Employees of Ozark-based Missouri Insulation & Supply Inc. and Springfield-based Environmental Works Inc. awoke to a startling reality on Sept. 15: Their leaders had died in a plane crash the night before.
Officials from both companies, however, have said their owners worked to ensure their businesses could move forward without them.
According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro, a Cirrus SR22 piloted by Missouri Insulation President John Lambert crashed about seven miles northwest of Springfield-Branson National Airport around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, killing Lambert, 44, his three children and Robin Melton, 46, president and owner of Environmental Works.
Missouri Insulation Chief Operating Officer Britt Gardner said he received a call from mutual friend Tom Conroy, general manager of Sam’s Club, that Saturday morning, telling Gardner of the deaths before he began spreading the word among staff. When business opened Monday morning, Gardner – who already had run the day-to-day business of the company – gathered employees together for about an hour to share memories and digest the news together.
Gardner, a former manager at Sam’s Club in Springfield, said he knew Lambert for about 15 years and joined Missouri Insulation about two years ago, when Lambert was considering ways to improve processes and procedures.
“He was always looking to the future,” Gardner said, adding that the move allowed Lambert more time to focus on his kids and be engaged in the community.
In July, Lambert was named chairman of the OTC Foundation, the fundraising arm of Ozarks Technical Community College. He also was a founding investor of OakStar Bank.
Both Lambert and Melton were recognized multiple times by Springfield Business Journal for their business and community contributions. In 2005, Lambert was named part of the 40 Under 40 class, and Missouri Insulation – which Lambert purchased in 1994 – was among the Dynamic Dozen fastest-growing companies in 2006 and 2007. Melton, who founded her environmental consulting firm in 1992, was named among the inaugural class of 40 Under 40 in 1999 and was a Most Influential Woman honoree in 2001. Environmental Works, 1455 E. Chestnut Expressway, also was named an SBJ Choice Employer 2007–09, recognizing the environmental consulting and contracting firm’s employee benefits and corporate culture. The company counts BNSF Railway, Bass Pro Shops, Commerce Bank and Tracker Marine among its clients.
Jason Smith, principal scientist and group manager for Environmental Works, said Melton had established the Robin E. Melton Trust prior to her death, and it continues as the ownership entity for the company. He said a seven-member executive committee manages the trust, which includes three members of the EWI management team, to support the affairs of the business. Smith, who manages the Springfield and St. Louis offices, said management of the company lies with the existing management team, which he leads alongside the regional manager of the firm’s Kansas City office. He said Melton, while occasionally very involved in specific projects, did not run the daily operations, and he said the management structure would not change with her death.
“One of the things we’ve talked about in the meetings we’ve had so far is how insightful and how prepared she was,” Smith said. “She didn’t have any children, and she was sole proprietor of the company, and she wanted it to go on. This company was her legacy. She had a vision for it, and she was determined to make that vision a reality in her presence or her absence.”
Cathi Sheetz, controller with Missouri Insulation, said Lambert treated staff members as family, and she believes he’d want customers to know they’re still in good hands. With headquarters at 1348 W. Liberty Ave., the company operates offices in Joplin, Camdenton and Columbia, and has provided insulation services to such projects as the north Springfield Houlihan’s restaurant, Holiday Inn Express in Rolla, Sam’s Club stores in Springfield and Oklahoma City, and Stonebridge Lodges in Branson.
“John built a company that was loyal to him. We’re really more of a family than a business. He wanted people he could trust. … People he could count on in his absence,” Sheetz said.
Gardner said Lambert implemented a flat organizational management structure, and the operations of the company would not be impacted by his death.
Shawn Whitney of Husch Blackwell LLP, the corporate attorney for Missouri Insulation, said Lambert had established the John Lambert Revocable Living Trust as owner of the company and ownership would not transfer. He said a trustee should be named this week and that Gardner was authorized to make any decisions on behalf of the business.
Lambert served as president of the local chapter of the Young Presidents Organization, a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and a member of the Home Builders Association.
Jeffrey Gower, president of Wil Fischer Cos. and vice chairman of the OTC Foundation, said Lambert’s commitment to the university was evident at the group’s Sept. 14 board meeting.
“Just hours before the tragedy, John led our foundation board meeting. During that meeting, John made an impromptu speech reminding the members of the board how important OTC is to our community. Specifically, he challenged each of us to consider what legacy we will leave behind and to think how even a small scholarship can completely improve and change a young person’s life. His words were profound and even more amazing now,” Gower said in an email, adding that the foundation would soon move to establish a scholarship in Lambert’s name.
Gower is expected to move into the chairman position at the next foundation meeting.
Throughout her career, Melton – who was described by Smith as Lambert’s girlfriend – served as a board member for a variety of organizations, including the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Urban Neighborhoods Alliance, Mercy and Southwest Missouri Humane Society, according to
EnvironmentalWorks.com.
Following Melton’s death, the city of Springfield issued a news release expressing its grief for the loss of the community leader, and its appreciation for her contributions to the Watershed Committee, her service as co-chairwoman of the FieldGuide 2030 strategic planning group, and her work on numerous environmental assessments and brownsfield projects.
“Robin was an independent-minded, strong businesswoman who cared deeply about her community,” Springfield City Manager Greg Burris said in the release.
Smith described Melton as both generous and energetic.
“She made it a fun place to work. She made it a place you wanted to come to and you wouldn’t watch the clock,” Smith said.
He said in 2002 and 2007, Melton took all of the firm’s employees, and one guest each, on a company trip to celebrate EWI’s 10th and 15th anniversaries. In 2002, Melton treated the staff to an all-expenses paid trip to Cancun, Mexico, and in 2007, the trip was a cruise in the Bahamas, Smith said.
In October, she was planning to take the company’s roughly 55 employees and their guests on an excursion closer to home – Lake of the Ozarks – to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. Smith said employees have decided to keep those plans.
“We’re going to celebrate the company, and celebrate her life. She would want that,” Smith said.[[In-content Ad]]
