Sep 30, 2025 | posted by Conner Williams
On February 3rd of 1997 – before the invention of tablets, iPhones, or even MP3 players – Kristal Sauvain left a reputable 16 years of service at US West in Portland to work at the then Canby Telephone Association and now DirectLink. This one-city telecommunications cooperative had advertised an opening for her skill set, and she had heard excellent reviews about the company. So, she applied and was asked to join the team in a billing and collections role, and most recently as Member Services Credit Specialist. 28 and a half years later, Kristal has moved on to begin another life chapter – retirement.
Her favorite color, purple, saturated personal items in her office area to brighten anyone’s day – much like her sunshine-y personality. Kristal said she has enjoyed the “relationships with coworkers and members” most when speaking of her time with the company. She voiced an especially noticeable fondness for employees who were hired very early in their careers that she watched flourish and grow through their own talents and company support. When asked about what she’d like to be remembered for here at the company, Kristal reflected, “that I was good at what I did, and [that] I was fair.”
We think she may have succeeded at that goal. One colleague wrote in to relay that, “Working alongside [Kristal] has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”
Family was, and continues to be, a big part of the DirectLink culture. Kristal remembered that her son served as the one-time company mascot, Web-ster, on at least 2 separate occasions and modeled in a few of our local advertisements. She relayed how important it has been for her to have local people both work and promote the company and its values.
President Paul Hauer commented, “Kristal never wavered from her consistent approach to collections. She had a great balance of compassion and intention to take good care of the members and the cooperative. We wish Kristal well in her well-deserved retirement.”
A lot of new services and technology have arisen since 1997 – digital TV, digital voice mail, email, high-speed internet, and auto-payment options to name a few. So, we asked Kristal what she felt had been the best change in the company. Without hesitation she replied, “Wearing jeans!” When she was hired, dress codes required a skirt or dress for women, with pantyhose. Kristal further emphasized, “That was the best thing for me. No nylons!”
Now after 28 years of serving the members of DirectLink in Canby (and later also Mt. Angel), Kristal has hung up her headset and is driving off into her next adventure - retirement. She and her husband, Tom, plan to explore new destinations in their RV after she finished work in early September of 2025. They have already gone on a couple of weekend trips to test run all of the features. “We went down to Canyonville last weekend. That was a really nice drive.”
Go back to news feed.