Technology changed significantly during his time as general manager. The current technology landscape has little resemblance to what existed in the late 1980s. Yet one common theme regularly occurred throughout the years: Don was always analyzing new service possibilities, and the company was typically among the first to offer a new service.
In 1989, a landline telephone appeared in every home, long distance calling plans were popular, and cable TV was still a relatively new product. Then in the mid to late 1990s, the company was one of the first in the state to begin offering Internet service. While it seems hard to imagine now, offering Internet service wasn’t seen as a sure thing by some in the industry. Don decided the service was worth offering to customers, so the cooperative jumped in with both feet and began connecting customers to the world over a 56K dial-up connection. While Internet usage was still relatively low in 2001, Don saw a future in the product, and the cooperative upgraded equipment so it could offer faster speeds over DSL.
Only a few years later, Don began pursuing the option of replacing the cooperative’s entire network with fiber optics. In 2005, Alliance started a nine-year, $66 million project to bring fiber-optic connectivity to every customer in its market. Fiber dramatically transformed the services Alliance could offer then and well into the future. Back then, people wondered who would ever need an Internet speed faster than 10 Mbps. However, Don saw the need to invest in a future-proof technology so the cooperative could continue meeting customers’ needs for decades. Alliance was one of the first cooperatives in the state to have a 100 percent fiber-optic network.
Today, the cooperative and its members are still benefiting from Don’s leadership. His decisions throughout his tenure positioned Alliance to tackle a complex and ever-changing industry with confidence and security.
Don never lost sight of Alliance’s true purpose: providing reliable services to customers at a fair price. Thanks to his leadership, the cooperative principles were deeply engrained throughout Alliance’s company culture. He made sure employees knew the importance of adhering to those principles.
During meetings, he regularly asked “How do we best serve the customer?” From that point, all other decisions fell into place. He led through integrity and was very well-respected by his peers. He was a no nonsense leader and a straight shooter, yet he was humble.
He made smart business partnerships that helped Alliance pay for technological advancements. This meant Alliance’s customers could enjoy the latest technology without bearing the financial burden.
Customers also enjoyed the benefits of these smart partnerships in their capital credits checks. Throughout Don’s years, the cooperative was very aggressive in paying out capital credits. He believed that any surplus revenue should be returned to customers, and he championed an effort to ensure newer customers also received capital credits, not just those who had been customers for several years.
Don worked for Alliance for 36 years. During that time, he served on the SDTA Board of Directors, the Brandon Development Foundation, and the Garretson Industrial Development Corporation. His involvement with the development organizations brought new businesses to the area, which increased employment opportunities for the cooperative’s members and generated new tax revenue.
Don was instrumental in improving statewide connectivity through his involvement on the SDN Board of Directors. He joined the board in 1993 and served until his retirement in 2015. SDN’s formation made it possible to connect the state’s telecommunications cooperatives to each other and the world. Today, the company ensures the state’s most rural customers have access to cutting-edge technology.
One of the cooperative’s seven principles is concern for community. Don effortlessly embodied this principle through his interactions with community members and employees.
Customers and employees respected Don because he was an integral part of the community as a whole. He spearheaded many causes that have made area communities a better place to live. Garretson baseball players, for example, have access to one of the best fields in the state as a result of Don’s involvement with the baseball association. He helped raise funds to add a new concession stand, score board, fencing, storage shed and below ground dugouts. He also volunteers multiple hours a week keeping the field and its surroundings in pristine condition.
Don has been on the golf board for a few years because of his love for the sport. He additionally has dedicated many hours to helping the golf course fill in its old bunkers along with making new ones.
Even in retirement, he championed an aggressive plan to build a new daycare complex in Garretson, which was experiencing an extensive childcare shortage. Over the past few years, Don spent countless hours helping to secure funding for a new daycare facility along with searching for opportunities to trim costs from the total bill.
Additionally, Don built strong relationships within the Alliance community itself, which made him a leader that was easy to follow. Whether engaging in small talk at the office or publicly addressing employees during company gatherings, he had a genuine interest in the people he was leading. He knew his employees well, along with their spouses and children. He went above and beyond by attending funerals, graduations and weddings for employees and their family members. Employees knew they were fortunate to work for the cooperative because it felt like one large family.
