Rural Missouri - January 2022 - 9

go around and see if I can raise $80,000 so we can hire
an economic developer,' " Richard says. " I went door to
door and I got support from the schools, the college, the
banks, the county, the cities, and we were able to raise the
$80,000. "
That was enough to start a real economic development
effort. Over the years, Richard continued
to twist arms and the funding has accrued
to the tune of more than a million dollars.
Today the area approach has extended even
farther, with Howard County joining neighboring
Randolph County to pitch a larger area to
potential employers.
" Richard did a good job selling that at the
earn anywhere from 8% to 15% on our money. You take
10% of $200,000, that's $20,000. For a big co-op, that's
not that big a deal. But for our little community that is a
big deal. "
Fayette
board table because when you have smalltown
rivalries through the schools, it's hard to
say 'OK, jobs in Glasgow, that's a good thing for
Fayette,' " says Amber Overfelt, who will replace Richard
as manager when he retires in February. " They have to
drive through Fayette and might stop to buy gas here, they
might rent or live here. What happens in one part of the
county, it has that trickle effect and is good for the rest of
the county. "
It wasn't the only time in his 31 years at the cooperative
that Richard stuck his neck out at the board table and
found great support from the co-op's directors. Seeing the
need to support deserving organizations with small pockets,
he came up with a novel way to provide funding.
Many of Missouri's electric co-ops host a program called
Operation Round Up. It allows members to round up their
bills to the next highest dollar amount with the extra
money earmarked for charities. " I joked with the board,
'I think our members would like it if we round down.' We
fi gured out a better way to fund these donations. "
Using donated capital and earned interest, the Howard
County Community Fund was established. " I told the
board I want to let this fund build to $100,000 and then
we will take the interest off it, " Richard says. " Well, when
it got to $100,000 I said, 'Let's let it build to $200,000.' We
Combined with a Sharing Success grant from cooperative
lender CoBank, Howard Electric was able to donate
$35,500 to area organizations in 2021. Since its start,
the donations have totaled more than $100,000.
" It covers every aspect from the food banks to the
Howard County Emergency Management, " says Amber.
" It's huge for the schools, the FFA programs.
We donated to the Ministerial Alliance. The Higbee
Senior Center has really struggled and we've
been able to help them. "
She's especially proud of the funds for area
fi re departments. That includes a donation of
$5,900 that helped build a new fi re station in
Boonesboro. " That was a huge improvement. It brought
fi re safety closer to them, " she says.
As Richard moves toward retirement, he is passing the
community involvement torch to Amber, who now heads
the Howard County Economic Development Council. He
recalls the time when Missouri-Pacifi c Lumber, a major
employer in Howard County, was about to leave the area
after the Great Flood of 1993 destroyed the business.
" They already had a site in Illinois, " Richard says. " We
met with them and said we would like to keep you in Howard
County. We tried to overwhelm them with the number
of entities that wanted them to stay. "
For months community leaders met with MissouriPacifi
c Lumber at Howard Electric's offi ce. They overcame
every obstacle and ultimately, the business stayed put,
this time on higher ground and served by the cooperative.
That effort showed everyone the advantage of cooperation,
something Howard Electric's employees already knew.
" When you have that unifi ed support for a project it
works really well, " Richard says. " That is the culture
we have created - to have the entire community come
together. "
Left: Richard Fowler, manager of Howard Electric Cooperative since 1990, will be retiring in February. He is passing the torch to Amber Overfelt,
who was selected by the board as the cooperative's next CEO. Right: Money from the Howard Electric Community Fund helped the Howard
County Fire Protection District build a new fi re station in Boonesboro.
JANUARY 2022 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 9

http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - January 2022