Message from the Executive Council
On behalf of the SBCA Executive Council, I would like to welcome our new members of the Board of Directors while at the same time thanking our past board members for their time and dedication. One of the primary goals for the SBCA in 2008 is to dramatically expand its membership base by offering increased benefits to every class of membership. By focusing on driving value to our members and continuing to expand the quality and reach of our certification programs, the SBCA will be better equipped to address the multitude of state and local licensing issues and help its members thrive and grow their businesses in the coming year.
The new Board of Directors brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. This group works in essentially every facet of the satellite industry and will be able to assist the SBCA in developing and implementing programs that will further benefit our members and our industry as a whole.
Please join me in welcoming the 2008 Board of Directors for the SBCA.
Sincerely,
Mary Davidson, DIRECTV
Meet the Board
Lori Kalani, DISH Network
Lori Kalani serves as Director of Government Affairs and Senior Corporate Counsel at DISH Network Corporation, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. In her current role, Ms. Kalani’s responsibilities cover a wide range of legal issues of importance to the company including internal corporate governance, compliance, and government affairs. Her government affairs portfolio encompasses the development and implementation of the Company’s public policy at the local, state and federal levels. As the primary advocate for DISH Network before state governmental organizations, Ms Kalani covers issues ranging from consumer protection to homeland security. Ms. Kalani also represents the company also on various Federal Communication Commission and industry committees.
Ms. Kalani joined DISH Network’s Washington, D.C. Government Affairs Office in 2002 and has served in several roles before her latest promotion in 2007 to Director of Government Affairs and Senior Corporate Counsel. Prior to joining DISH Network, Ms. Kalani worked at the Federal Communications Commission, first in the Office of Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy and later in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Ms. Kalani received her J.D. from George Mason University School of Law, her M.B.A. from the University of Nevada, and her B.S.B.A. from the University of Nevada. She is admitted to practice law in Virginia and Colorado.
Mary Davidson, DIRECTV
Mary Davidson is Senior Director of Business Operations for DIRECTV’s Field Operations department. In her current role, she primarily supports the development of DIRECTV’s Home Service Provider (HSP) installation network. As a member of the executive team Davidson’s focuses on all aspects of field operations including installations, service calls, equipment upgrades and new technology deployment. Since joining the company in 2005, she successfully managed the acquisition and deployment of the HSP networks installation fleet.
Prior to joining DIRECTV Davidson was COO and General Council for eonBusiness a search technology firm. From 1996-2003, she served a Director of Retail Services for EchoStar Communications. She received her J.D. from the University of Denver and is a member of the Colorado and Federal Bar Association along with a CPA and licensed real estate broker.
Vern Swedin, Pace Electronics
Vern Swedin was the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of a successful national ISP that was acquired by a public company. Mr. Swedin is the catalyst and leader of several organizations, and has an extensive business and entrepreneurial background. Mr. Swedin has also been a catalyst in the development of the direct broadcast satellite market, building an organization that encompasses thousands of dealer, system operator and private cable operator locations across the U.S. His leadership plays a key role in the growth of Pace Electronics, solidifying the organization’s ability to become one of the largest primary distribution points for DIRECTV satellite services. His role includes focusing on the development of new and existing vendor relationships, global distribution partnerships, long-term stakeholder communication and corporate leadership development.
Tom Haywood, Applied Instruments
Tom Haywood is the President and General Manager for Applied Instruments, Inc. As such, he is responsible for the day to day operations of the company. This includes overseeing production, materials purchasing, and technical support. Additionally, he is directly involved in the research, design, and development of new products relevant to advancing the industry.
Tom has worked in the telecommunications industry since 1996. Prior to this, he owned and operated a Design-Build firm that provided architectural design services and managed Land Development projects.
Justin Godsey, Hoteleguide
Justin Godsey has been in the Hospitality and Lodging Industry since early 2004. In addition to his role as President and Vice Chairman of HoteleGuide, he is a Director of HospitaliTV, LLC (HTV), a satellite and video on demand content provider for the hospitality industry, and The Local Attractions Channel, LLC, a travel-themed television channel with segments on local dining, shopping, real estate, art and night life throughout the Dallas area. Before his hospitality and television endeavors, Justin served 11 years in the US Army as a Non-Commissioned Officer in a variety of global communication, administrative and operational operations. His duties included WLAN, LAN and SLAN network design, as well as informational database design and implementation. Justin attended Central Texas College and the University of Maryland.
Tom Beaudreau, DirecTECH Holding Company
Tom Beaudreau is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of DirecTECH Holding Company, Inc. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s activity as one of the largest Home Service Providers in the DIRECTV HSP network. The company manages 31 locations, three call centers and has over 3,000 employees of which 2,500 are technicians. The company is responsible for supporting DIRECTV installation of new customers and upgrading and servicing existing customers. Tom joined DirecTECH in October, 2004.
G. Leroy Ehlers, Lincoln Technical Institute
Leroy Ehlers is the Director for Skilled Trades Product Development for Lincoln Educational Services. His primary responsibilities include the development and implementation of construction related skilled trades programs on LESC college campuses. LESC is a private career college corporation with approximately 40 campuses located throughout the United States. Almost 15 of these campuses contain Skilled Trades programs with the training of Electronic Systems Technicians on seven campuses. The design process consists of ensuring that program requirements meet industry standards and needs, meet regulatory and accreditation guidelines, and contain the facilities, instructional staff, and equipment to meet quality industry standards.
Dr. Ehlers has had extensive experience in public and private education as well as serving as a manager for the largest global heavy industrial construction contractor in the world. He has experience at all levels of public education from the high school, to the community college, and as an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama. His experience in industry took him too many parts of the world to establish performance and productivity improvement programs for skilled employees, supervisors, and managers. This role has also extended into varies workforce development initiatives for nonprofit, governmental, and professional agencies. Dr. Ehlers received his advanced degree in Industrial Education from the Ohio State University.
Ozzie Vilomar, LearnSatelliteDish
Ozzie Vilomar has been in a technical roll for over 22 years in which have involved diverse LAN and WAN Network implementations, project management, Satellite installations, sales and training. He brings new ideas that will enhanced and expand the independent trainer segment within the SBCA Organization. In addition Ozzie is one of our few bi-lingual trainers and has assisted the Association in translating of our education courses.
Greg Frasca, Sky Web
Greg joined SAT-Link Communications in 1993, a DBS firm, in Eatontown, NJ as the Vice President of Operations. He managed the installation of one of New Jersey’s first DIRECTV systems as a beta test for then RCA/Thompson.
When AT & T decided to enter the industry in 1996, the telecommunications giant actively recruited Mr. Frasca, Greg was largely responsible for the initial introduction of DBS technology to the company. Among his personal clients were Henry Kissinger and many of the CEO’s of the fortune 100 companies.
Subsequent to AT&T’s significant investment in acquiring the nation’s largest cable company at the time (TCI), the DBS program was shelved and Greg decided to leave to found Sky Web, Inc in late 1997. Sky Web, located in Central New Jersey is now the regional leader in the provisioning of Commercial Satellite systems and programming in the NJ/NY Metro market.
Highlighted Member Benefit - SBCA Savings Program
SBCA Member Savings Programs are money-saving resources that use the collective buying power of SBCA members to save money on many taken-for-granted indirect expenses. These include health insurance, office supplies, credit card processing, business insurance, shipping, collections, cell phone recycling and more than 25 other products and services. Normally a $200 annual membership, this is a FREE service to active SBCA members. The savings will often pay for your annual SBCA membership many times over.
By joining the group; you instantly have access to the buying power of the collective group which represents tens of thousands of employees and millions of dollars in spending clout.
Key areas where retailers are saving money through The Buying Group include:
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Office supplies
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Shipping
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Heath Insurance
You owe it to yourself and your company to take advantage of the savings provided by the SBCA through its affiliation with The Buying Group.
Register today at www.sbcasavings.com
Member Spotlight - Pro Brand International
Pro Brand International, Inc. has been committed to bringing quality products with a price and technology advantage to our customers for over 25 years. Pro Brand has continued to watch the market trends and progressed from analog to digital and now multi-band. Pro Brand offers a wide range of antennae, LNB/LNBFs & Eagle Aspen® accessories including grounding products, structured & category wire & coaxial cable Our relationships with the leading digital satellite providers in the U.S., Canadian & South American markets today benefit OEM customers and distributors alike as they are able to lead the marketplace with our innovative products. Our new Consumer Electronics & Energy Solutions division allows Pro Brand to diversify and expand in the CE arena. We have invested in technologies and put together a world-class team of design engineers and project managers. Pro Brand’s engineering and logistics teams coordinate with our overseas material suppliers and factory teams, allowing virtually seamless transition from design, prototyping and manufacturing. Over the years we have expanded our R&D capabilities, added in-house proto-typing capabilities and a wide range of testing equipment – allowing us to bring products into the market weeks faster than our competition.
Ultimately, Pro Brand has positioned itself as a Complete System Provider. PBI can offer you opportunities of expansion and growth to make you a leader in the communications marketplace today.
Want to have your company profiled in an upcoming newsletter? - click here
Tech Tips - Signal Meter
One of the most important tools that a professional installer carries is their signal meter. However, how many technicians understand all of the advanced features that their signal meter offers? Besides allowing the technician to properly align and peak a satellite dish a quality signal meter is also a critical tool when troubleshooting. Here are just a few of the features that a advanced signal meters can perform that will assist the technician in identifying a potential problem, measure voltage and current, identify shorts or a break in the line, view individual transponders, measure carrier to noise, generate DiSeqC commands and obtain a calibrated signal level in dBm.
Many technicians that I have spoken too recently are not using their signal meter to assist in the troubleshooting process, this can cause them to take additional time or resources to solve a problem. If you are going to invest the money in a high quality signal meter (which you should), for you or your technicians then it is also highly recommended that you learn about the advanced features they offer as this will save time and money. Some companies are now providing product training via DVD or their website, if you are unsure of which features your meter offers contact the manufacturer or the distributor you purchased it from.
If you are unsure of which meter you should be using go to the following website or contact your authorized distributor:
http://host.web-print-design.com/SBCA/site_files/signalmeter/engage.html
SBCA ON THE ROAD
SBCA will have a presence at some upcoming industry events. If you have any questions, comments or would like to stop by to discuss anything we encourage you to come by and visit with us. We will be at the following shows:
April 14-16
DIRECTV Dealer Revolution, Orlando FL
April 28-30
Broadband Properties,Dallas TX
May 16-18
DISH Network Team Summit,Nashville TN
June 25-27
Career College Association,Las Vegas NV
COMING SOON
Online Membership Manager (OMM)
OMM will provide SBCA members with access to a secured, password protected portion of the SBCA website. OMM will give you access to resources specific to your company. You will be able to:
- update your company profile
- view details specific to your
membership
- post jobs and search resumes
- check membership status
- pay dues online
- access to online benefits
- member feedback form
- & more
PRESS RELEASES
March 27, 2008 - SBCA Welcomes
DYNAFLEX
March 26, 2008 - SBCA Welcomes 2008
Board Members
March 19, 2008 - FCC MDU Ruling
Significant Opportunity for DBS
March 3, 2008 - SBCA Courses Receive
CEDIA Continuing Education Units
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