Rich Handley
I’ve known Edson Perin a long time now. I’m not even sure how many years it’s been, but I consider him a valuable colleague and friend. So when I found out that AIM (Advancing Identification Matters), a global industry association that connects, standardizes and advances automatic-identification technologies, had honored Ed with a prestigious award, I could not have been happier (see Edson Perin Wins AIM’s International Award).
Edson Perin is the editor of IoP Journal, a publication focused on smart packaging (the “IoP” stands for “Internet of Packaging”), but before that he was a vital member of the RFID Journal team, as he’d headed up the now-defunct Portuguese-language publication RFID Journal Brasil for many years. The closure of RFID Journal Brasil thankfully did not stop us from working together, as Ed and I have since continued to share content between RFID Journal and IoP Journal on a regular basis, to the benefit of both websites.
As evidenced by the many articles he’s written for RFID Journal and IoP Journal, Edson has a keen understanding of radio frequency identification, packaging, auto-ID and the Internet of Things. His expert perspective on the industry from the standpoint of Brazil, a country in which companies have been increasingly embracing such technologies, has allowed us to expand our coverage area and keep readers apprised of important happenings in his part of the world that we might otherwise have overlooked.
More importantly, though, Ed is a good guy—personable, friendly, helpful and supportive, with a great sense of humor. In fact, when I mentioned to him a few years ago that I needed to have some old Portuguese-language comic books translated into English for a side gig I was doing at the time (editing Eaglemoss’s Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection hardcover books), Ed happily offered not only to translate those stories, but to even track them down for me in his country, even though he himself was not a collector. If that’s not an example of going above and beyond, I don’t know what is.
I consider it a privilege to have been able to work alongside Edson Perin all these years, and I’m gratified that AIM has recognized his value to the world of RFID, packaging and automatic identification. The association honored Ed yesterday in an online ceremony, during which he received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award for his work in the dissemination of RFID technology throughout Brazil and worldwide, and you can view the video here.
AIM’s Marcos Honda nominated Ed for the award, and during his acceptance speech he thanked RFID Journal, particularly founder and former editor Mark Roberti. I am confident that I speak not only for Mark, but also for reporter Claire Swedberg, events director Debbie Hughes, sales director Alan McIntosh and the rest of the RFID Journal team when I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Edson for this momentous and well-deserved achievement. Well done, my friend. Well done, indeed.
Rich Handley has been the managing editor of RFID Journal since 2005.
