Shane Sweet

BIO :

Shane Sweet is an energy and management consultant with clients in the heating oil , propane and motor fuel sectors , a partner with the firm of Lake Rudd & Company . Sweet is the executive director and technical director for the New York Propane Gas Association . He served the industry as president and CEO of the New England Fuel Institute from 2007 to 2011 , and as executive vice president / director and lobbyist for the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association from 1993 to 2007 .

CONTACT :

Sweet lives in Wilmington , Vt ., and may be reached at shanemsweet @ gmail . com or 802-558-6101 cell / text . Suggestions by readers for future column content , as well as general comments are welcome .

www . linkedin . com / pub / shane-sweet / 7 / a52 / 701

Most of the propane associations from across the U . S . attended the annual Leadership Summit hosted by the National Propane Gas Association and Propane Education & Research Council at The Madison in Washington , D . C .

“ The summit is an annual effort to get propane association executives and marketer leaders in one room for a couple of days , without interruption , and to see where it takes us ,” says Tucker Perkins , CEO of PERC .

The published agenda for the day-and-a-half event in November included NPGA on federal legislative and regulatory topics , including the Crane Rule and 2018 midterm election results , Congressional outreach ; building momentum to Propane Days , as well as winter preparedness , what resources do association members want / need , PERC ’ s expanded state engagement , preparing for 2019 state legislative sessions , and a briefing on CETP .

PERC personnel briefed attendees on the new grant management system , which the states use to manage PERC rebates and partnerships , websites , fulfillment resources , a new integrated marketing campaign and workforce recruitment programs .

Also in the mix were Roundtable Discussions on :

What can be done to better educate marketers on PERC resources / programs does PERC have the right tools to address marketers ’ needs ?

New ideas to assist marketers with the utilization of PERC programs and resources . States ’ biggest legislative / regulatory challenges State association ’ s biggest challenges in general

Not on the agenda , per se , but perhaps the most valuable aspect of this event is the opportunity to talk with peers . State association executives exchange information about their experiences and challenges in conversation , says John Jessup , executive director for the North Carolina Propane Gas Association . This sentiment was shared by all the execs mentioned in this column .

Jessup says the event is worth the travel , time and expense . He almost always comes away with a “ nugget or two ” of useful and valuable information , in the form of a program idea , a process approach or an event deployed in other states , which association execs use to add value to their participating industry members .

“ Getting together with my peers from across the country is not a common event , Jessup says , adding , “ It ’ s an ‘ annual meeting of the minds ’ where we can have unscripted , frank conversations , pose questions and get answers . Often , this is not possible in a scripted meeting ,” Jessup says .

He and many of the other execs in attendance agree that the interaction with peers from across the U . S . underscores the diversity of the propane industry — and propane associations — from region-to-region , or in some cases , state-to-state .

“ The best part of this event is the getting together ,” says Dan Binning , executive for the Colorado and New Mexico Propane Gas Associations . “ The ideas that I take away from this event are great , although I am struck by the “ size differentials ” among associations — a reference to the broad range in size and number of personnel in propane associations across the country . “ Tons of ideas , though often tough for smaller associations to deploy ,” Binning says .

Tom Clark , executive for the Rocky Mountain Propane Association , notes the event underscores the challenges encountered by the various propane associations in the U . S . “ Though the majority of the attendees were association executives , I plan to bring my [ association ] Chair to the event next year , as the event is an excellent vehicle for marketer leaders to understand what the associations contend with on a day-to-day basis .”

Chris Atkins , executive director for the Virginia Propane Gas Association , had the honor of being the “ new guy ,” having been at the helm for less than six months . Atkins says that the event was “ extremely beneficial ” and it “ connected a lot of dots ” for him . Information gleaned from both the scripted agenda and the ad hoc discussions with his peers will “ save lots of time ,” he says .

Thanks go out to both PERC and NPGA for hosting this event . l FON

30 FEBRUARY 2019 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com