People Best Part of the Business, Says 44-Year Industry Veteran

Jack Culbertson held many positions in the propane industry and enjoyed them all, but his favorite part of the business was always the people. He retired late August 2018 capping his nearly 44-year career.

Culbertson retired from Van Unen Miersma Propane in Ripon, Merced, and Goshen, Calif. He was with the company for the past 23 years. There, he had been a manager, regional manager, safety director, and then assistant operations manager. “That means I’ll do whatever they need done,” he says with a laugh.

Van Unen Miersma was the sixth propane company Culbertson worked for. During his time in the industry, he worked in four states and was at various times a driver, serviceman, manager, salesman, instructor, and safety director.

Culbertson’s career began in 1974 when he became a driver with Cal Gas in Yreka, Calif. He formerly had been the manager of a gas station. Since he would often deposit cash from the station at a local bank, he got to know two bank tellers. Both were married to men who worked at Cal Gas. They referred Culbertson to a manager at that company. “I went there and said, ‘I’m Jack.’ He said, ‘When can you start?’ I started at $575 a month.”

Culbertson soon decided to make a career in the industry. “I loved the people, the job, and the people I worked with,” he says. “I never really thought about doing anything else. I enjoy what I do.”

During his years with Cal Gas, he was a driver, then a serviceman, and then a manager. He first became a serviceman when the company’s serviceman quit. Culbertson told a manager he’d like to do the job, but someone else was hired. That new-hire quit the next morning, leaving the truck parked. “The manager said, ‘You want it? There’s the keys.’”

Culbertson became a manager for the first time in a similar way. “A position became open and I said I was interested,” he says. “I found out early on that if you don’t ask for something, they’re not going to offer you something. When I started asking for management positions, I started getting them. Before that, people said, ‘Oh, I didn’t think you would be interested.’”

After Cal Gas, Culbertson was a serviceman at Van Gas in Grants Pass and Hood River, Ore., and Longview, Wash.; an instructor at Project JOVE in Los Angeles; a salesman and manager at Petrolane in Santa Fe Springs and Merced, Calif.; a salesman and manager at AmeriGas in Bakersfield and Oxnard, Calif.; and a manager at Northern Energy in Payson, Ariz. Project JOVE was an organization that taught unemployed adults how to get a job in the propane industry.

Looking back at the positions he has held, Culbertson says, “I have always said the best job is being a driver. I got to know people and they got to know me. Some of them had farms, and I would come home with fruits and vegetables they had given me. I enjoy working with people that way.

“When I was a serviceman, I enjoyed figuring out how to repair things,” Culbertson says. “There was some construction, some electrical…. Every day was different.”

“I loved teaching, too, going out and showing people how to do things and how to figure stuff out,” he adds. “I enjoyed it when they said they had learned something and said I had taught them something.”

“In management, I loved having my employees stay a long time. I was in charge of them, but I enjoyed them like a family. Here, at Van Unen Miersma Propane, almost all the employees have been here 10 or 15 years. It’s a big, happy group.”

One of the people he hired in the past is now part owner of Van Unen Miersma Propane. “The owner of this company used to be my salesman,” Culbertson says. “Rick says, ‘I used to work for Jack.’ Another owner had a truck and I used to hire him to set big tanks. I tell people, ‘Always be good to other people and other companies, because you might end up working for them.’”

During his years in the industry, Culbertson picked up several certifications and awards. At Petrolane, he was named No. 1 salesman one year and No. 1 manager the next. He attended one of the first Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) classes in Salt Lake City. At Northern Energy he was picked to be the regional CETP trainer. He took the Smith driving course and its train the trainer course, and became an instructor.

He also saw many changes in the past 44 years. Most have made things “better, easier, and quicker,” he says. Most bobtails now have automatic transmissions. Boom trucks are bigger and better, reach farther, and are remote controlled. The pipe used is now plastic and it’s lighter and easier to work with. “Plastic pipe is the best thing that has happened to this industry,” he says. “I think anyone who has done piping would tell you that.

“The more knowledge you can get in the industry, the better off you will be,” Culbertson says. “It’s the computer stuff nowadays. We used to look in a book for the price. Now, even in trucks, the equipment for deliveries is computerized. You have to understand it or be able to learn it.”

You may have to be willing to move, too, he adds. “Most companies are small. Unless it is a big corporate office, there is not a lot of room to grow,” he says. “I had to move a few times in order to be able to move up.

“What was best about this industry was the family feeling, where everyone was treated like family,” Culbertson says. “I have always told people that if they don’t love a job in the first 30 days, they should find something else. You’ve got to love the job you’re doing.

Four different retirement parties were thrown in Culbertson’s honor. “At one,” he says, “a person who had left the company came to the party and said, ‘You were the best manager I’ve ever had.’ At another, customers were invited. It was a proud feeling to see the ones who showed up. It was great to see everyone to say goodbye. I will miss everyone I’ve met and worked with along my career.” —Steve Relyea