Lon safko

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Lawrence (Lon) Stephen Safko (born August 1, 1955) is an American Innovator, inventor, entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker. Safko is credited with the first commercialization of voice recognition, voice synthesizing, environmental control, HeadMouse, ToolTips (Balloon Help), Electronic Manuals, and the fully graphic operating system, which was the archetype for the first PDA, the Apple Newton and for pioneering the $5.3 billon Assistive Technology Industry. Lon has also been credited with creating the first “Computer To Save A Human Life”.

He is the author of “Gratuitous Serendipity” & “Life Is But A Dream” (iUniverse Publishing), “Build Your New House In No Time” (Que Publishing), and director of marketing & technical editor for “Launching Your Yahoo! Business”, and “Succeeding At Your Yahoo! Business” (Que Publishing) in partnership with Yahoo! (www.MyeCommerceSuccess.com). Lon is president of Innovative Thinking, L.L.C, (www.LonSafko.com), Paper Models, Inc., (www.PaperModels.Inc.com) and Better Homes Seminars (www.BetterHomesSeminars.com). Lon received his most recent patent on July 4, 2006 for “Distributing Paper Models Over The Internet".

Lon has 18 of his inventions as part of the permanent collection of the Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and more than 30,000 corporate records in the collection of Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center For The Study Of Invention & Innovation. Lon also has 14 more inventions residing in the collection of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

Lon is the recipient of the prestigious Westinghouse “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”, the Arizona Software Association’s “Entrepreneur of the Year, the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), “Edward L. Bernay’s, Mark of Excellence and “Best In Class Awards”, the Arizona Innovation Network’s “Innovator of the Year”, twice nominated Inc. Magazine / Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”, ACI-NA (Airports Council International, North America), “First Place for Creative Innovations Promotions in North America”, American Association of Port Authorities (A.A.P.A.) "Best in Class, for the Western Hemisphere".

Lon has been entered into The Cambridge “Who's Who Among Executives & Professionals” Historical Registry, The Empire “Who's Who Empowering Executives & Professionals”, Historical Registry, The Who's Who Online “Who's Who Online” Historical Registry, The Paragon Publications, “Who's Who Registry”, and The Who's Who International “International Who's Who Historical Society” Registry.

Lon has also been recognized by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs "Certificate of Appreciation” and has received The Phoenix Mayor's Council, "Distinguished Service Award", and The Phoenix Mayor's Office "Certificate of Appreciation".

Early Life and Education

Lon was born in Yonkers, New York to his parents Charles S. (career Yonkers policeman) and Elizabeth A. (housewife and mother) and moved to Ossining-on-the-Hudson, New York at age 6. He dropped out of high school at age of 17, but later at the age of 23, graduated with a New York State GED in the top 10% of the state. Lon went on to Westchester College where he graduated with an “Advanced Civil Technology” degree and later attended Hostra University, Pace University, and Mercy College where he worked on a minor in Computer Science. Lon went on to form one of the country’s first CAD (Computer Aided Design), companies Civil Consultants, after teaching himself to program. Lon created many of the first engineering software packages; including coordinate geometry, subdivision design, earthwork, highway & traffic design, hydrology & watershed analysis. His early software was widely used throughout the U.S. and also by the State of New York. While an engineer, he worked on projects such as the world headquarters of Exxon, PepsiCo, IBM, Texaco, General Foods, and designed the roads entering and exiting Dulles International Airport. Lon left New York in 1985 and moved to the Pacific Northwest, Kennewick, Washington where he met and married his wife Sherrie Elaine Safko in 1987, who brought to their marriage three children, Eric, Krista, and Tiffany. In 1987 while managing two Apple Computer stores, Lon was asked to work on a special project by the United States Department of Energy and the Westinghouse Electric Company. Lon became a member of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP), engineering team and his work there led to the development of one of another world’s first, an artificial intelligent computer system that could read 100’s of reports and determine if there were any potential trends regarding how nuclear materials were being manufactured and handled. Lon invented SoftVoice, the world’s first voice activated, environmental control, computer system for the physically disabled in 1985. In March of 1986, his computer system for the disabled saved the first of many patients’ lives. Apple Computer flew Lon to Cupertino, CA, where they made him a Certified Developer and purchased the system to place in their lobby museum with a plaque that read “The First Computer To Save A Human Life”. This led to the founding of Lon’s second company Safko International, Inc., more than ten years of research & development, the progression from SoftVoice to the SenSei System, 125 software copyrights, and the invention of more than 25 hardware peripherals that are serving the disabled community today. 1996 Lon left the disabled market and became the #2 director of Marketing & Public Relations for the Port of San Diego and the Public Information Officer for San Diego International airport. While at the Port of San Diego, Lon developed marketing concepts that won him the PRSA, ACI, and AAPA Awards. In 1999, Lon went on to form Paper Models, Inc., a company designed to provide corporate specialty advertising type products and inexpensive solutions to school projects throughout the United States over the Internet. This company provides paper models of the California Mission, Alamo, The Capital Building to mention only a few and can be purchased and distributed over the Internet. This idea led Lon to innovate the concept of V-E-Tailing (Virtual-Electronic-Retailing), for which he received his patent on July 4, 2006.

External Links

Lon S. Safko’s Web Site, [http//:www.LonSafko.com]

Thinking, L.L.C, [http//:www.InnovativeThinking.us]

Paper Models, Inc., [http//:www.PaperModels.Inc.com]

Better Homes Seminars [http//:www.BetterHomesSeminars.com]

Yahoo! Publishing Partnership, [http//:www.MyeCommerceSuccess.com]