Replay of  Complete ICA Webcast That  Surprised Howard Neu With a Lifetime Achievement Award Now Online

Last week I told you about what was publicly announced to be an upcoming episode of the popular Ask Me Anything webcast series that the Internet Commerce Association (ICA) produces for the benefit of their members. The show with domain attorney and TRAFFIC conference co-founder Howard Neu and myself as the guests was held as scheduled on Thursday (January 4).

We were supposed to be there to answer questions on any topic from other ICA members on the call and we did that for the first 40 minutes of the one-hour webcast. However, everyone involved in the production and in the audience, was able to keep what would be happening in the final 20 minutes a secret from Howard. That is a miracle in itself because so many people were told about it in advance and no one broke confidence, including Howard's wife Barbara and son Ray (lifting my already high opinion of ICA members even higher)! 

The reason for the secrecy was a desire to surprise Howard while presenting him with a prestigious ICA Lifetime Achievement Award. No one has deserved one more. Howard has played a huge role in creating the flourishing global domain name industry we have today. From helping to build a true community by bringing people together face to face for conferences around the world to protecting their rights as one of the very first domain attorneys AND being a co-founder of the ICA (the non-profit organization that fights for domain owner rights), Howard has made the lives of everyone around him better.  

Howard Neu
ICA Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree

For that reason, the webcast screen switched to ICA General Counsel Zak Muscovitch with 20 minutes still to go. Zak told Howard he was being honored for his invaluable service to the industry and, fittingly, Barbara then presented him with the physical award on camera in a very emotional moment and it just continued to get better. The ICA had asked members to record a message of congratulations to Howard and they responded in droves. Though members were asked to keep their greeting to around 30 seconds, ICA Executive Director Kamila Sekiewicz wound up with almost a half hour of video to edit down to the 10-minute film shown during the webcast. What is nice is that all of the original comments are available online as is the 10-minute edit. 

But, as they say on late night TV, wait - there's more! The entire one-hour webcast was uploaded to YouTube this afternoon, so if you missed the show Thursday you can watch it now (below). I think you will find it rewarding and, in the final third, very emotionally moving as Howard and his family got to hear exactly how much he and they are appreciated by their friends and colleagues around the world. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed being there to help shine a light on someone who has brought so much light to our own lives.

(Posted January 8, 2024)  

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