NASIC member wins ICy award

A National Air and Space Intelligence Center member took home top honors at the Intelligence Community Media Excellence Awards, or ICy Awards, held at the National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia, March 17.

Justin Weisbarth, a contractor from Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation, won the three of the top four spots in the 3-D Animation & Modeling category. Weisbarth is one of five members of NASIC’s Threat Visualization team – a mix of civilians and contractors.

The ICy awards recognize outstanding visual media produced in support of the national security mission. Established in 2007 and launched in 2008, the ICy Awards showcase the role media plays in the work of the intelligence and defense communities. The awards are sponsored by Interagency Visual Media Group.

Weisbarth has been named a finalist in the past, but this is the first year he took the top spot.

“The first thing that ran through my head was shock that all three of my submissions were finalists in the category,” he said.

Weisbarth went up against 75 other offices from several agencies including The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office. Out of the 430 entries in 18 categories, 51 were named as finalists.

“Deep inside, every artist wants to believe that their work can make the cut, but to actually see it happen was a bit of a surprise,” Weisbarth said. “It was an excellent feeling of accomplishment and a personal relief to know that the long hours creating the visuals were well spent.”

Those long hours were recognized by not only the ICy Awards, but by the Threat Visualization leadership as well.

“This award exemplifies what the Threat Visualization team sets out to achieve every day,” said Brian Niswander, division chief of the Special Missions Division. “NASIC's threat visualizations are premier products that are invaluable in delivering finished intelligence to the customer.”

The Threat Visualization team is comprised of five people: civilians Steve Vanzant and Greg Sundra, and contractors Justin Weisbarth, Lisa Schreiber, and Arthur Luke III of Ball Aerospace Technology Corporation.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is not an Air Force or Department of Defense endorsement of any non-federal entity.)