The Power Transmission Distributors Association said it has named Chris Bursack as the 32nd recipient of its Warren Pike Award for lifetime achievement in the power transmission/motion control industry.

He received the accolade during the PTDA 2023 Industry Summit on Oct. 20 in Amelia Island, Florida, the association said in a news release. The Warren Pike Award is given to “individuals who have demonstrated outstanding, continuous, long-term support of PTDA and the PT/MC industry and is only presented when an individual’s achievements merit this prestigious recognition,” PTDA said.

Bursack has spent most of his career in the PT/MC industry with ISC Companies, now a division of Weimer Bearing & Transmission.

“People don’t know we are here but what we do is vital for virtually every aspect of modern life,” Bursack said during the ceremony. “We work in the lumber industry—we house people. We work in the meat packing plant and the dairy—we feed people. We work in the pharmaceutical industry—we help people heal. We work in the printing industry—we help educate people. We work in the automotive industry—we transport people. To stand here today, as part of an industry as important as ours and to have my name listed with such an august group of leaders who have received the Warren Pike award, I am both incredibly honored and incredibly humbled.”

View his acceptance remarks here.

PTDA handed out several more awards during its Industry Summit:

The Wendy B. McDonald Woman of the Year Award was given to Sylvia Silveira. The award recognizes “a woman who has established herself as a critical contributor to her company’s success in the past year and has affected positive change on the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry at any level in her career,” according to PTDA.

“Silveria’s enthusiasm for the PT/MC industry is also reflected in her volunteer work on the PT WORK Force Education, Research and Knowledge committee,” PTDA said. “She’s also passionate in her continual quest to develop the knowledge and experience of her employees through mentoring, making Silveira a sought-out colleague.”

View her acceptance remarks here.

Alex Vitou received the Robert K. Callahan Advancing Leaders Award. Vitou currently serves as plant manager at Dodge’s Belton, South Carolina plant, a role he assumed in October 2022. He oversees the manufacturing of its standard duty gear boxes and is described by his industry peers as “an exceptional young professional whose accomplishments and progress are almost effortless,” PTDA said.

The award was established in 2021 in honor of past PTDA Foundation president and 25-year PTDA Foundation Trustee Bob Callahan in recognition of Bob’s commitment to the advancement of new talent within the PT/MC industry.

View his acceptance remarks here.