Sure reads like Dick was fired

Artesia now in hands of 2 women

Author: Lesli Hicks Express-News Business Writer  
Publish Date: November 26, 1994

Three months ago, two women quietly took the helm of Alamo City Beverage Inc., also known as Artesia Waters Inc.

They assumed the top roles in a relatively young industry widely viewed as male-dominated.

But their presence as women running a high-profile company also is rare for San Antonio.

Margaret Shodrock is chief executive officer and co-owner of Artesia.
The other owner, Cheryl Randol, is president.

***

San Antonio Business Journal: Friday, November 25, 1994:

The "financial backer of firm-founder Rick Scoville" sold ArtesiaWaters Inc. to an employee, MARGARET K. SHODROCK, and two outside investors:

Artesia: New owners, focus

Artesia Waters Inc., Texas' oldest bottler of mineral water, has quietly changed hands.
...
...Shodrock says the deal was "very attractive." The Business Journal was unable to reach Scoville before press time or find out the name of Scoville's backer.

The firm's new owners have also changed Artesia's name to Alamo City Beverage Inc., but will continue to offer products under the Artesia name.

Alamo City Beverage currently has a work force of 18 people, but employs more during its peak seasons during the summer. It operates at a 37,000-square-foot bottling plant at 4671 Walzem Road. The company purifies and bottles water from the Edwards Aquifer.

Shodrock has been employed by Artesia for seven years, serving in positions ranging from corporate comptroller to operations manager.

The firm's new president, Cheryl K. Randol, formerly maintained a local dental practice, served in a teaching position at the University of Texas Health Science Center and as a senior vice president at Texas Dental Plans Inc. Randol and her husband are now co-owners of Alamo
City Beverage.
...
The company has replaced its old trademark brown glass bottles with plastic.
...
According to Shodrock, the company under Scoville suffered declining market share because of its emphasis on carbonated and flavored water.

"It was a management decision." Shodrock says. "(Carbonated water) was the emphasis that (Scoville) wanted." Scoville is no longer with the company.

Scoville, a former industrial glue salesman, launched the company in 1980, taking on France's Perrier, the dominant brand of bottled waterat the time.

Scoville, an aggressive pitch man for his products, took the company through a series of ups and downs during his tenure as CEO. During the late 1980s, Artesia outsold Perrier's name-brand carbonated water in Texas.

But, the firm also felt a slap when the Wall Street Journal ran an article claiming the company misled consumers about the source of its product. The company filed a $ 10 million libel suit against the publication, but a federal jury found the story not to be libelous.

During the trial, testimony pointed out that the firm's earnings decreased from 1989 to 1991, according to media reports.

In better times--1985--Scoville turned down a buyout offer from brewing giant Anheuser-Busch.