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2013 Forty Under 40: Ben Gale

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“I have two more years on the school board. I don’t know whether I’ll run for another term or look for other opportunities, but that’s where I’m giving a considerable amount of time back to my community.”

Age: 34

Partner, Sinewave Audio


Ben Gale grew up in Anderson, graduated from Anderson University, left town for a few years and came back “committed to being a positive influence in a community that’s really struggled.”

He’s fulfilling that commitment by serving as president of the Anderson Community School Corp. Board of Trustees, as a member of the Community Hospital of Anderson’s finance committee, and as vice president and partner of Sinewave Audio Inc., which provides audio and video equipment and theatrical lighting, as well as the personnel to operate the equipment, for conventions, concerts and conferences.

Gale was still in college when he started with Sinewave a few months after the business opened in 1997. Owner Micah Dean taught him a lot about the operation, especially the technical side. Gale spent seven years there before going off to various jobs, including road manager and tour manager for Nashville-based contemporary Christian singer Jaci Velasquez and the band Salvador.

As Sinewave grew, Dean reached out to Gale and asked him to return. They worked out a partnership.

When Gale returned to Anderson in 2007, he began to get involved with the community. As a hospital board member, “I’ve learned a lot about the medical industry, as well as learning more about financial management of a larger corporation.”

As a school board member, which he said takes far more of his time, he’s helped stabilize the district’s finances—from a potential $22 million shortfall to what’s now a surplus—and improved graduation rates.

“Now that the finances are right, we’re able to make decisions on how to educate children better, rather than wondering how we keep afloat,” he said.

Gale said he intends to continue participating in the community. And he will help Sinewave grow.

“We see ourselves as a mid-sized player in our market,” Gale said, “and we’d like to grow to be one of the dominating forces in our market.”•


 

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