Unsettled Succession

The April 12 death of Holloway America co-owner Pat McKee marked the 11th Springfield-area business owner in the last 18 months to die while leading their companies.

From jewelry whiz Woody Justice to music master Dan Palen, and technology guru Jerry Hall to popular crooner Andy Williams, the organizers of long-running local businesses represented more than 350 years combined leading their respective companies.

In each case, the companies have committed to continuing on in their leaders’ legacies, and in some cases, organizational shifts are under way.

Leadership changes
At Missouri Insulation & Supply Inc., the leadership has not appointed a chief executive since owner John Lambert’s untimely death in September. The 44-year-old was piloting a plane that crashed with his three children on board along with girlfriend Robin Melton, 46, who owned Environmental Works Inc.

Missouri Insulation Chief Financial Officer Dave Baxter said among the changes were the retirement of Britt Gardner, the former chief operating officer who was the firm’s top executive after Lambert’s death, and the hiring of Lisa Counts as office manager.

While Baxter leads the financials and Counts runs the office, Baxter said the organizational structure of the company is continuing to “settle out.”

“There will always be things that you have to deal with that you wouldn’t have expected with the passing of an owner,” Baxter said. “Overall, we feel like we’ve done well and are continuing to take care of our customers.”

The February 2012 death of automobile dealer Don Wessel at the age of 86 triggered a change in majority shareholder to son-in-law and Wessel Honda President Randy Madsen. But a year later, Madsen is no longer in the position.

According to Wessel’s son, Jon Wessel, who identified himself as principal of the company, Madsen retired March 1. Wessel declined to disclose the circumstance under which his brother-in-law left the company, stating he didn’t want to discuss a legal matter involving Madsen. According to Greene County Probate Court documents, Madsen filed for independent administration of Wessel’s will on July 3. The will, according to court filings, has an estimated value of $45,000.

Conservators of Don Wessel’s will were listed as Madsen and his wife Ann, Wessel’s daughter; and her brother Jon Wessel. Madsen did not return calls for comment by press time.

In 2005, McKee bought what was then Holloway Machine Co. with partner Dave Simpson. Simpson, who is now majority owner in the company, is working with top managers, who own a minority share of the firm, to keep the business running.

In what might have been a bit of foresight, Simpson said McKee began training managers to take over his roles and responsibilities about two years ago, so that he could spend more time with his family and possibly be more involved with mission work and volunteerism through Second Baptist Church.

With the shift, top managers were given a minority ownership interest in the company, something that was important to McKee, Simpson said.

“We have really been mentoring, pouring out and releasing responsibilities and the authority commiserate with those responsibilities to people Pat and I trust,” Simpson said. “In his last weeks, we spoke several times of how it was a blessing that during these last couple of years we really had been mentoring and pouring into these key people, who already had a tremendous amount of experience and expertise in this industry.”

Honoring legacies
McKee’s primary areas of responsibilities were leading the engineering and design areas, as well as heading up sales and marketing efforts, according to Simpson.

“He had a very good eye for marketing and advertising – what looked good, what caught the customer’s attention, how to set up a trade show booth to where it was different,” Simpson said of his business partner, who died this month after a short illness at age 66. “He had a unique ability to deal with customers and come up with unique solutions to their problems.

“He was always one of those guys who said, ‘We could do that.’”

Though he declined to disclose revenues, he said McKee’s legacy is evident in his work to grow the company. In 2005, Simpson said Holloway had 23 employees. Today it has 140, and revenues have increased sevenfold during that time, serving customers such as Proctor & Gamble, 3M, GE Healthcare and L’Oreal Cosmetics. It has also worked with smaller, local companies, building tanks for Andy’s Frozen Custard.

“He often said, ‘If we make our customers successful, success will follow us.’ His passion was the golden rule – treating everybody, whether it was a customer or employee, the way you would expect to be treated,” Simpson said, adding that McKee also often encouraged employees to pursue excellence. “Our focus is to continue moving forward doing those things.”

Ownership of Missouri Insulation rests with the trust Lambert established before he died, Baxter said. He said Lambert’s values are still highly honored within the culture of the company, something he feels is important for any business that experiences the loss of its leader.

“John Lambert made it very clear that he wanted to give value to the customers and be honest in doing so,” Baxter said. “That characteristic, probably above all others, is one we’ve worked to carry forward.”

Baxter said Lambert was popular with employees and known as a team builder. He said the team approach Lambert fostered is still in place.

“The excitement, comradery and overall good feeling that was here before, I still perceive it as being here,” Baxter said. “Over the long term, who knows, but the hope is that things will keep going as they have been.”

Melton, the founder of Environmental Works 20 years ago, also had established an ownership trust. A committee comprising top managers, Melton’s business associates and her sister directs the firm’s operations through CEO Jamie Sivils and President Jason Smith. Both were elected to their positions by the trust’s committee following Melton’s death in accordance to her succession plan.

Smith said Melton continually sought opportunities for growth within the company, and the firm’s administration is committed to that culture. In the weeks following Melton’s death, the company also honored her life by keeping plans for a 20th anniversary trip to Lake of the Ozarks.

“We knew it would be difficult emotionally, but believed we should celebrate her accomplishments as a group,” Smith said via email. “We held a balloon release during the trip in her honor. I believe it helped the staff grow closer together and cope with the raw emotions we were all still feeling.”

Jon Wessel said maintaining his father’s legacy of service to others is still a priority among the staff. He said in serving the customers, his father promoted a family atmosphere.

“I know that after he passed away, some employees were concerned that that atmosphere would not continue, but it definitely has,” Wessel said.

He said it’s business as usual, and other than Madsen, none of the staff of 100 has left.

“When dad passed away, we called the employees together and assured them that, A, the business would not be sold, and B, that we would continue live up to the legacy he established,” Wessel said. “It’s important for the employees to be kept in the loop.”