To congratulate the hard work that educators and technicians do each day, ETA^® International awards one technician and one educator each year who has proven their excellence to their peers. ETA members have the opportunity to nominate their peers and colleagues for this prestigious award. ETA sincerely thanks these professionals and recognizes their dedication and enthusiasm for electronics-related technologies, and their willingness to share their expertise with other technicians and students to improve their industry.

2025 Technician of the Year - Stephen P. McConnell, CESsr

Since entering the wireless communications industry in 2011, Stephen McConnell has built a career grounded in technical excellence, field credibility, and trust. He began at Glentel, then Canada’s largest Motorola dealer, where an administrative role quickly evolved into an apprenticeship as a Communications Technician. With a young family at home, Stephen embraced a “learn while you earn” path that shaped his hands-on approach.

Known for solving complex problems across platforms and technologies, Stephen developed a strong foundation in electronics, programming, repair, and system configuration. In 2016, he completed the four-year Communications Technician program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and was recognized as Alberta’s top apprentice for both academic and industry achievement.

Stephen later earned his CESa certification through ETA and was named an IWCE Young Professional. He joined Westcan Advanced Communications Solutions, supporting one of North America’s largest P25 public safety radio systems for the Government of Alberta, along with mission-critical deployments in remote regions.

Promoted to Director of Service in 2023, Stephen now leads six service teams across British Columbia and Alberta, while remaining committed to mentoring technicians and ensuring systems perform when people depend on them most.

Outside of work, Stephen is a devoted husband and father, an Amateur Radio operator (VA6SPM), and an outdoorsman in the Canadian North.

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2025 Educator of the Year - Keith Van Wemmer, FOT-OSP, OTS

With more than 30 years in telecommunications engineering, Keith brings deep expertise in fiber‑optic transport systems, advanced test methodologies, and standards‑based network validation. His technical background spans Ethernet, SONET, and OTN architectures, as well as copper‑based broadband technologies including ADSL2+ and VDSL2.

Keith’s career—from field technician to General Manager and Senior Director of Engineering for a Tier 1 fiber provider, and later a consultant to Tier 1 and Tier 2 service providers—has given him a comprehensive, operations‑driven understanding of large‑scale network deployment, testing, and maintenance. In 2013, he founded VanTek Consulting, LLC, expanding his work into specialized testing, documentation, training, and engineering support for service providers and contractors.

In 2017, Keith joined the Electronics Technicians Association International (ETA), enabling VanTek Consulting, LLC to offer ETA certification testing for technical professionals and further aligning his work with industry‑recognized standards. This affiliation strengthened his focus on ITU‑T, IEEE, TIA, NEC, NESC, and Telcordia‑compliant methodologies for fiber installation, characterization, transport validation, and field‑ready testing procedures.

About ETA: Founded in 1978 by electronics technicians, ETA^® International is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) association whose mission is to represent and support the technical professional. ETA offers over 80 accredited, vendor-neutral certification programs in a variety of technology fields such as fiber optics, communications, electronics, biomedical, smart home, and renewable energy. ETA aligns with the ISO 17024 standard, vocational and education curriculums, and businesses’ resource initiatives through certification programs, conferences, and publications. For more information, please visit www.etai.org.