Letters From Our Readers: Jan. 30, 2012
The Oklahoma geothermal industry suffered a tragic and shocking loss on Friday evening [Dec. 9, 2011] when Scott and Rocky Beller, cousins, were killed in a small-plane crash while returning from an electric utility planning meeting in western Oklahoma.
Scott, 50, was president and co-founder of Air Products Supply (APS), the residential distributor and commercial representative for ClimateMaster in central Oklahoma. Scott had worked in the HVAC industry since 1975, starting out as a youth in his father’s contracting business, C&S Heating and Air Conditioning. Over the years, C&S became one of the leading geothermal dealers in the nation, eventually acquiring two drilling rigs and branching out into loop contracting.
When his father passed in 2004, Scott joined APS to bring this unique and valuable experience into the distribution side of the business. Since taking on the ClimateMaster line in 2008, APS has consistently ranked as a top 10 residential distributor. They also quickly catapulted an undeveloped commercial territory into the No. 1 spot for 2010. Those who know Scott know why and how. He loved the geothermal business and approached it with a contagious enthusiasm, boundless energy, and dogged persistence that never failed to win over hearts and minds.
Rocky, 47, was president of B&H Construction, the largest geothermal loop contractor in central Oklahoma. Rocky joined B&H, his father’s business, also as a youth right out of high school. In fact, B&H and APS are located side-by-side in the small community of Goldsby, Okla. With over 150 employees, B&H is one of the largest directional drilling contractors in the entire region. At Scott’s urging, Rocky expanded B&H into geothermal loop contracting in 2009. He first purchased the loop contracting division from Comfortworks and then quickly expanded it to include five vertical drilling rigs and the equivalent headering capacity. Possessed of faith, courageous, and a man of action, Rocky never approached anything in a small way.
These men were husbands, fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and cousins. They were close business associates with whom I was fortunate to have shared a common passion for this industry. I am proud to have called them my friends, as I know they also were to so many of you. They were men of integrity, mentors to many, and men that made a difference in whatever they touched. Their loss will leave an immense void in their families, their businesses, their community, and in this industry. It is through the prayers and support of the great many lives they have touched that healing and restoration will come.
Dan Ellis
President
ClimateMaster Inc.
Oklahoma City
Publication date: 01/30/2012
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