Richard Leo Purdon - District 2

I am seeking re-election to the Board of Directors for Co-Mo Connect Powered by Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, and I am currently serving as President of the Board.  I have had the privilege of serving on the Board for 18 years and have completed extensive training, earning the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate, the Board Leadership Certificate, and Board Gold Certification.  As the electric utility industry has continued to become more and more complex, I constantly strive to apply all this training for the maximum benefit of our membership to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity.  I have been on the Board since the inception of our fiber-to-the-home project and have been one of its strongest advocates.  

 

I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.  I graduated from Rockhurst University with a B. A. degree and subsequently earned a master’s degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a law degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.  My wife Susan and I have three children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.  I served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force in the Judge Advocate General's Department with assignments in Missouri, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D. C., Taiwan, Japan, Texas, and Alaska.   In my last assignment, I managed eight offices throughout the world with numerous subordinate offices supervising over 100 attorneys.   

I am Co-Mo’s director on the Board of Directors for Central Electric Power Corporation, Co-Mo’s power provider; Chairman of the Board for the Morgan County Senior Services Tax Board, and on the board of the Central Ozarks Development Corporation.  Previously, I was Mayor of Laurie, Missouri; Chairman of Laurie Board of Trustees; Chairman of the Laurie Planning and Zoning Commission; member of the Laurie Betterment Committee, Lake Ozark Regional Economic Development Council, Ozarks Transportation Council, Council of Local Governments, the Lake of the Ozarks Transportation Advisory Committee and on the Board of Directors for the National Shrine, Mary Mother of the Church.   I am a member of American Legion Post 624 and its Honor Guard and St. Patrick's Knights of Columbus Council 10381.