Thursday, December 15, 2016

People EasonC. Michael Eason has joined the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC; Washington, D.C.) staff as director of budget and finance. He will replace Jim Harris, PERC’s CFO and vice president of administration for the past 11 years, who will retire at the end of 2016. Most recently, Eason was CFO at Intelligent Transportation Society of America.

Tricia Gordon has joined Delta Liquid Energy (DLE; Paso Robles, Calif.) as a member of the accounting office. She is a fourth-generation member of the family-owned and -operated business founded under the name San Luis Butane by her great-grandparents, Harry and Iva Platz. Gordon is the daughter of Cindy Belmont, DLE’s vice president of administration. People Gordon
AmeriGas (Valley Forge, Pa.) has named Debra Foster Lynch to the newly-created position of regional marketing specialist for the company’s Southern region. She will be responsible for coordinating various local, regional, and national sales and marketing strategies for the local AmeriGas district to help grow the customer base and increase sales. Lynch will work with the area sales managers and area directors, and will provide support to the district managers and their teams. She joined AmeriGas in 1989, and most recently was operations supervisor for the Metro Lawn Division in Jacksonville, Fla. Lynch has also been active in the Alabama and Florida associations. Peope Lynch

The Texas Propane Gas Association officers for 2016-2017 were sworn in during the association’s annual convention. Ben Wood, Northwest Propane (Dallas), will serve as president; John Walter, Schneider Distributing (San Angelo), president-elect; Harris Baker, Pinnacle Propane (Irving), secretary; and Sam Fox, McCraw Propane (Bonham), treasurer/finance chair.

Selected to serve as district directors and alternates, respectively, were: Jim Vines, Cooper Propane, district 1; Josh McAdams, McAdams Propane, district 2; Jeremy Gentile, Hill Butane, and Keith Stone, Alford LP Gas, district 3; Mark Peterson, Buster Brown Propane, and Allen Wells, Baygas, district 4; Omar Garcia, Mr. G Propane, district 6; Steve Smith, Smith Gas, and Sharon Seal, Bell Hydrogas, district 7; Jack Walzel, Tri-Co. Propane, and Rodney Sladek, Fayetteville Propane, district 8; Bill McCullough, Butane Gas, and Brad Quisenberry, Gene Harris Petroleum, district 9; Josh Nowlin, McCraw Propane, and Sam Fox, McCraw Oil, district 10; Steve Adams, Hardwick LPG, and Lane Worthington, Sunoco, district 11; John Gordon, Bob’s Fuels, and Laci Jo Walter, Schneider Distributing, district 12; Trini Hernandez, Fuel Mark Inc., district 13; and Don Heinrich, Slaton Gas & Equipment, district 15.

The West Virginia Propane Gas Association recently elected its officers for 2016-2017. Karen Elliott of Roach Energy (Martinsburg) will serve as president, and Randy Hagedorn, Hagedorn’s LP Gas Service (Dellslow), vice president.
Directors for the coming term include Steve Cameron, AmeriGas; Brian Crespo, Blue Flame Inc. (Berkeley Springs); Forest Herron, Herron’s Training & Consulting (Taylorsville, Ky.); Jim Mason, Gas Equipment Co.; Pat Shay, Tarantin Industries (Shippensburg, Pa.); Rusty Surface, Southern States Cooperative (Buckhannon); and David White, Thompson Gas.

Sharon Coates, director of the Arkansas LP Gas Board for the past 29 years, retired Aug. 1. She joined the LP Gas Board in 1974 as a secretary, moving up to office manager/bookkeeper in 1978, and in 1981 began working in the field with Woodrow Sandusky. In 1982, Coates was appointed the first female LP Gas inspector in Arkansas, and the nation at that time, and was promoted to director of the LP Gas Board in 1987. During her tenure, she served on numerous committees, including the NFPA 54 and 58 committees, Underwriters Laboratory Gas Products Safety Committee, and represented the LP-gas industry working with DOT.

Kevin Pfalser, a member of the propane industry since 1983, replaces Coates as director. He has held a number of positions, from filling tanks and service work, and later manager at Synergy Gas, to district manager at Ferrellgas. In 1993, Pfalser went to work for Gas Equipment Co., Inc. as an outside sales representative. Most recently, he was Southwest regional manager for Gas Equipment Co., Inc..