50 By Melanie Wilderman C
addo Electric Cooperative General Manager Bob Thomasson is celebrating a milestone. The young boy raised in southwest Oklahoma went from working as a groundman on Caddo Electric’s crews to being a seasoned co-op general manager—all
in 50 years. When contemplating his 50th year with Caddo Electric Cooperative,
Thomasson said, simply put, the most important role of electric coopera- tives is to carry out their intended purpose: to serve rural America by providing electricity.
“We have reliable service. We take care of our members and keep rates as low as possible,” Thomasson said.
Born in Abilene, Texas, Thomasson and his family moved to Anadarko, Okla., when he was 2 years old.
He began work with Caddo Electric in Binger, Okla., in the warehouse building meter loops in June 1963 and quickly climbed the ranks, holding multiple positions in his half-century as an employee. In 1964 he became a warehouseman; in 1969 he moved into engineering, and from there he moved on to maintenance supervisor in 1972. Jump ahead 10 years, and Thomasson was promoted to director of operations. Another promotion in 1996 gave him his fi nal and current title: general manager.
Thomasson described his early years of being “green” on the job and admitted he got in trouble a few times for not paying attention, specifi - cally when he was supposed to be doing ground work as a ‘grunt,’ the name used for beginning crewmembers in the fi eld.
It is diffi cult for Thomasson’s current employees to imagine him not knowing most everything about working at Caddo Electric, especially for Director of Administration Karen Parker, who has been on staff since 1965 and has worked with him directly for the past 11 years. She said Thomasson knows the place from the ground up.
“He loves the co-op,” Parker said. “He takes care of the members and employees.”
She added that Thomasson shares in his employees’ excitement for their various achievements or new children and grandchildren, as well as in their losses of loved ones.
Parker recalled how Thomasson’s leadership abilities were showcased in 12
WWW.OK-LIVING.COOP
years
on the Job Co-op General Manager Celebrates Milestone
2001 during a major ice storm that took half of their co-op system down in only a few hours. Although the majority of customers regained service after just a few days, it took four weeks to get everything back in working order.
“Bob pulled the crew together and handled it very well,” Parker said. “Everyone was working night and day.”
Before he was fi rst hired in ‘63, Thomasson was looking for a job. He wanted to wed his wife-to-be, Karen Hammett, but not without hav- ing employment. Thomasson was not planning on applying to work at Caddo Electric, but decided to stop in after an unsuccessful job-search trip to Oklahoma City. He was on his way home to Anadarko when a moment he calls “fate” intervened.
On a whim, he stopped his car at Caddo Electric and went in to inquire about open positions. As he stood at the front desk, the manager at the time, Billy Bryan, happened to walk by and agreed to interview Thomasson on the spot.
Bryan hired Thomasson that same day, and as Thomasson recalled this memory he laughed heartily and said he still has “no idea” why he was hired so quickly.
“Bryan was my mentor. Nobody helped me out more than him,” Thomasson said.
He described Bryan as very outgoing and business oriented and has modeled his own leadership and management style after Bryan’s. “He was a guy you could approach and feel comfortable with,” Thom-
asson said of his former general manager whose title he has carried for 17 years.
Thomasson, of course, is much more than his title. He served 27 years in the Army National Guard and achieved the rank of colonel. He is a farmer, with a small-scale wheat and cattle farm just outside of Grac- emont, Okla. He is an Oklahoma State University (OSU) alumnus who graduated with a business degree in 1990 after 15 years of night classes, working around his full-time career and commuting to OSU’s Stillwater and Oklahoma City campuses.
“I never wanted to stop,” Thomasson said, speaking of his degree. “I just wanted to keep going. I had a goal in mind and wanted to fi nish it.”
Thomasson is also an avid OSU sports fan and football season ticket holder. His offi ce speaks to his loyalty to the Cowboys, with a corner
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