Women in Propane Council Announces 2017 Officers

(Washington, DC) Several propane industry leaders will begin or extend their terms on the National Propane Gas Association’s Women in Propane Council beginning January 1, 2017. During NPGA’s Fall Board Meeting, executive officers Kelly Bosak, Affirmative Action Officer at Ferrellgas and Chair of the business council, and Laurie Irish-Jones, CEO of Irish Propane and Irish Carbonic and Vice-Chair of the council were confirmed to continue their roles for calendar year 2017. Milissa Lord, Vice President of Business Development for A.R.M. Solutions, was named as Treasurer, beginning her two-year term at the start of next year. Founding Chair, Nancy Coop, of Ferrellgas will remain on the Executive Board.

Women in Propane (WIP) also announced committee leadership transitions in the coming months. Jackie Hopkins, Sheldon Gas Company, will become Chair of the Programs & Events Committee and, Casandra Russo, AmeriGas, will become the committee Vice-Chair. Loren Fenton, Ferrell North America, will Chair the Membership Committee and, Jamie Fargnoli, Ehrhart Energy, will serve as its Vice-Chair. Kim Tucker, Griffith Energy Service, was named as the Chair of the Communications & Marketing Committee. Sarah Knight, Ferrellgas, will continue her role as Project Manager of The Knowledge Exchange: WIP Mentor Network.

WIP Council Chair Kelly Bosak states, “Building on the success of two industry-wide programs introduced in 2016, the Women in Propane business council will continue to deliver programming that benefits our people and our businesses today and in the future.” Bosak goes on to say, “I am thrilled to work with talented and dedicated leaders to serve the council’s 1,000 members and the industry at large!”

Kelly Bosak, Chair (2016-2017) | Kelly Bosak is Director of Staffing & Affirmative Action Officer at Ferrellgas. Her department supports about 200 hiring managers nationwide. During her 14-year career at Ferrellgas, Bosak has earned the Ferrellgas Humanitarian Award for saving a young boy’s life after a plane crash, the James E. Ferrell Leadership Award and was selected to the 2012 Class of Forty Under 40 by Ingram’s magazine.

Bosak is actively involved in the training professional community in Kansas City. She is an active Rotarian and is also passionate about raising awareness and funds to find a cure for ALS, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease. Bosak holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management with a minor in Spanish from Kansas State University. She maintains the professional SPHR and SHRM-SCP designations. She spends her free time with her husband and 20-month-old son.

Laurie Irish-Jones, Vice-Chair (2016-2107) | Laurie Irish-Jones is the CEO of Irish Propane and Irish Carbonic located in Buffalo, New York. Irish-Jones holds both Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctorate degrees. She has had the pleasure and opportunity to work with both of her parents and three of her four sisters. They have been working as a team since the 1990’s.

Irish-Jones enjoys charity work and is the chairperson for the Hope Chest Buffalo Niagara Dragon Boat Festival which supports paddling teams of breast cancer survivors. She serves on the board of The Center of Entrepreneurship at the State University of Buffalo, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership Council and is the past president of the International Beverage Dispensing Association and the New York Propane Gas Association. Irish-Jones is married to Tim Jones and has four children. She loves the Adirondack Mountains and spends as much time as she can at their camp with their large extended family.

Milissa Lord, Treasurer (2017-2018) | Milissa Lord is the Vice President of Business Development for A.R.M. Solutions. With 25 years of sales, finance, business management, credit and collections experience, Lord has extensive experience in addressing the unique needs of the propane industry.

Lord is a frequent contributor to industry publications, expert online forums, and is known for her forward-thinking improvements within the propane and fuel oil industries. She is an active industry volunteer serving on numerous NPGA committees and as a member of the Young Gassers Association’s Board of Directors.

Membership Committee

Loren Fenton, Chair | Loren Fenton (pictured) is a Distribution Manager at Ferrell North America. She has been at Ferrell North America for 6 years and has responsibility for overseeing all of the company’s pipes and storage facilities. Fenton is married and enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She has enjoyed and learned during her year as vice-chair of the committee and is excited to expand her industry knowledge in her role in 2017.

Jamie Fargnoli, Vice-Chair | Jamie Fargnoli is Ehrhart Energy’s call center Customer Service Team leader.

Jackie Hopkins , Chair | Jackie Sheldon Hopkins (pictured) has worked at Sheldon Gas Company, a venerable, family-owned and -operated propane company in Suisun City, California, the past 12 years as a Customer Service Specialist. Hopkins is also President of her county’s Soroptimist Club. She is an avid San Francisco Bay Area sports fan and attends games whenever she can.

Casandra Russo, Vice-Chair | Casandra Russo began her career with AmeriGas as an Area Sales Manager in 2011. She is currently Assistant Area Director for Northern California.

Kim Tucker, Chair | Kim Tucker has been employed by Griffith Energy Service for 25 years and is the District Manager for their Central Maryland locations. She is currently a student of Loyola University of Maryland’s Executive MBA program.

Tucker is the current President of the Mid-Atlantic Propane Gas Association (MAPGA) and has served on its Board of Directors since 2008. Since 2008 she has served as MAPGA’s Programs and Events Chair. Tucker has been active in NPGA’s Benchmarking Council since 2007 and represented her Benchmarking Group on the Steering Committee for three years. In 2012, she served as the first Chair of WIP’s Programs & Events Committee.

Sarah Knight, Project Manager | Sarah Knight is vice-president of Customer Experience and Employee Development at Ferrellgas. In this role, the 13-year propane industry veteran oversees the standardization and implementation of Ferrellgas’ various customer service initiatives, as well as managing a team of customer care specialists. Knight is active in the propane industry, serving as a member of the Iowa Propane Education & Research Council Board of Directors as well as Project Manager for the team developed to launch the WIP council’s nationwide mentor network pilot introduced to the industry in 2016.

Knight is a 1997 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations. She and her husband, Chris, reside in Solon, Iowa, and have two children.

The Women in Propane Council was established to provide positive opportunities for all members of our industry to support the advancement and success of women in every scope of business operation and professional development. More than 1,000 propane industry professionals, including men and women, are currently members of the Women in Propane Council. For more information, visit www.npga.org/WIP.

NPGA is the national trade association of the propane gas industry with a membership of approximately 3,200 companies, including 39 affiliated state and regional associations representing members in all 50 states. Although the single largest groups of NPGA members are retail marketers of propane gas and propane autogas, the membership includes propane producers, transporters and wholesalers, as well as manufacturers and distributors of associated equipment, containers and appliances. More than 55 million households and businesses use propane gas for space heating, water heating, cooking, outdoor recreation, and other uses. Propane gas is also used in millions of installations nationwide for commercial heating and cooking, in agriculture, in industrial processing, and as a clean alternative engine fuel for over-the-road vehicles and industrial lift trucks. For more information, visit www.npga.org.