Sunday, March 3, 2019
Caleb Warner has joined Bergquist Inc. (Toledo, Ohio) as its new area sales manager for Iowa, Missouri, and parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. He replaces David Webb, who is retiring. Prior to joining Bergquist, Warner spent seven years in various positions at Ferrellgas. Most recently, he was a senior area product coordinator, overseeing bulk product movement from West Coast Ferrellgas and Blue Rhino operations. He also has previous sales and customer service experience outside the propane industry. 
Jim Schwartzfisher has joined the customer care team at Bergquist Inc. (Toledo, Ohio) in the recently created position of customer support specialist for remote tank monitoring. Working closely with the company’s two remote tank monitoring sales specialists, he will utilize his knowledge of remote tank monitoring systems to cater to customers’ specific concerns and questions. Schwartzfisher will provide customers with training, technology support, and proactive guidance geared toward helping the users reap the full benefits from current and emerging propane technologies. His background is in manufacturing, information technology, and sales management. Chesapeake Utilities Corp. has promoted Andrew R. Hesson to vice president of its subsidiary, Sharp Energy (Salisbury, Md.). He also assumed the role of Sharp Energy’s business unit lead in January upon the retirement of its president, Bob Zola. In his prior position of assistant vice president of Sharp Energy, Hesson was responsible for setting customer rates, developing the company’s capital investments, and reviewing acquisition opportunities. Under his watch, he expanded and energized his team, resulting in a 35% increase in propane gallon sales; generated growth in the customer base to 39,000; and broadened Sharp’s service territories into Pennsylvania and the western shore of Maryland. Hesson also developed a service technician recruiting and mentoring program in conjunction with local technical schools to ensure a steady flow of service technicians to facilitate the company’s further growth. The 12-year industry veteran was previously Ohio division vice president with Inergy LLC.
Crestwood Equity Partners LP (Kansas City, Mo.) has promoted Pete Kowalewich to vice president of Western NGL Marketing, with responsibility for leading the development of customer solutions for Y-grade production from Crestwood’s Gathering & Processing operations in the Bakken, Permian, and Powder River Basins. Kowalewich joined Crestwood’s predecessor, Inergy, in 2009 as director of East Marketing. Most recently, he served as Crestwood’s managing director of commercial development/NGLs. GPA Midstream Association (Tulsa) has named Michael Purdy as its communications specialist. Purdy has more than a decade of experience in journalism, writing for print, broadcast, and radio, as well as working on newsletters, public speaking, and social media. His experience will be utilized to broaden the association’s reach, and engage its members, through traditional and digital media.
Veteran security consultant Bo Bowditch has joined the Lock America (Corona, Calif.) sales team. He will be responsible for accounts in the western states and Canada. Previously, he served clients in the OEM market, and for industries such as petroleum marketing, EMS, and vending, for more than 30 years.
Brent Cammett has joined P3 Propane Safety’s (Portsmouth, N.H.) safety and training team as a senior consultant. He has more than 20 years of experience in the industry with all types of safety training. A certified CETP instructor, proctor, and skills evaluator, as well as a certified Smith System driver trainer, Cammett also has extensive knowledge of NFPA 54 and 58, and specializes in safety and operational audits. For the past five years he has been a field safety manager for AmeriGas, covering most of the New England region. In his new position, Cammett will consult with clients on all aspects of propane safety and NFPA 54 and 58 regulations, and provide CETP training. Quality Steel Corp. (Cleveland, Miss.) has recently made a number of personnel changes. The company’s CEO, Jim Tims, has retired and stepped away from day-to-day operations, following more than 40 years of service to the propane industry. He will continue as chairman of the board of LT Corp., parent company of Quality Steel.
Following his tenure as president of Quality Steel, and more than 20 years of involvement in the propane industry, Virgil Mullins has transitioned from president of Quality Steel to advisor to senior management. Mullins has been an active member of the National Propane Gas Association.
Going forward, Sean Wessel, former CFO for Quality Steel, has taken the dual responsibility of president and CEO. Bill Monaghan, the company’s previous corporate controller, succeeds Wessel as CFO. Don Miller, regional sales manager, will retire in March, having served the propane industry for more than 35 years. During his career, he has worked for multiple propane companies, including American Welding and Tank and Quality Steel.
Ken Horton has joined Quality Steel as regional sales manager, with responsibility for sales in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and portions of Iowa and Nebraska.
RegO (Elon, N.C.) recently added several new members to its Americas sales team. Ed Varney has joined RegO as business development director, U.S. and Canada. Varney has more than 28 years of business development and sales experience in U.S. and international sales in the LPG and natural gas industries. He previously held senior positions at AmeriGas and Heritage Propane. Most recently, he was the sales leader for the Americas for Honeywell Process Solutions in gas measurement. Varney worked with most of the major pipeline and refinery operators in North America.
Joe Calhoun is also a new member of the Americas sales team as business development manager for LPG and industrial gas in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. In his more than 20 years in the gas industry, he has been a board member and held executive leadership roles within regional propane gas associations. Calhoun has held numerous business development and sales management roles during his career. Most recently he worked as the national business development manager for Robinson Pipe & Vessel.
ThompsonGas (Frederick, Md.) has promoted Jim Davis, senior vice president of operations, to COO, a new position within the company. Davis, previously with Energy Distribution Partners, joined ThompsonGas in May 2018. He has more than 20 years of experience in operations and sales leadership.
Vision Financial Group Inc. d/b/a VFG Leasing & Finance (VFG; Pittsburgh, Pa.) has promoted William P. Summers to CEO. He succeeds his father, Frederick S. Summers, founder of VFG, who will continue his role as chairman of the company. The younger Summers joined VFG in 1993 after serving in the U.S. Army. He was an early investor in the business starting in 1994, and has held a variety of positions with VFG over the years.Send your company's new employee, personnel and other news announcements to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
