Amy Tykeson and Don Tykeson (1988 award recipient) first father and daughter to receive this prestigious award from the Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association
Twenty-three years after BendBroadband’s Don Tykeson received the William B. Smullin Presidential Award, his daughter and current BendBroadband president, CEO and chair, Amy Tykeson, has received the same honor from the Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association. The award recognizes entrepreneurial contributions to the Oregon cable industry.
“Amy Tykeson is a recognized leader both nationally and in the state of Oregon on telecommunications issues,” commented OCTA executive director Mike Dewey. “Amy continues to bring state-of-the-art technology to BendBroadband’s customers.”
Through investments in technology, organizational development and branding, Tykeson is carrying on the tradition her cable veteran father, Don Tykeson, set when he purchased the company in 1983. Throughout its history, BendBroadband has been nationally recognized as a leader in the cable industry due to its progressiveness with technology, including the 1997 launch of high-speed Internet, the 2008 conversion to an all-digital video platform and the 2009 rollout of HSPA+ wireless broadband over licensed spectrum to rural areas. In 2011, the company opened the Vault, the first colocation data center in the United States to receive the Uptime Institute’s Tier III certification for design and construction.
During her career, Tykeson has also received the CTAM Mark Award, the WICT Accolades Award, the Wonder Woman Award and the Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership, the cable industry’s highest honor. She was named Independent Cable Executive of the Year by Multichannel News in 2007 and CableFax Magazine in 2008. In 2010, Tykeson received the Edwin B. Parker Enduring Achievement Award at the Oregon Connections Telecommunications Conference.
Tykeson chairs the Rural Systems and Small Operators’ Committee as a member of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association Board of Directors. She serves on the Board of Directors for CableLabs and C-SPAN. Tykeson was inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers in 2008. In addition, she is a Trustee of the Tykeson Family Charitable Trust and a board member of Economic Development for Central Oregon. She is a Vistage International member and is involved on numerous local committees and lobbying efforts. Past experience includes the Young Presidents Organization; Vice Chairman of the Catlin Gabel School Board of Trustees; University of Oregon Alumni Association Board; and The Nature Conservancy Board of Trustees.
About The William B. Smullin Award
William B. Smullin was a communications pioneer, first in radio then in television then cable TV and microwave. He introduced commercial radio, television, and cable television to Southern Oregon and Northern California. Mr. Smullin founded and served as President of California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. (COBI), the oldest independent continuous broadcasting organization in the west for 63 years. Each year the Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association, through its Board of Directors, recognizes an outstanding leader in the cable industry. Named after the original recipient, William B. Smullin, the award honored his entrepreneurial contributions to the Oregon cable industry.
About BendBroadband
BendBroadband is a family-owned, local company serving Central Oregon since 1955. A leader in the cable and broadband sectors, the company offers an extensive range of broadband, cable and telephone services for commercial and residential customers. Central Oregon facilities include more than a thousand miles of fiber and coax infrastructure along with metropolitan optical Ethernet, T-1/PRI and hosted PBX services serving the business community.
BendBroadband offers multiple phone and high- speed Internet options with speeds up to 60 Mbps. BendBroadband operates one of the fastest wireless broadband networks in the nation, which covers an expanded Central Oregon footprint along with outdoor Wi-Fi. The company was among the first to be 100% digital and offers Video on Demand, digital video recorders, HDTV (with more than 100 HD channels) and a choice of interactive program guides.
BendBroadband focuses its corporate contributions and sponsorship efforts on youth, and by supporting an array of arts and entertainment in Central Oregon. In the community, BendBroadband provides extensive local sports, civic programming and local features created and produced by COTV, channel 11.
For more info, visit www.bendbroadband.com. The company recently opened the BendBroadband Vault, Tier III, LEED Gold-certified green colocation data center providing hosted storage for primary site and disaster recovery needs, equipment colocation and managed services. For more info about the Vault, please visit www.bendbroadbandvault.com.
