He was an engineer and loved electronics and technology. That passion helped fuel a career as a cable television pioneer in Southwest Missouri, and the co-founding in 1993 with Stan Searle of the “Small Cable Business Association.”
That association is now known as ACA Connects, and it is being joined by others across the cable TV industry in mourning the passing of Alvin “Dean” Peterson.
Peterson died on August 8, two days shy of his 81st birthday.
His family built and owned cable and radio systems across the Springfield, Mo., region, while also serving in an advocacy role in Washington, D.C., to help advance cable TV industry issues at the FCC and on Capitol Hill.
Peterson served as president of Southwest Missouri Cable TV in Carthage, Mo., until its sale in 1999. At that time, Peterson stepped down from the board of what had become the American Cable Association (ACA).
“Everyone at ACA Connects is deeply saddened to hear the news of Dean Petersen’s passing,” ACA Connects President/CEO Matthew Polka said. “ACA Connects simply would not be here today without Dean’s vision and wisdom.”
Peterson and Searle created the Small Cable Business Association to create a voice in Washington, D.C., for independent, smaller providers in reaction to passage of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 and the FCC’s implementation of the rules associated with the legislation.
Services were held August 12 at at Knell Mortuary in Carthage, Mo., with a private burial following a service.
