From Cable Installer to GM: Armstrong’s McGahagan Retires
NORTH LIMA, Ohio – It’s a good bet that Dan McGahagan slept in this morning. And don’t bother sending him an email.
Today is McGahagan’s first day of retirement, his nearly 45 years with Armstrong – 20 years as local general manager – celebrated this week by co-workers and top executives from the Armstrong Group headquarters in Butler, Pa.
Armstrong operates 15 cable “stores” in the five states where it provides broadband services. McGahagan was named GM of the Woodworth Road office here in 2004.
“Dan has been invaluable to the advancement of our Mahoning Valley system and has been one, if not THE best general manager Armstrong has ever had,” says Dru Sedwick, CEO of Armstrong Group.
McGahagan joined Armstrong in 1980, hired as a cable TV installer in the Austintown area, the first section of Mahoning County where Armstrong was wiring homes.
Within a year, “We were growing very fast,” McGahagan says, and he was promoted to supervisor. Four years later, he was named operations assistant manager. More duties and promotions followed.
The Armstrong Group is composed of six diverse companies that collectively employ more than 2,000. The company began in 1946, when Jud L. Sedwick founded Armstrong County Line Construction in Kittanning, Pa. His son, Jay Sedwick, transitioned the company into cable TV in 1963 and wired its first customers with coaxial cable in Butler, Pa.
The fledgling industry was called Community Antenna Television, or CATV, then; Armstrong offered 12 channels transmitted through coaxial cable.
“It was tough getting [TV] signals in Pennsylvania, where there are a lot of hills. That’s where CATV really flourished,” McGahagan says.
The Mahoning Valley, where the landscape is relatively flat, caught on later.
“Here people could get their antennas to work very well. They could get Youngstown, Cleveland, Akron and Pittsburgh channels,” he says. “But when their antennas started to fail, rather than spend money on new ones, they signed up for cable.”
Today, all but tiny pockets of Mahoning County are wired, “and we call ourselves a broadband company,” McGahagan says.
Yes, some customers are “cutting the cord,” dropping TV service. “But they’re opting for other video options. We’re growing in our internet services,” he says.
A total rebuild of Armstrong’s local system is underway, which the company calls the “network of the future. We’re replacing our fiber backbone coax system with state-of-the-art fiber into the home system,” he says.
“We want to make sure we have the best possible pipeline so we can provide the services of the future. And nobody knows what those products and services are going to be. We just know there are going to be more.”
McGahagan’s retirement “leaves a great hole to fill professionally for Armstrong,” says Greg Rhoton, community marketing and local programming manager. “Dan has not only been an incredible mentor and general manager, but he also served everyone’s needs individually and personally like no one else in my career.”
McGahagan will be succeeded by Matt Bell.
As for what’s next, McGahagan says, “Sleeping in, not answering emails, continuing my hobbies, some traveling and spending time with my grandchildren.”
Pictured at top: Dan McGahagan, surrounded by his co-workers, holds his retirement gift from Armstrong. From left are Daine Potochny, Mike Sammon, Dru Sedwich (CEO of The Armstrong Group), McGahagan, Jeff Ross, Luc Sedwick and Matt Bell, who is succeeding McGahagan.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
