AGEM announces memorial awards in honor of Jens Halle and Peter Mead

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) announced today the creation of the Jens Halle Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism and the Peter Mead Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Gaming Media & Communications to acknowledge their lasting impacts on the gaming industry following their unexpected deaths earlier this year.

Halle, a longtime Bally and Novomatic executive in Europe who was most recently CEO of Gauselmann Group’s Merkur Gaming based in Florida, died suddenly on May 20, 2015 at the age of 57.

Mead, the founder and publisher of Casino Enterprise Management magazine, died suddenly in Las Vegas on June 24, 2015 at the age of 54.

The first Jens Halle Memorial Award will be presented to Halle’s widow, Marietta, and son, Jordi, prior to this year’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E). In subsequent years, AGEM will create a nominating panel to recognize one individual annually who best represents the personal values and professional commitment that Halle was well-known for in gaming jurisdictions around world.

The first Peter Mead Memorial Award will be presented to Mead’s mother, Solveig Berg, prior to G2E, and in subsequent years to a deserving individual who will come from a qualified pool of gaming journalists or company communications professionals.

“It’s tragic to have lost two bright lights so suddenly in such a short amount of time, and AGEM is honored to play a role in recognizing Jens and Peter annually during G2E time when they both enjoyed the global gathering of the gaming industry,” said Marcus Prater, Executive Director of AGEM. “They can never be replaced, but we look forward to honoring worthy award winners in future years to pay tribute to the tremendous impact they made during their time with us.”