Guarantee Electrical Company was honored on April 16, 2026, with a St. Louis Business Journal award for Innovation in Philanthropy.

The award recognized Guarantee’s leadership in a time of crisis, its innovative approach to public-private collaboration in disaster response, and the community impact of its efforts as a driving force behind ReConnect STL, a program providing free expert electrical assessments, reconnection, and repair work to neighbors whose homes were damaged by the May 16, 2025, tornado. The industrywide effort saw Guarantee partnering with IBEW Local 1; NECA St. Louis; local construction industry giants Graybar, PayneCrest, and ArchKey Solutions; Ameren; and the City of St. Louis.

The effort began with a phone call: While city and utility workers began the triage work of repairing dangerously damaged power infrastructure and removing fallen trees from city streets, the wheels of ReConnect STL began turning behind the scenes. Guarantee CEO Rich Ledbetter, who was traveling at the time of the storm, first heard about the devastation from his wife. After the full toll of the tornado was realized in the following days – five lives lost, nearly 40 neighbors injured, and unspeakable destruction and damage – he called St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer.

“I don’t know what you need,” he said, “but when you need electrical help, we want to be there.”

He and Guarantee Executive VP of External Affairs Emily Martin were also rallying some of Guarantee’s closest industry partners. IBEW Local 1 had already begun to mobilize, but Martin, as leader of the effort within Guarantee and a member of the city’s Civil Service Commission, sought to capitalize on the strengths of several key players to maximize both efficiency and impact. The City of St. Louis was best positioned to process requests; Ameren had ideal access to power infrastructure; Graybar had the most direct source of necessary materials; and Guarantee, IBEW, PayneCrest, and ArchKey had direct lines to expert electricians. To get things going, Guarantee pledged $100,000 in materials and services toward the effort. IBEW, Graybar, PayneCrest, and ArchKey committed their support as well. The first ReConnect STL electricians were dispatched in June, restoring not just electrical connection but peace of mind for neighbors who had already endured a nightmare.

Martin called this kind of collaboration par for the course in the city’s close-knit electrical construction community.

“At the end of the day,” she said, “our industry always shows up for our community. This is what good neighbors do when disaster strikes: We put our heads together, we chip in, and we use our expertise to help our neighbors in a time of need.”

One neighbor, Stephanie Bradford-Wilkerson, was teaching a class of elementary-schoolers at Valor Christian Academy in North St. Louis when the tornado touched down. She stayed with her students during the storm. But after the last bell rang, she returned to a heavily damaged home.

“I cashed out my retirement to buy this house. Owning my home was huge for me. This house is everything,” she said.

First things first: She needed to get the power back on so other repairs could begin. She saw messaging about ReConnect STL, applied, and was referred to Guarantee Electrical to arrange an assessment and repair work. Guarantee Energy Solutions Coordinator Cindy Tobben took the call and scheduled an urgent assessment.

Electricians found that Bradford-Wilkerson’s house needed reconnection to the grid, plus extensive repairs. To make matters worse, thieves stole copper components from her damaged home, and Guarantee crews made a separate trip to replace them. Bradford-Wilkerson and Tobben scheduled multiple repairs via email, but once the lights were back on, they stayed in touch. They finally met in person at Bradford-Wilkerson’s home on March 4, and amid hugs shared their gratitude to one another. “She is an angel,” Bradford-Wilkerson said.

Guarantee’s Cindy Tobben with homeowner Stephanie Bradford-Wilkerson in front of Bradford-Wilkerson’s storm-damaged home.

“I always think of how you sign your emails, ‘Have a great day on purpose.’ Your outlook is so inspiring. You are an incredible person, and you have really changed my life,” Tobben said.

While the city’s overall recovery is still moving nearly a year out from the disaster, the pace has been limited: Insurance claim processes, bottlenecks in both supply and availability of skilled trade professionals, and even lack of knowledge about available support programs have been limiting factors.

Martin said that, even as the anniversary of the storm approaches, Guarantee is still in the fold and ready to respond to calls. She said: “We didn’t put a hard deadline on our help because there’s not a hard deadline on need. This is going to take a long time. But Guarantee has been around for more than 120 years already. We’re sticking around, and we’re here for St. Louis.”