RBGA Honors King Air Conditioning & Heating Sith May Small Business Excellence Award

GODFREY –As it continues its every-other-month cycle of recognizing excellence proven by its member small businesses, the RiverBend Growth Association has chosen its May shoutout.

King Air Conditioning and Heating Inc. of Godfrey has been chosen for Small Business Excellence recognition this month by the RBGA.

Owned by Mike and Karen Edwards for the past 35 years, the company itself has been in business for 52 years now. The Edwardses purchased it in September 1991, when two of their three children were small. Baby #3 came in 1993, just a couple of years into their ownership.

“In 1987, Mike Edwards was ready for a career change,” Office Manager Kylie Wesley explains. “He was an assistant manager at National Supermarket and had started night school at Ranken for HVAC. He graduated from Ranken in 1989 and wanted to start his own HVAC business. Jerry King, then-owner of King Air Conditioning & Heating, passed away in June 1991, and the opportunity became available to purchase King Air Conditioning & Heating.”

The Edwards family converted the office on Pearl Street in Godfrey to a house and moved in, turning the back porch into the business office. Back then, “the sheet metal shop was in the basement, and the shed was used for parts and equipment,” Wesley shares further. “The house was just 22 feet from the railroad tracks, so it was quite an adjustment getting used to the train.

“Mike did all the service and installations. Then his dad retired from Emerson Electric and helped. We hired our first technician in 1993 and a part-time girl to help me wherever needed – running errands, answering phones, watching kids…” Karen Edwards adds.

The Edwardses admit that the first five years in business were tough, but they were blessed to have their Bryant salesperson invest in them. The salesperson also showed them how to run a business.

The family would eventually outgrow the Pearl Street house, and in 1997, they moved out and converted it back into the standalone business office. Two of their children, Bret and Kylie, initially traveled career paths outside the business but have since joined the family business full-time. Today, son Bret is the service manager, and daughter Kylie Wesley is the office manager. A third child, a son, works outside the family business as a mechanical engineer in St. Louis.

King Air Conditioning & Heating is the residential side of the Edwards’ service business. In November 2009, they purchased Bush Refrigeration. Bush Refrigeration is the commercial side of the services they provide to customers, including HVAC, refrigeration, ice machines, and generators.

“We have been a Bryant dealer for 32 years,” says Wesley. “We service all brands, though. And we install Geothermal and Mitsubishi systems along with accessories, humidifiers, air purifiers, surge protectors, and more. We offer maintenance agreements and give free estimates as well.”

In 2015, the Edwardses purchased the old Ingham Concrete building and moved both of their businesses under one roof. Today, they have 24 employees and three interns.

Recognizing how blessed they have been over the years, the Edwards family has found the notion of giving back to be extremely important.

Wesley shares: “We have always given back to the community by sponsoring sports teams, events, non-profit organizations, and helping people in times of need. In 2021, we recognized just how blessed we were as a company and wanted to give back monthly. We decided that we would pick a local nonprofit organization every month to donate a percentage of our installs to.”

Benefactors of their thankful spirits have included Community Hope Center, Paper Planes Ministries, Riverbend Head Start, Restore Network and Alton School District, just to name a few.

There have been challenges all along the way, as Wesley points out. “Quite a few, in fact. From finding employees to equipment shortages, frequent price increases, cost of service vehicles, fuel costs, and the changes we experience in the heating and cooling industry as a whole. Every year comes with its own battle.

“Running a business is learning how to navigate as the world changes, never stop learning, and keep trying to grow. Your employees rely on you. We want to make sure they always have opportunities to grow within our company,” she says further.

Overall, the Edwardses continue to prioritize the customer service they provide. “We aim to serve our customers with honest work, fair pricing, and dependable comfort solutions that provide peace of mind. Our vision is to have a company that is known for integrity, service excellence, and genuine care for the people and community we serve,” Wesley concludes.

You can visit online at http://www.kingaircondheating.com/ or call (618) 466-7574 to learn more about King Air Conditioning & Heating,

The RiverBend Growth Association is the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development organization for the 11 communities known as the Riverbend. For more information about the Growth Association, visit www.growthassociation.com or call (618) 467-2280.

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