Author

Karen Massman VanAsdale

Karen Massman VanAsdale is a contributing writer to BPN whose Women in Propane column has profiled the accomplishments of women across the globe. A former newspaper editor, she is an award-winning marketing communications leader and board member of her local chapter of International Association of Business Communicators.

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  • People

    Women In Propane: WINLPG Woman Of The Year Achieving Great Things

    “From humble beginnings come great things,” is more than a proverb to Pam Indurjeeth, managing director at Oryx Energies South Africa. She integrates the inspirational narrative into a life dedicated to learning, connecting, and giving back to achieve success. For her accomplishments, Indurjeeth is the latest recipient of the prestigious Woman of the Year Award by the Women in LPG Global Network (WINLPG). In 2018, she was also recognized as the Woman of the Year by the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Safety Association of South Africa. At Oryx Energies, one of the largest independent providers of oil and gas in sub-Saharan Africa, Indurjeeth represents an affiliate of a corporate group that plays a key role in the promotion of LPG in South Africa and rebalancing...

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  • People

    Women In Propane: Early Life Lessons Lead To Successful Career

    Glenda Christian, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Blue Ridge Energy LLC, admits she has never been accused of being an underachiever. “My father told me, ‘if someone thinks enough of you to hire you for a job, make sure you never give them a reason to regret it.’ That’s always stuck with me,” Christian said. “He taught me the value of working hard and being committed to whatever you do. My father lost his battle with cancer in 1998, but his influences are always with me. A goal of mine has always been to work hard and treat others in a manner that would make my father proud…I hope he is.” A compass of hard work and compassion has led to Christian’s...

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  • People

    Women In Propane: Infusing Creativity Into The World Of Propane

    As director of marketing for Paraco Gas Corp. in Rye Brook, N.Y., Lindsey Stansfield is infusing purpose, creativity, and humor into the world of propane. “I take my job very seriously, but I try to have a little fun with it as well,” she said. Weekly social media posts highlighting employees, clever marketing campaigns, and special events are just a few tactics Stansfield and her team use to help engage and educate customers and employees. “What I love most about propane is what it affords people the ability to do. I am trying to help the people I work with know we’re not just delivering gas. It’s much deeper,” she said. The purpose is what people are able to do because they have propane in...

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  • Feature Articles

    Propane With A Village Touch

    From September to April, the best time to catch Steve Frey, owner of Frey’s Propane in Stapleton, Neb., is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., Monday through Saturday. If you miss him, he’s either filling up his 3000-gal. propane delivery truck at his 18,000-gal. bulk plant or making a delivery. Unless it’s the noon hour, which means he and Cindy, his wife, business partner, and only other employee, will be religiously taking an hour break for lunch. Sunday is his day off. As the number of family-owned propane marketers dwindles, Frey’s Propane continues to serve the small village in mid-Nebraska and surrounding areas in the same way it has since 1979. “I have very loyal customers. I haven’t really had to change how I do...

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  • People

    Women In Propane: Coming Of Age In Her Second Act

    Lynn Rozmus’ career trek is a second act and coming age of story combined. Training director within the office and office manager for Superior Plus Propane in Oak Ridge, N.J., she is embracing new opportunities for growth as the result of multiple company acquisitions within the past few years.   Her zest for learning and natural inclination to help others has not gone unnoticed. Rozmus was recently named Manager of the Year by the New Jersey Propane Gas Association. The award recognizes her problem-spotting and -solving abilities, leadership skills, and compassion for employees and customers. “I will say my career has not been strategic at all. I did open up my thinking,” Rozmus said. “When you’re sold, you can feel a little uneasy. I’m a...

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  • People

    Women In Propane Profile: An Emerging Leader Is Changing Perceptions

    (March 6, 2020) — Growing up as an only child in West Bengal, India, Priyanka Shaw was often told she was the boy in the family. Boys, not girls, were the ones naturally expected to do well and provide for their families. “Why can’t I be the girl in the family and be equally supported?” she asked. After entering the propane industry less than two years ago, Shaw, the first female field marketing officer in LPG in her division of the Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOCL), is quickly helping to change cultural perceptions of women and the propane industry. Her work encouraging women in rural areas to use propane as an alternative fuel and “being a friend, philosopher, and guide to LPG distributors and helping...

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  • People

    Women In Propane: Seizing Career Opportunities With Determination

    More than six years ago, at the suggestion of her mother-in-law, Chelsea Harrison applied to be the first in-house marketing/graphic designer for Foster Fuels in Brookneal, Va. She was a graphic designer with no prior knowledge of the propane fuel industry and no management experience. Today, as the vice president of marketing, Harrison manages a creative team of six for the company, which has grown from 65 employees when she began to 185 employees currently. Her role encompasses developing strategic marketing initiatives and overseeing the creation of all communications, including social media, multimedia, printed collateral, public relations, and advertising. “If you’d asked me six years ago, I just would not have seen the growth,” she said. “Looking back on it and how things came to...

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  • People

    Women In Propane: Her Focus Is Family, Business, and the Propane Industry

    Rosie Buschur of McMahan’s Bottle Gas in Dayton, Ohio, talks proudly about her husband, Joe; their five children and nine grandchildren; the propane company they have grown; and their dedication to giving back to the propane industry. “We stay really, really busy, but giving back is important,” Buschur said. A typical week for her includes doing “whatever is needed” at McMahan’s—from accounting, to answering phones, to selling grills. She is also kept busy as the current chair of the National Propane Gas Foundation Scholarship Committee for the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA). Outside the office, Rosie strives to attend at least one grandchild’s soccer game a week. A favorite pastime is taking family cruises with their extended family. (Joe has 11 siblings and many nieces...

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  • Feature Articles

    From CPA To President of Oil & Propane Company

    Running Michael Oil and Propane , the company her grandparents started in 1948 in Big Rapids, Mich., was not Gail Bailey’s original career path. “The goal was to go into accounting and get my license as a CPA. The closer I got to the end of the program, I realized that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go,” Bailey said. But, she decided to go ahead and finish her degree in accounting from Ferris State University and took a job in public accounting. On her way home from the accounting office, she would stop by Michael Oil and Propane and pick up some of the daily work. As a working mother of three, she was juggling. “I was putting in a lot of hours, but...

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  • People

    Women In Propane: Banking, Propane, And Five Kids: A Recipe For Success

    Karen Duch was on maternity leave from her job as a mortgage banker in New London, Wisc., when her husband, Jeff, was laid off. Karen had just given birth to triplets—three girls—who were welcomed into the family by their brothers, ages 2 and 4. “With five kids under 5, we said, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?’” Karen said. Their answer—start a propane company. Jeff had experience in agronomy and the propane industry, and Karen had a business background, thus Wolf River Propane LLC was launched. Seventeen years later, the company continues to grow organically providing propane, tanks, and propane services to residents of central Wisconsin. The company has two customer service representatives and five drivers with about 4000 active customers. “It...

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