26 May Dave Sabala
Retiring in June, 2015, Dave Sabala worked for Douglas Electric Cooperative, Roseburg, Oregon starting as Director of Member Services in 1978. He became GM in 1989. He graduated from Oregon State University majoring in Business and is a graduate of the National Rural Electric Cooperative’s Management Intern Program at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
In addition to being the lead person to create Douglas Fast Net (DFN), Douglas Electric Cooperative’s wholly-owned telecommunications subsidiary, Dave was instrumental in the formation of NoaNet Oregon, now LS Networks, a regional interexchange carrier headquartered in Portland, Oregon. He also represented DFN as a founding member of Eastern Oregon Telecom (EOT), a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) headquartered in Hermiston, Oregon.
Dave was named the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s First Citizen for community service in 2001. He was awarded the Edwin G. Parker Enduring Achievement Award – Oregon’s Telecom Hall of Fame – in 2014.
Dave is currently a member of the governor-appointed Oregon Broadband Advisory Council. OBAC was created by the Oregon Legislature to report and advise them on the progress of broadband in Oregon. In addition, Dave is a member of the Utilities Technology Council’s Utility Broadband Council. He consulted for the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association on HB 2654 Broadband Easements that was recently passed into law in Oregon.
