Sho-Me Power says goodbye to longest-serving execs

John K. Davis, of Springfield, who had been the Marshfield-based cooperative’s CEO since 1975, died Oct. 25 of complications from cancer. He was 65.

Four days later, Charles E. Boulson, of Springfield – one of the cooperative’s founders – died. He had just celebrated his 97th birthday.

On Nov. 1, the Sho-Me Power Board of Directors named Ancel Fry the interim general manager until Davis’ successor is chosen. Fry manages the administrative services department.

The majority of Sho-Me Power employees – a tight-knit group of 150 – were well acquainted with Davis, but only a few were familiar with Boulson, said Human Resources Director Bill Schroder, who’s been with the company 45 years.

Schroder worked with both men, whom he credited equally for Sho-Me Power’s success and its reputation as one of Missouri’s most progressive electric generation and transmission cooperatives.

Originally incorporated as an agricultural cooperative in 1944, Sho-Me Power’s 1,663 miles of transmission line now deliver electric power to 125 substations throughout southwest Missouri.

Boulson’s two-decade tenure as general manager at Sho-Me Power came to an end in December 1974 after he turned 65, Schroder said. Federal employment law at the time required people to stop working when they reached retirement age, he added.

Boulson, an engineer, was a “meticulous detail person” who likely would have stayed with the company longer if he could have, Schroder said.

Davis, then a project engineer with Buckeye Power Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, succeeded Boulson as Sho-Me Power’s CEO.

Davis enthusiastically took the reins of the co-op amid “some pretty turbulent times in the industry,” said Frank Stork, a longtime executive vice president of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. Power shortages, rate hikes and an increased demand for electric power in the Ozarks were among the challenges, said Stork, who delivered the eulogy at Davis’ Oct. 30 memorial service.

Davis tackled the issues head-on by convincing Sho-Me Power’s board of directors to finance the construction of high-voltage transmission lines and substations, Stork said. Davis’ can-do attitude also rubbed off on his employees – a group Stork characterized as well-trained and well-equipped.

“John (Davis) believed that if you hired the right people … and made the investment in them,” Stork said, “they would rise to the occasion. And that’s what happened.”

Springfield attorney George Johnson said Davis recruited him after the two met playing bridge. Davis hired Johnson to handle legal work involving Show-Me Power’s rights-of-way, and the men became friends.

Johnson said he admired Davis’ business-savvy telephone manner and the rapport he had with his employees.

“John Davis with a phone could run the world, and he did,” Johnson said. “He made his job look so easy. … There were a lot of people who were real good in various areas, and I think John – more than anybody – tied them together.”

Under Davis, Sho-Me Power equipped rural Missouri with fiber-optic communication after the federal government nixed the company’s plan to use radio wave transmission. Today, doctors at outlying St. John’s clinics can consult in real time with their peers at the Springfield hospital, Johnson said. Sho-Me also linked county courthouses with fiber optics, he added.

Davis fought cancer for three years before his death, but he never stopped working.

Davis’ commitment to work led the co-op to name its newest building the John K. Davis Engineering Center. Last month, he also was awarded the Frank Stork Democracy Award for his work on behalf of Missouri’s electric cooperatives.

Boulson, whose graveside service was scheduled for Nov. 4 at Marshfield Cemetery, also was a co-founder of Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., which was created in 1962 as a wholesale supplier of electric power to regional cooperatives in nearly all of Missouri and southeastern Iowa. Boulson was one of the first directors of AECI, and he served on its board until 1974.

Boulson was a longtime member of the Webster County Historical Society, which honored him earlier this year for his efforts as a local historian.