Dan Govero, president of the Jefferson County Growth Association, is no casual baker; he whips up more than 1,000 cookies each holiday season to give away to friends, clients and fellow board members.
Govero’s “Monster” cookies are the stuff of legend. Just ask JCGA vice president Donna Litton, the executive director of the Economic Development Corporation.
“It’s kind of like a Lay’s potato chip; you eat one, and you have to have another,” she said. “I remember one year at the Arnold Chamber of Commerce Christmas party, he brought cookies to play the rob your neighbor game and everybody was robbing their neighbor for Dan’s cookies.”
JCGA executive director Sharon Floyd agreed with Litton, adding that she looks forward to the holiday season every year, in part because of Govero’s cookies.
“He always brings a tin (of cookies) into board meetings, or when he goes to different chamber meetings,” she said. “Actually, we had an interview with KJFF the other morning, and he brought some cookies to Kirk (Mooney) and Ryan (Reinheimer), and it was so cute. Kirk snuck in right at the end for a cookie, and I’m like, we need a photo of you in the back eating that cookie.
“My husband even asked one time before a holiday party, ‘Is Dan bringing any of those cookies?’”
Govero, 81, of Festus is more humble when describing his cookie tour de force.
He said he’s been baking and perfecting the cookie recipe for more than 20 years, usually making four batches every year, with each batch producing more than 200 cookies.
“It’s a pretty simple recipe,” Govero said. “Seemed like everybody wanted more of them, so I made more and more each year. People enjoy eating them, so I like to give them away.”
The recipe
Govero said the chewy, gooey cookies are made with a dozen eggs, a pound of margarine, two pounds of brown sugar, four cups of white sugar, eight teaspoons of baking soda, a tablespoon of vanilla and three pounds of peanut butter.
Once that’s mixed up, Govero adds 18 cups of oatmeal, about half old-fashioned oats and the other half one-minute oatmeal, which he said makes for a chewier cookie. He also adds three cups each of M&Ms, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.
Govero doesn’t use any special equipment for the cookies – just relying on his oven and a tried-and-true Sunbeam mixer. He puts six cookies on a sheet, which goes in the oven at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
“It takes four hours to bake a batch,” Govero said. “The original recipe came from an old cookbook. I used to make all different kinds of cookies, and then everybody started liking these, so I quit making the other ones and kept making these.”
Govero said his land surveying company, Govero Land Services in Imperial, was working on a project for Mary Hostetter, now-retired owner of the Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery in Kimmswick, when his cookies came into the conversation.
“She came in to pick up paperwork, and I said, ‘You’ve got to have a cookie,’” Govero said. “She said, ‘Oh, I’ve got cookies out of the you-know-what.’ And I said, ‘I know you do, but these are the ones I make.’ She ate one and said, ‘You want a job?’”
Mr. Jefferson County
Govero grew up on his family’s 120-acre farm in Festus with his five siblings, the late Robert, Arley and Jerome Govero and Dolores Earls, along with his younger sister, Gloria Robertson of Colorado Springs.
He graduated from Festus High School in 1962.
After serving in the Army National Guard and the Corps of Engineers from 1965-1970, Govero threw himself into land surveying, learning on the job.
He worked as an apprentice for several years before becoming a certified land surveyor and opening Govero Land Services in 1988. He has six employees at his office, which works with clients on commercial, governmental and residential projects.
“Every project starts with a land survey,” Govero said. “George Washington was a surveyor, and so were Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, and those guys all learned from the book, too. Following the footsteps of the original surveyors and finding some of the original monuments set in the 1800s is always amazing.”
One of the largest subdivisions surveyed by Govero Land Services was Winter Valley in Fenton, which has 515 lots, Govero said.
Govero’s first office was on the West Outer Road near Arnold. He said he noticed significant traffic building up on the outer road in the late 1980s and proposed a new road connecting Old Lemay Ferry Road with Richardson Road.
“We’ve done Vogel Road – that was my idea,” he said. “I took (the idea) to the county to put on the road program. We got a lot of work out of that because I got to lay out the Schnucks, Eagle Bank and restaurants over there, the Walgreens, Burger King and the old motel.”
Govero said he has also done extensive work in his hometown of Festus, including improving sewer lines and increasing parking areas. He laid out the parking lot behind Main Street in 1973, which is currently being revamped to add more parking, new lighting and sidewalks.
JCGA
Govero has served as JCGA president for the past 10 or so years. The nonprofit organization encourages networking and growth among Jefferson County businesses.
Litton said Govero was instrumental in initiating the JCGA Businesswomen’s Group in 2021. The group of about 100 women meets quarterly.
He is also one of the main organizers of the annual State of the County address held in the spring at various county high schools, which brings together local leaders and government representatives.
“Jefferson County is blessed to have Dan Govero,” Litton said. “He fought hard for the women’s association, and he wanted that for years. We have five chambers in the county, and he worked very hard to bring these chambers together and have one big meeting, called Jefferson Together.
“He eats, drinks and sleeps Jefferson County.”
Floyd said Govero also provides donations through his business to pay for JCGA advertisements and sponsorships, which help spread the word about the nonprofit organization.
“He’s so involved, so engaged,” Floyd said. “I always tell him, ‘Dan, you are the Energizer Bunny without the batteries.’ That man just does not stop.”