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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - 09-22-2005 -- Ecast
Inc., a leading software provider for digital jukeboxes, presented the  Mark
Balint Memorial Award to a respected member of the operator community. The award
commemorates the one-year anniversary of Mark Balint's passing and honors his
memory by celebrating a member of the operator community who exemplifies the
traits Mark was known for: vision, dedication and honor.
Balint was an operator with over 30 years of experience in coin-op and 16
years as the head of Coastal Vending. In 2000, he became one of the first Ecast
customers in the country. He foresaw the impact that downloading music would
have on the coin-operated industry and was a driving force in helping put
Ecast's name and products on the map.
"Mark's presence in the industry helped make it what it is today," said
Ecast's East Coast Account Manager Jason Gottlieb. "He was truly a visionary --
he was a brilliant business person and a great friend. His absence is still felt
today."
Steven Kellam, Ecast Director of Sales, presented the award at the Amusement
and Music Operators (AMOA) International Expo in Las Vegas on Sept. 14th. The
first recipient was Dave Ruthruff, who runs Digital Music in Seattle. "It is
Dave's dedication to his customers and the industry that exemplifies Mark's
personality and spirit," said Steven Kellam, Ecast's Director of Sales. "Dave is
clearly the first choice for this award."
In addition to the memorial award, Ecast is providing personalized technical
training for a Digital Music employee and donating $1000 to the victims of the
Katrina Hurricane on Dave Ruthruff's behalf.
The idea for providing training to the award winner was suggested by Balint's
family and co-workers. They recalled Mark's concerns about the shrinking
availability of properly trained technicians in the coin-op industry.
ABOUT ECAST
Ecast delivers music and advertising to consumers in bars and restaurants
through a network of over 4,200 broadband-enabled digital jukeboxes. All
Ecast-powered jukeboxes allow patrons to choose among a massive catalog of song
selections from the major record labels and many popular independent labels.
Ecast (http://www.ecastinc.com) is
privately owned with offices in San Francisco. Visit Ecast's pressroom: http://www.ipressroom.com/pr/ecast/info/.
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