Environmental Works names board of directors

In the wake of the Sept. 15 death of its founder and President Robin Melton, Environmental Works Inc. has announced the members of the company's first board of directors.

Jamie Sivils, a partner with Morelock-Ross Builders Inc. who has been named chairman of the EWI board, said Melton hand-picked the board members.

“Robin was an incredibly talented businessperson and was always prepared for any event. She even had a plan in place for these circumstances, and we are carrying out her plan," Sivils said in a Sept. 21 news release. "The EWI Board of Directors’ combined expertise represents decades of experience in company leadership and the proven capability to drive positive results in difficult business environments."

The other board members are:

• Andrea Pence, controller for EWI;
• Erin Palicki, Melton's sister and a maintenance engineering technician for the city of Springfield;
• Gil Trout, chairman and CEO of Kansas City-based UMB Bank’s Greater Missouri Region;
• Jason Smith, principal scientist and group manager for EWI;
• John Griesemer, chief operations officer of Springfield Underground; and
• Paul Dial, managing principal for EWI.

In the Sept. 24 Springfield Business Journal story "Two firms grieve loss of leaders," EWI's Smith said Melton established the Robin E. Melton Trust prior to her death, and it continues to serve as the ownership entity for the company.

Melton died Sept. 15 when a small plane piloted by Missouri Insulation & Supply Inc. President John Lambert crashed about seven miles northwest of Springfield-Branson National Airport. Lambert and his three children, Grayson, Joshua and McKinley, also died in the early-morning crash, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.