David Blaha
David Blaha
David Blaha is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon based in Lincoln, NE. He offers emergency medicine, general surgery and anesthesia services to his patients.
He works as an international sustainability consultant, assessing the environmental and social risks of large, complex projects with often controversial outcomes. With a background in water resources management, he brings extensive expertise to this position.
Early Life and Education
David Blaha was born on January 13th 1942 in Wagner, South Dakota and passed away March 17th 2014, age 75.
Charles and Mary (Kocer) Blaha were his parents. He graduated from Wagner High School in 1960.
In his free time, he enjoyed fishing and hunting, reading books, watching television shows, and of course his beloved canine companion – Bailey!
He was an active participant in numerous professional organizations. He served on the board of trustees at Keyport Clinic, Grayling, Michigan and belonged to both North Central County Medical Society and American Medical Association.
Professional Career
Blaha, who played basketball at Mont Pleasant during the late 1950s, joined NYU basketball legend Barry Kramer on a team that reached the NCAA tournament’s sweet 16 twice (1962 and 1963). Later he coached Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons’ basketball program which won 21 consecutive Diocesan League games from 1962 through 1965.
He was an esteemed physician and surgeon, practicing at Harper Hospital in Detroit and Keyport Clinic in Grayling for more than 50 years. Additionally, he belonged to numerous professional organizations like the North Central County Medical Society and Michigan State Medical Association; he frequently contributed to local news media outlets; furthermore, he held many community affiliations such as lifetime memberships to both Grayling Booster Club and Grayling Country Club.
Achievement and Honors
Blaha was an incredibly gifted individual who excelled at many interests and pursuits. He was an accomplished musician (he counted the stars on his wall), self-taught tinkerer, enthusiast for science and technology, philanthropist and proud parent to seven children and 28 grandchildren.
He was inducted as a Carleton alumni in 2003, becoming one of the college’s most active alumni, making frequent visits to his alma mater. Additionally, he won an prestigious award for outstanding service to both the College and its community – just two among many other honors he has earned over the years.
He is survived by his loving wife of 32 years, Barbara Jean Korando. Together they had five children: Charlotte, Teresa, John, Deb and Marjean.
Personal Life
Blaha’s interests included family, sports and the outdoors. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and watching sporting events on TV.
He had a keen interest in amateur radio, using his skills to connect with other operators around the world. During his tenure aboard Mir, he organized several ham radio conferences to exchange information between Mir and other stations.
He was instrumental in ensuring future Space Shuttle missions ran as smoothly as possible. As part of a team that created a checklist to guarantee long-duration astronauts could provide as much information during handover between increments, his expertise proved invaluable.
Net Worth
David Blaha is an acclaimed American Sportscaster with an estimated net worth of $1-5 Million. He’s best known as the lead play-by-play man on Fox Sports Detroit and has also worked as radio and TV color analyst for both Detroit Pistons and Michigan State Spartans. A graduate of both University of Notre Dame and Michigan, Blaha holds several professional certifications.
David Blaha was a former executive at American Express, serving as Vice President/General Manager of Global Commercial Services. His responsibilities included sales, account management and client support teams. Under his direction, American Express achieved over $20B in annual sales volume during this time. Furthermore, Blaha spearheaded the sale and implementation of new electronic payment platforms such as Buyer Initiated Payment (BIP), Virtual Payments and AP Automation.