On Wednesday, June 8th, 2016, Denny Nincehelser will
retire from State Government and the Bureau of Information and
Telecommunications.
Denny began working for the State of South Dakota 40+ years
ago initially as a Management Analyst for the Telecommunications Division within
the Bureau of Administration. Denny lightheartedly recalled, “When I was hired in Telecommunications in
1975, I doubled the staff from 1 person to 2.”
A decade of perseverance and hard work, including a series
of promotions earned Denny the role of Director of the Division of
Telecommunications in 1985. Through all
of the political, administration, and technology changes, and a few
organizational name changes, Denny has held the titles of Director and “Chief” for
the last 31 years!
When Denny first started, all telephone products and services
were monopolized by Bell Telephone, aka “Ma Bell”. In 1984, United States District Court Judge Harold
Greene presided over the antitrust suit that broke up the monopoly of the
telecommunications industry. The new companies, referred to colloquially as
“Baby Bells,” allowed for telephone services to be provided locally. Denny went
on to explain “The breakup opened up room
for competition in the telecommunications industry, which was not previously
there. This got the ball rolling into what we have today, which are numerous
options for technology systems and services from a whole host of vendors.”
When asked about his most memorable moments while working at
BIT, Denny explained that one of the first times he met William Janklow, the
Governor at the time, was when the management team from BIT was being
introduced at a transition meeting. Denny illustrated, “Janklow started off the meeting by saying ‘These are the IT folks. They
may be bozos, but they are my bozos now.” Another memorable moment for
Denny was during a meeting with the Governor’s Chief of Staff. When confronted
with a delicate question regarding a participant in the meeting, Denny wittily
replied “Do I get a get out of jail free
card if I answer?” The Chief of Staff smiled and responded “Yes, of course.” To this day, Denny
still isn’t sure that the answer he provided was the desired response, but it
was the truth!
Denny will miss the people he has worked with and the great
friendships he has developed over the years. Although leaving BIT will be
bittersweet, Denny is grateful for the lessons he has learned along the way. He explained, “Working at BIT has taught me to have a great sense of humor and to
never say ‘that can’t happen,’ because it can. Every day was an adventure and no two days
were the same. You never knew what to expect when you walked in the door in the
morning.”
When asked what he considered to be his biggest
accomplishments at BIT, Denny cited the construction of the State Radio System and
the Connecting the Schools project. Jeff Pierce explained: “Denny and Gene Knowles were very involved in the process leading up to
construction of the State Radio System. Denny and I worked directly with the
Governor on the decision process, and Denny and Gene helped out with the
spectrum identification process through which we selected spectrum for each
tower site.”
Jim Edman added, “With
the Connecting the Schools (CTS) Project, BIT and the State were given a rare
opportunity to build upon the success of the Wiring the Schools (WTS)
Project. WTS was so unique in the fact that Governor Bill Janklow used
inmates to wire schools for computer connectivity along with a much needed electrical
upgrade. So when the idea for CTS was proposed – no one doubted it
couldn’t be done even though nobody else in the country had yet attempted
anything of its kind.
The goals of the CTS
were daunting. Connecting all schools with Internet access and providing
the equipment and expertise needed for it; delivering email and web hosting
services to teachers, students and administrators; providing network equipment
to link all of the cabling together from the WTS project; computers for
students and servers to host applications on, storage facilities to host far
before anybody invented the ‘cloud’, technical support for schools and many
other critical technology services.
Denny was a key player
in the project management, organization and communications of the project. Working with multiple vendors, new technology
and a tight deadline created a stressful but motivating opportunity. The Chief kept our focus on the important
items for the project.
A moment that is
crystallized forever in my mind came during a Project Briefing for the
Governor. The Governor liked to have updates on all of his key
initiatives during breakfast meetings at the residence. We were sitting
at a table with another department which was presenting before us. The
Governor asked “How long will it take you to complete the project?” The
individual replied with a lengthy explanation of timelines and deliverables
summarized with a ‘four – five years’ estimate. The Governor exploded
with a series of expletives completed by ‘It only took us 3 years to win World
War II!’ The poor official was shocked and had no response. The
room was stunned & silent… After a few tense moments, the Governor next
turned to Denny and asked ‘So Nincehelser how long is it gonna take you to get
my technology project done for the schools?’ Denny immediately responded
‘When would you like it done Governor?’ The Governor was taken aback by Denny’s
question and eventually responded ‘How about a year?’ Denny said it would
be done in a year. We had our equipment and training sessions ready two
months later, data center services were operational in six and network
connectivity began in seven months.
Denny re-prioritized
all existing projects and assigned whatever resources were needed to meet our
twelve month goal. We accomplished our timelines and to this date our K12
technology services are unique across
the country. Nobody provides the breadth and depth of services that South
Dakota has accomplished.”
Denny’s words of wisdom for those he is leaving behind:
- Hire the best people you can find and do everything you can to keep them.
- Never take yourself too seriously.
- Stay low and keep moving.
- Pick the battles you have a chance of winning, let go of the ones you don’t, and be smart enough to know the difference.
Denny plans to continue pheasant hunting with family and
friends, and playing senior softball with his group of friends from around the
state that he has known for years. He also added, “I’m going to learn how to fish without the use of dynamite. Also, my
wife has a list of things she thinks will keep me busy.”
What does the future hold for Denny? In his own words - “be a good grandpa.”
Denny, while all of us at BIT will miss you, there are a few
people around here who will especially miss you…
“Denny’s legacy is in
the people he has coached and managed for over 30 years. He has never
been a micro-manager or a manager/technician. He’s an old-school manager
with his pulse on people, not technology. His philosophy has been to:
- hire great people that are high-achievers;
- empower them to succeed with whatever tools, training or education is required;
- clear any roadblocks when they arise;
- provide guidance when the ship is going off-course and,
- fight for an appropriate level of compensation at all levels.
Folks across BIT and
Telecommunications rarely got an opportunity to see the amount of research and
analysis that Denny has performed on various critical issues. There was
never a fight regarding fair treatment of ‘his people’ that he backed away
from. His passion for supporting staff was limitless. He understands
the limits of government but didn’t accept them as an excuse. The rewards
he fought for always exceeded what was available and that was by design. He
wanted all levels of government to know that it was a ‘compromise’ but that he
wasn’t going to leave any stone unturned in the pursuit of fair and equitable
compensation.
Denny’s other greatest
asset was his ability to negotiate. SD state government has saved
$millions$ over the years because of his tenacity in contract and service
negotiations Telephone contracts were his specialty whether it was
Centrex, digital circuits, cell phones, etc. South Dakota has always been
blessed to have extremely competitive telephony costs over the years.
Denny and working hard with our partners is the reason for that success.
I was fortunate to
have the opportunity to work for him and with him for 20 years. He
has been a tremendous mentor to myself and many others. The ‘Chief’s’ imprint
on BIT is stamped far into the future. We will miss him every day but wish
nothing but the best of health and fortune in his retirement. It is undoubtedly well deserved.”
-Jim Edman
“There's an old saying about the difference
between a manager and a leader: ‘Managers do things right, Leaders do the right
things.’ I believe this simple saying
epitomizes my dad’s approach to life.
While seeking advice from him regarding my own career and inquiring
about his professional success over the years and he has always said to me ‘I
just hired good people that are smarter than me, and stayed out of their way.’ Since coming to work for BIT a little over two
years ago, I have had the opportunity to work in the same environment as my dad
and observe him professionally. What
I’ve seen is that he has been a leader by example at BIT, just as he has been
at home. He has lead with integrity,
honesty, and humility while inspiring us to overcome challenges and accomplish
our goals. The community of BIT has
truly been an extension of his family over the past 41 years. I’m certain he will miss seeing everyone from
the office more than he is willing to admit. Congratulations on a job well done, Dad! I couldn’t be more proud of you and your
accomplishments. This retirement is
merely from the office, not from life.
Your new ‘Chief’ will be Mom, and your grandchildren will become your
trusted advisers. I would like to extend
an invitation on his behalf for everyone to please stop out to the river to
enjoy a cold beverage and share a fish story with him whenever you can…he’s
going to need a lot of breaks!”
-Trent Nincehelser
“I’ve worked with
Denny for many years, from the years when he was a voice on the phone when I
was supporting the old Merlin phone system at DCI (I imagine him with color in
his hair at that time), when he sat down with us to develop a frequency plan
for the new State Radio system, and the past 11 years as my supervisor and
Director. Denny had a knack for cutting to the chase, especially when dealing
with vendors. This quality made him a great negotiator, and for those special
vendor reps even assigning names such as “tick-tock” to those he felt would
have a short shelf-life. Over the years his knowledge and negotiation skills
have saved the State of South Dakota millions of dollars through great
contracted rates. Denny had a philosophy of “hire the best and let them do
their job”, which allowed me to grow as a manager and as an individual. He was
always there with encouragement and advice when needed and I will miss him as a
friend and mentor. As Denny enters this next phase of life, he can look back at
a “job well done”, and take comfort in knowing he has laid a great foundation
here at BIT.”
-Jeff Pierce
“There are many things
about Denny I’ll miss. Most of all his no-nonsense and down-home advice
on how to interpret issues, find humor in most situations while getting the job
done. His years of experience in the school of life and his practical
insights make him a source of counsel and lively conversation around a
well-laid eats table. In all the years I’ve known Denny, I’ve never seen
him turn someone away who needed advice or steered someone wrong on a matter of
import. He’s been a mentor, advisor, and humorist—always ready to help
others do their best while not taking the minor issues of the day (or our egos)
too seriously. And through it all, his organizational skills and insights
into the strengths and foibles of those around him (and himself J)
have for years helped me and many others, learn, grow, and enjoy life.
For all of that, and much more, thank you Denny and wishing you all the best in
your well-earned retirement!”
-Wayne
Hayden-Moreland
“After
spending part of his Air Force telecommunications career in Delaware and
Germany, Denny’s last duty station was Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid
City. Toward the end of his military obligation, Denny applied for a job
in Pierre with the State’s Division of Telecommunications and was hired by Jim
Stein in 1975. We’d grown up on the river near Ft. Randall Dam; so we
were really excited to put down roots and be near the river again and closer to
our families. Pierre was a great place to raise our three kids, Trent,
Blake and Kelsey, who all grew up spending lots of time at the river. We
recently bought an older mobile home at the river and a pontoon in the hopes
that our kids will come to visit and bring our grandchildren, Chase, Morgan,
Rylee, Ella and Evan. If you drive by the mobile home, you’ll probably
find Denny sitting on the deck doing nothing. Stop in for some popcorn,
or maybe some salsa and chips, and something cold to drink.”
-Cheryl
Nincehelser
“I have had the
opportunity to see Denny play softball many times over the years. Denny
throws lots of junk when he pitches – meaning he doesn’t throw many
strikes. I remember Denny saying, “I only throw strikes when I need
too.” This epitomizes Denny – he hangs around the edges, lets us do our
thing, but if we need help - he is there to hit the glove. Thanks Denny
for being the pitcher on our team and throwing strikes when we needed them!”
-Deb Dufour
“Although I’ve known
of Denny for many years, over the past four years I have come to appreciate and
value his vision, his tenacity, his humor, his instructions… carefully crafted
and overlain with humor, and his commitment. Interactions with Denny are never
WYSIWUG, there’s always hidden content, and Denny will have provided the precise amount
of information to pique curiosity and inspire additional digging, research, and
questions. While we’ll miss Denny, his ability to mentor has prepared all of us
for his retirement. Go with our best wishes Denny, and enjoy a rich and well deserved
retirement.”
-David Zolnowsky