Rick Tidwell helped Emporia’s telecommunication infrastructure the past three decades, whether with Valu-Line, Birch Telecom, or ValuNet FIBER. Unfortunately, Tidwell passed away early Saturday after a battle with cancer.
KVOE station owner and ValuNet Chairman Steve Sauder says Tidwell was a sharp businessman who was detail-driven. He also says ValuNet was “his baby,” in part because how fiber-based internet could benefit the city and its residents.
Tidwell served as ValuNet president since April 2011, when the company started. He helped to oversee ValuNet’s development through roughly $8 million worth of local investments to start the company. He also oversaw the company’s expansion across Emporia over the last decade as well as its merger with Sparklight this past summer.
Before his time at ValuNet, Tidwell served as a general manager at RBC Wireless, as senior vice president at Birch Telecom and as an executive at Valu-Line before it merged with Birch. He also was at Emporia Motors before it changed affiliation and became Clint Bowyer Autoplex.
Ahead of his career in telecommunications, Tidwell also worked for a time as a firefighter and EMT.
On top of helping to build the community’s telecommunication infrastructure, Tidwell was also heavily involved in the Emporia community through his standing on numerous boards and committees. This included serving on the Newman Regional Health Board of Directors as well as holding a position on the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas.
Tidwell also served for a time as the Chairman of Emporia Enterprises and was a well-known supporter of Emporia State University and SOS along with his wife 40 plus years Sarah.
Tidwell is survived by his wife, two sons, Philip and Christopher, two grandchildren, his father Bill and wife Kathy, two brothers and his niece.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
