Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011 - 14

REGIONAL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
David Servies
Mediacom
Ever since David Servies
took over a slew of Mediacom
systems that include
Florida's coastal region,
this Regional VP has
weathered the storm. Quite
literally, in fact. He joined
the MSO right after Hurricane
Ivan devastated the
coastline in 2004. Then,
just as Mediacom's systems
were starting to recover,
Hurricane Dennis hit
in 2005. And before Servies
could even take a breath,
Hurricane Katrina ravaged
the entire Gulf Coast and
flat-out destroyed some
150 miles of Mediacom's plant between
Alabama and Florida.
One area particularly hit hard was
That's David Servies on the top right with the green shirt... But he
wanted us to make sure to recognize the entire team at Mediacom's
Gulf Breeze regional office. To all those weathering the storms, we
salute you.
Waveland, MS. " Waveland continues
to rebuild their lives, but the cable
system as a whole probably took
about nine months start to finish due
to access to the area and getting to
homes that were finally becoming
occupied, " Servies recalls. Despite
the devastation, Servies worked with
corporate to turn tragedy into an opportunity
to rebuild it better, stronger
and faster, making Waveland
the first of 8 systems Mediacom
converted to all-digital that year. " I
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am extremely proud of the team of
people that worked with me during a
devastating disaster, " he says. " The
employees were courageous and
tireless during a tough time. " Lauding
the " hard work and dedication
of Dave and his team, " Mediacom
chmn/CEO Rocco Commisso says
" Dave's ability to manage through
difficult situations has been a tremendous
benefit to the communities
we serve. "
Interestingly, the last couple of
years have been relatively storm
free across the region, although the
BP oil spill created a different kind
July 2011
of storm-economic-
as the after effects hurt
tourism and many local
economies where Mediacom
customers reside. But
still, the relative calm in
recent months has given
Servies the opportunity
to concentrate on operational
efficiencies across
his systems-as well as
the ability to log a lot of
drive time on the highway
(Mostly day trips and overnights
he can make from
his central location in Gulf
Breeze, FL). Servies says
he and his staff are careful
not to jinx the recent good
fortune. " We don't even
like to say the word [storm] around
here, " he says.
Natural and man-made disasters
aside, Servies keeps plenty busy
on a day-to-day basis fending off
competition from satellite and AT&T
U-verse across the region, which
means that Mediacom works tirelessly
to maintain its infrastructure
and a high level of customer service.
" Don't forget that the customers
make your payroll, " he says. " In
today's competitive environment,
finding a big advantage is getting
tougher every day. " ■
-Michael Grebb
CableFAX: The Magazine
http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011

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