Behind the Board
A Conversation with Derrick Bulawa, CEO
October 2026
Each month, the Beacon introduces you to the people who guide the cooperative you own. Over the past year, you’ve met every member of BEK Communications Cooperative’s Board of Directors. This month, we’re introducing someone new: BEK’s CEO, Derrick Bulawa.
That technical foundation led to a career spent solving communications problems in some of the most demanding environments imaginable. Derrick has worked in satellite ground station engineering and operations, cellular systems design and operation, and television station design and operation, and he’s built fiber network service businesses along the way. His work has taken him well beyond rural North Dakota; he has delivered communications technology into some of the most underdeveloped parts of the world, helped developing countries solve their own communications challenges, and even brought American television programming to 53 countries across Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Derrick and his wife Brenda have three children, all of whom live in North Dakota, along with nine grandchildren.
He joined BEK in January 2006 and has now served as CEO for 20 years, guiding the cooperative through two decades of growth and technological change.
Ask Derrick what he likes most about the job, and the answer comes quickly: bringing advanced communications services and technology to our rural communities. It’s the same mission that has driven BEK since its founding — and, after a career spent connecting some of the hardest-to-reach places in the world, it’s one Derrick knows well.
More stories in this Issue
BEK TV Brings Home 3 Wins This Year
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Message from the CEO
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Behind the Board
October 2026
75 Years, Five Ways to Celebrate!
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October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
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A Seasonal Reminder
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