Owens family keeps businesses running after patriarch's death

“Because of the situation, it’s fallen on my shoulders. I have to take the leadership role in certain things, but I could not do it,” she said before cutting her thought short in order to keep tears at bay. “We’re a team. And it could not function without each person doing their things to the best of their ability.”

Lonnie and Vicky Owens were married for 30 years and had owned Empire Printing of Springfield for 21 years when Lonnie Owens died on July 18. Lonnie and Vicky Owens, along with four of their children, were involved in a motor home wreck while vacationing in Washington state. Vicky Owens and her children suffered serious injuries, but they survived. Lonnie Owens, 50, died from injuries sustained in the wreck, which was caused by brake failure.

“There is no leader like Lonnie,” Vicky Owens said. “Lonnie was the key pin in everything.”

After Lonnie Owens’ death, the title of “president” of the family’s three businesses – Empire Printing of Springfield, Admiral Travel International and Express Press – passed to Vicky Owens. So did full ownership of the companies, which have 15 employees and share a building at 1860 E. St. Louis St.

Personal interests sacrificed

Empire Printing offers four-color printing for business clients, such as Mid-Missouri Bancshares and Second Baptist Church. They acquired the Admiral travel agency in 1992 and the Express Press screen-printing shop in 1994.

The tight-knit Owens family has responded to the tragedy with resolve. After all, three businesses were at stake.

The children, ranging in age from 14 to 27 years, have always worked at least part time in the businesses, and some of the children have worked full time for their parents. Oldest daughter Ainey Hampton, for example, has managed Admiral Travel since 2000.

Now, the children are taking on even more tasks, trying to fill the hole left by the loss of their father, who regularly worked 14-hour days, Vicky Owens said.

“I can run up and do billing, I can run into Express and do shirts, and then, I can run back (to Admiral Travel) and do tickets,” Hampton said. “That was really dad’s goal, that we were very versatile and could jump into any situation.”

Sacrifices have been made, perhaps most visibly by oldest son Austin Owens, 22, who resigned as a field representative for Sen. Kit Bond. He took over full-time duties as chief financial officer for the companies and doesn’t plan to return to politics.

“Our No. 1 priority as a family is to keep everything as stable and running as possible,” Austin Owens said. “One thing about a family-run business is you really don’t get any time off to just sit back and grieve.”

For her part, Vicky Owens has had to take a more hands-on approach to the businesses. She was always a strategic partner with her husband but left the tactical work to him as she home-schooled their children – Ainey, Amber, Austin, Aaron, Ashton and Autumn. The two youngest children, Ashton and Autumn, are still being home-schooled.

“It’s challenging. With the business, there are a lot of things I need to be involved in, but their education is a priority,” Vicky Owens said. “I’m trying to make sure that I cover both bases, so I’m running back and forth quite a bit.”

Support and planning

Employee and customer loyalty has been crucial to keeping the businesses functioning at a high level.

Austin Owens said they have 15 “very dedicated employees,” some of whom have been with Empire Printing for 20 years.

“We definitely appreciate their services,” he said. “They’ve made this a very smooth transition.”

Empire Printing customer Gary Jordan, senior vice president for Mid-Missouri Bancshares, said service has remained strong.

“They’re just a fine bunch of people, and we enjoy doing business with them,” said Jordan, who organized a Thanksgiving dinner for the Owens family on behalf of the bank.

While the Owens family hasn’t planned for any additional changes to their companies, it has benefited from plans made about 15 years ago when Lonnie and Vicky Owens established a legal trust that ensured that a surviving spouse would retain full ownership of the businesses.

Larry Bratvold, the family’s attorney and close friend, said Lonnie Owens was very good at planning the companies’ survival.

“Lonnie is a model case for doing it right,” Bratvold said.

Vicky Owens said her husband’s sudden death provided a wake-up call to friends, spurring them to establish wills, trusts or other legal instruments to insure assets are taken care of in the event of death.

“You just never know when something like this is going to happen,” she said.

Remembering Lonnie Owens

Lonnie Owens, founder and president of Empire Printing of Springfield, Admiral Travel International and Express Press, died July 18 from injuries sustained in a motor home wreck. He left behind a wife of 30 years, Vicky Owens, and six children, ranging in age from 14 to 27 years.

Vicky Owens described her husband as a passionate entrepreneur who didn’t bat an eye at working long hours to grow his companies.

She also said Lonnie Owens was good with people and treated employees well. He would orchestrate Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Halloween parties for employees.

The entire Owens family pitched in to make the businesses successful, and Lonnie Owens set the standard for having fun while working hard.

“We’d set up all the tables and turn on the music and order in pizza,” said Vicky Owens, describing how the family tackled large print jobs for Empire Printing. “It was like party time. Everybody loved working late.”

Pass It On

Larry Bratvold, attorney and friend to the Owens family, said more than 50 percent of small businesses don’t survive an ownership change when the founder dies or retires. To succeed in succession, Bratvold offered this three-pronged attack:

1. Form a succession team comprised of key family members, key employees, an attorney, accountant and financial planner. “It’s kind of like a brain trust,” Bratvold said. “You need to have a group of people who are aware of your business, how it operates, how it ties into your personal finances, and you need it there ahead of time.”

2. Write plans for ownership changes. Durable powers of attorney, living trusts, operating agreements, buy-sell agreements and wills are all legal instruments that can ensure a smooth transition.

3. Remember management – even business owners who plan for ownership succession often overlook how the business will be operated, which can prove disastrous. “If they haven’t addressed management, ownership’s not too important because it’s going to fail,” Bratvold said. Nonfamily members shouldn’t automatically be overlooked.