Propane People “In The News”…

The Arkansas Propane Gas Association recently installed its officers for the 2018-2019 term. Drew Craft of Craft Propane (Jonesboro) will serve as president; Tom Blackwood of Simmons Energy Solutions (Decatur), past president; Sherrill Hayes of AmeriGas (Batesville), vice president; and Donnie Rhea of AmeriGas (Plumerville), secretary/treasurer.

District directors include Marcus Felker, Danmar Propane (Crawfordsville), and Wes Wilkerson, Pinnacle Propane (Pocahontas), district 1; Ed Williams, Pinnacle Propane (Mountain Pine), and Tommy Vanaman, AmeriGas (North Little Rock), district 2; William Simons, AmeriGas (Mountain Home), and Gregg Luebbring, Tyson Gas (Springdale), district 3; and Tom Byrd, Ceba Gas Inc. (Murfreesboro), and Ray Still, Southern LP Gas (De Queen), district 4. At large member directors are Jim Burcham, Sungas Propane (Greenbrier); Ken Dewitt, AmeriGas (Wynne); David Perkins, Dealers LP (Marshal); and Mark Porth, CHS Inc. (Lawson, Mo.). 

DataOnline (New Providence, N.J.), a global provider of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions, is transitioning its current COO, Chet Reshamwala, to CEO, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed founder and current CEO Martin Adams, who will be more involved in a strategic business development role. Martin will focus on building key account relationships and helping customers improve safety, efficiency, and the customer experience.

An experienced global technology executive,

began his career at Texas Instruments (now Sensata Technologies) as a design engineer, moving up through a variety of leadership roles in business development, marketing, and engineering management. At Sensata he also successfully led the integration of a $1-billion acquisition comprising six independently-run heavy transportation, aerospace, and industrial businesses across 10 sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Reshamwala also helped execute a successful integration with DataOnline’s recent acquisition of Wikon and Independent Technologies.

Josh Budworth

has joined

, a subsidiary of GD Roberts & Co. Inc., as

. Most recently, he was at Alliance AutoGas, where he served as the industry specialist for propane marketers. Earlier, he was a regional sales manager for Charter Fuels. Budworth will work with Fisk’s team to further develop its extensive product and service suite. 

. Prior to joining Meritum, he spent 18 years at Ferrellgas (Liberty, Mo.), where, among other positions, he was executive vice president of Ferrell North America. From 2015-2017, Van Buren also served as chairman of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), and has been active on National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) committees, as well as PERC committees.

. In his new role he will focus on sales, operations, and customer outreach strategies and continue to grow both the R.E. Michel and Dealers LP brands nationwide. Kazakewich, a member of the propane industry for more than 25 years, was most recently North American sales manager for RegO Products. He had held a variety of management positions there since joining the company in 1996. Active in the propane industry, Kazakewich serves on the PERC STAC committee, and NPGA’s TS&S and CETP Certification Committees, as well as being involved with state associations.

The

during its annual convention. Serving during this term are

, president;

, vice president;

, treasurer; and

, membership chair.

is past president chair. Elected as directors were (senior listed first): Region 1,

; Region 2,

, and

; Region 3,

, and

Region 4,

, and

; and Region 5,

, and

. Associate directors include

;

;

; and

. 

. He will serve as a propane industry advocate on key state-level legislative and regulatory issues, strengthening the association’s expanded state engagement efforts. Most recently, Peterson worked nearly seven years on Capitol Hill for Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin. As the senior legislative assistant in the office, he oversaw the Congressman’s energy, environment, science, and business portfolios.

The

.

, and

Member Services chairman.

. Newly named state directors include

, New Jersey state director;

,

, Oregon state director;

, Michigan state director;

, Arkansas director; and

, Pennsylvania director.

is director-at-large.

The

.

;

;

, secretary/treasurer; and

immediate past president.

, was elected director for district I.

.

will serve as district I co-director, and

, director-at-large.

, was elected director of district V, and

, co-director.

was appointed chairman of the PMAK promotion and market development committee.

Jay Stephens has been promoted to vice president and general manager of

. Stephens began his career in the propane industry at Cal Gas (now AmeriGas) when he was 17, working his way up from the warehouse to service technician, and eventually serving as district manager for 10 years and another 10 years as area manager. Stephens joined Teeco in March 2007 as manager of fabrication services at its Sacramento, Calif. facility, overseeing the building and servicing of trucks, dispensers, and other fabricated items, and was later promoted to general manager of operations and fabrication. He comes from a family involved in the propane industry since the 1950s, beginning with his grandfather Warney (Bud) Rogers, father Jim Stephens, and uncle Bob Rogers; as well as his wife, Susan (Guinn) Stephens, and her family, Connie and Porter Guinn, and Porter Guinn Jr. 

, a longtime member of the propane industry and the

(Irvine, Calif.) team, who passed away on October 4, 2018.

Alison Abbot (left)

,

and

its

, presented

, who represents the

, with a signed agreement to

at the 31st annual World LPG Forum held last October in Houston.

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