For the past 27 years, Gary Sommer has served MFA Oil customers in the Wright City area. He hauled refined fuels for most of his career, but he took pride in being an “all-around guy” who could do whatever was needed for his plant. Northeast District Manager Barry Oden says Sommer’s versatility will make him…
Rick Winger’s propane career, which has spanned 44 years, is coming to an end. Winger is retiring on December 29. He has worked for MFA Oil for 21 years and has spent the length of his professional career servicing customers in the Willow Springs, Mo., and Mountain View, Mo., area. Throughout his four decades of…
When Sandy Jackson retires on Dec. 29, she will have completed a historic MFA Oil career. No other female employee in the company’s history has worked as long as Jackson’s 46 years of continuous, dedicated service. Jackson’s career at MFA Oil began in 1977 when the company hired her straight out of high school to…
It was Friday the 13th when Chris Threlkeld heard that her employer was being acquired by MFA Oil Company in 1998. Despite learning she would be switching companies on a day that many associate with fear and unluckiness, Threlkeld’s change of employers proved serendipitous. More than 25 years later, she is retiring from the cooperative…
Ivah Purl, a fixture of the company’s operations in the Eldon, Mo., area, is retiring on Dec. 15. Purl has held a few roles with the company, including driver and plant manager, but for the bulk of his career, he has been a service technician. Tom Procter, BPLP western region vice president, was one of…
Cinda Lavery is retiring from Break Time on December 1 after serving as the Tipton store manager for the past 37 years. Lavery joined the Break Time team when her store was acquired by MFA Petroleum Company on July 31, 1986. She has managed the same convenience store (which was also a Colonial and Crown…
In 1988, a gallon of gas cost 90 cents and you could buy a dozen eggs for 65 cents. That year, Michael Jackson launched his first solo concert tour, the Doppler radar was invented, and moviegoers enjoyed classic films such as Rain Man, Coming to America and Die Hard at theaters. That same year, a…
On December 1, the company’s long-time warehouse truck service manager, Bob Powell, will retire. Powell, who joined the truck shop as a painter in 1986, worked in every position within the truck shop on his way to becoming manager in 1995. As the boss, Powell was not afraid to roll up his sleeves and tackle…
For a quarter century, Lonnie Pennock has served as a consistent presence at the MFA Oil propane plant in Sullivan, Mo. Pennock began his career with the company in 1997 as a driver. In 2000 he took on the role of plant manager, a position Pennock held until 2011. During a period of plant manager…
Since joining MFA Oil in 1989, Curtis Franke has been a steady, reliable presence at the company’s LaPlata office. After 33 years of employment, Franke is ready for retirement. His last day will be Thursday, Sept. 1. Franke has served as a plant manager and service technician for the cooperative and is known for being…
Jeff Goodwin, Mid-South and Ohio Valley district manager, has announced he plans to retire in February 2023. Goodwin, the company’s longest tenured district manager, has been with MFA Oil for 24 years and has served as a district manager for the entirety of his employment with the company. Kenny Steeves, senior vice president of MFA…
Bill Williams, a driver for the Branson, Mo. plant, is retiring from MFA Oil on Dec. 31. Williams has worked in the propane industry since 1965, including 27 years with MFA Oil as a plant manager and driver. Before joining the cooperative, he worked as district manager, plant manager, and service technician for Union Gas…