“Without the heroic passion” shown by the event director of Olympia’s Media Production & Technology Show, said the judges, “it’s likely that to enjoy high-quality, world-class tradeshows, we here in the UK would have to travel to Amsterdam or Las Vegas”.

Mama Youth Project, which trains young people from under-represented backgrounds to succeed in the media industry, won the Community Improvement award. Over the past 12 years, the project has trained more than 520 people from schools, colleges and homeless refuges, as well as ex-offenders.

The Production/Craft award went to TV and web audio/visual specialist Jon Pratchett. The judges said: “Jon’s knowledge is second to none. With a positive ‘can-do’ attitude, [he is] someone you have to have on your team.”

The Thames Valley Young Technologist prize was awarded to Techex technical consultant Mark Couto, who was described as having “a thirst for learning and an amazing enthusiasm for getting to grips with modern technology”.

Tradefair won the award for Best Contribution in a Technology Support Role. For three decades, it has managed broadcast shows globally in partnership with the Department for International Trade and TechUK.

“Our mission was to reach out to a much wider audience and we were completely amazed by the number and quality of applications for this year’s RTS Thames Valley Awards,” said centre Chair Tony Orme.

“We have clearly demonstrated we are engaging an audience well beyond our traditional broadcast manufacturing roots.”

The awards were presented at RTS Thames Valley’s winter ball, which was held at the De Vere Wokefield Estate hotel, Reading.