Women In Propane: Regina Haig Returns to Industry to Continue a Legacy

The NPGA Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo in Atlanta last spring was a time for members of the propane industry to connect, showcase products and services, and learn. For Regina Haig, safety compliance officer for American Standard Manufacturing (ASM), it was also an emotional homecoming.

Like many professionals in the propane industry, Regina was brought into the business via family, but returned in January 2018 after a 25-year hiatus. Her father, Coleman Vickary, started the propane exchange company in Lawyersville, N.Y., when Regina was 20. She worked in the family business including traveling with her father to trade shows promoting the new company — and a new concept of exchanging propane tanks.

After three years, she left to marry, earn an education degree, have three children, and take on jobs in other industries including being a coach and educational aide at the local high school, and educating the community and teens about tobacco for the Research Foundation at SUNY. She continued, however, to stay abreast of what was happening at ASM. Although her father is now retired, her brother, Dominic Vickary, is the vice president, product developer, and facilities manager; her husband, Aaron Haig, is the production manager.

“The Atlanta show was the first show I did without my dad,” Regina said, explaining why the show was so emotional for her. “I so wished my dad had made the trip to see his kids following in his footsteps. For me, it’s incredibly humbling to see what my dad created. I know what it took to get here. We were that mom-and-pop shop when we started.

“My dad started the company in 1990 after deciding to go off on his own. It was truly a family-run company — mom, dad, my brother (who was 6), and me,” she said. “We came up with the logo around the kitchen table.”

Regina’s dad created the idea of exchanging 20-lb propane tanks when the gas stations were closed on Sundays and you had no place to go if you were barbecuing and ran out of propane, she explained. ASM began as a producer of high-quality cylinder exchange displays for the grill cylinder exchange business.

“It grew by leaps and bounds in those first few years. I was working in the office and primarily doing trade shows. We were traveling quite a bit,” Regina said. “I was a young kid and didn’t appreciate the hard work and value my dad put in.”

The company, now with 22 employees, has broadened its scope to include propane forklift cylinder storage, high-pressure cylinder storage for welding and industrial applications, and a range of innovative, ergonomic cylinder handling equipment. Customers range from the small, family-run businesses to large industry leaders.

“Coming back, I was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces I’d known in Atlanta. There was some young fresh blood too,” Regina said. “The younger generation is so different than the mom-and-pops. Everything is instant.”

Technology has changed the industry, but face-to-face connections with customers and vendors are still needed, she said. The propane business is growing, and Regina said she noted a lot more women on the floor at the conference.

“It was always my dad’s goal to have us (her and her brother) in the business. The timing was right,” Regina said of her return to ASM. “My husband and I are empty nesters now — so I thought, ‘What should we be doing?’

“So much has changed, technology, and our product line has changed. I’m learning something new every day. I have to be on my toes every day,” she said. “Working with family has been easier than I expected. The relationship has really grown for all of us.”

When she decided to return to ASM, Regina said she and Aaron made a firm commitment that when they left work, they would not bring it home. “Not that we don’t talk about our day, but we don’t get into the minutia,” she said.

The couple spends a lot of time with their three children, one of whom is married, including having family dinner every Sunday and taking on community service projects. Planting flower boxes for a local bakery was a recent project. “Community service has always been a pillar of our family,” Regina said. “If you’re going to live in this community, you’re going to have to be a part of it.”

Camping, gardening, and spending time with church-related events are other favorite activities, but, Regina said, kayaking is her refuge. “We’re just south of the Adirondacks. Friends will pick us up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday; we’ll hike, and then sit in the lake with a good book.” —Karen Massman VanAsdale

(Butane Propane News, June 2018)