TEXACO
He's One of the Best at Business

Earl Moore, of St. Charles, Missouri, is a man whose career defines entrepreneurial success.

The owner of a Texaco petroleum products distributing company, Moore is also co-founder of a community bank that he and his partners ultimately sold to a regional superbank for a substantial profit.

Moore credits his success to ambitious hard work inspired by the example his father, Henry E. Moore, set many years ago. "Dad started his own business on March 20, 1932, in the Depression. He was a tool and die maker for International Shoe Company, but he got laid off and didnt have any work. He had about $150 in his pocket. One day, he saw this old tank truck. The owner said he'd sell it for $100. Dad said, 'I'll take it.'

"He used that truck to become a 'commission peddler' for Texaco, delivering heating oil and diesel fuel. He did that for many years to build his business."

After earning college degrees in English and math in the early 1950s, young Moore worked briefly as a teacher, then for a tire company that put him in an executive training program. When the company wanted to transfer Earl, he went to his Dad and said, "What if I buy an old truck like somebody I know bought a truck years ago and go into the heating oil and diesel fuel business?" Dad said, "Fine."

"I was young and aggressive. I started work at 4 a.m.and finished at 10 p.m. I saved every dime to buy property and borrowed money to build my first service station. In 1955, I bought a 54-acre tract of land, figuring I could sell it later for a profit. And I did.

"Later, eight men and I started a bank in St. Charles. At our grand opening, I cooked 10,000 hot dogs. Talk about a chore! But we started attracting new accounts. We built the bank up to $100 million in assets, then sold to a big, regional bank. I became a bank director."

Earl Moore has an additional business interest as well. He and his brother own one of the largest dry wall supply companies in St. Charles County.

Moore's relationship with the Lewer Agency began years ago. "I needed to update my estate planning and wanted insurance to help take care of my estate taxes.

"Bernadette Geringer, who represents Lewer, convinced me that she is a very honest, trustworthy person. I believed she could deliver the insurance and estate planning services that I needed. She did that and more. She also introduced me to Lewer's Bob Mulleedy, who I also found to be an honest, trustworthy person with my best interests at heart.

"We got together to do business and, today, I consider them good friends of mine."