Former long-time SDN Board President Bryan Roth loses fight with cancer

It’s hard to express the grief our industry has endured in 2022. We’ve lost some giants.

• Industry lobbyist Greg Dean in January
• Former SDN CEO Mark Shlanta in February
• SDN Board Member Rod Bowar in August

And now, on Labor Day, long-time SDN Board President Bryan Roth died. He had been battling cancer for years.

Roth served much of his career as general manager for TrioTel Communications in Salem. Near the end of his career he also managed ITC in Clear Lake. In total, he served on SDN’s board for 19 years, most of it as our president. Roth retired in 2021 to manage his health.

In his volunteer leadership role with SDN, he helped shepherd the company’s remarkable growth by encouraging:

• Investment in fiber optic expansion, resulting in a 50,000-mile fiber optic network.
• Building a data center as a secondary location for SDN but also build it large enough for other customers’ needs.
• Honoring our roots by always remembering SDN is a South Dakota created and owned company.

We will miss his enthusiasm, his humor, and his friendship.

Roth's obituary and funeral service details are available through the Kinzley Funeral Home website.