Family Owned & Operated Serving Southern IL since 1968
Since 1968, over 50,000 families have been protected by the men and women of Service Detectives across three generations.
The Beginning
Our story begins in the 1940s, at the height of World War II with Bill Starnes, nicknamed ‘Red’ for his bright red hair. Born into a hardworking local family, Red worked from elementary age at a local hardware store well into his teens.
It was during this time that he began to learn about electrical work, plumbing, air conditioning, and general maintenance from the owner and customers.
Starnes Electric
After many years at the hardware store, and following some success doing odd jobs around town, Red decided to make a break for it and branch out on his own as an electrician in 1968, founding Starnes Electric.
Red very happily and successfully ran Starnes Electric every day until his passing in 1993, bringing his daughter Donna and his son-in-law Roy into the fold along the way.
Cole Electric
After Red’s passing in 1993, Donna and Roy officially took the mantle as Starnes Electrics’ second-generation team. Because their name was Cole, the name officially changed from Starnes Electric to Cole Electric later that year.
In 1998, Donna and Roy’s daughter Shayna married her sweetheart, Jason Shadowen, who came into the business as an apprentice electrician.
In 2003, Shayna left her job as a book store manager to come into Cole Electric full time as a bookkeeper and office manager. As Jason and Shayna took a larger role in the business, it was decided in 2007 that a name more in line with the nature of the business would make more sense; thus, Electrical Detectives was born.
Electrical Detectives.
As Jason and Shayna became part owners in the business, buying equity from Roy and Donna, the business expanded, bringing in new service experts and expanding their fleet of vehicles to better service the community in which they lived.
In 2009 Roy and Donna retired from the business and Jason and Shayna bought the last equity to take over as the third-generation owners of Electrical Detectives.
A Transition
It had been the goal for a number of years to expand into other areas of the service industry, and Jason and Shayna added generator installation and maintenance before branching out into heating and cooling in 2016. Because they were no longer just electrical, a new name was needed…
Service Detectives is Born
Since becoming Service Detectives in 2016, Jason and Shayna have added heating and cooling, indoor air quality, service and maintenance packages and are now embracing the most cutting edge air pollution solutions with their Breathe Better initiative as well as expanding into home safety and security to evolve with the needs of the community.
Despite all of that, they still honor Red Starnes’ commitment, his passion, and his dedication to the people of Southern Illinois, always understanding that we care more because your family is our family.
