Doings in Newport
The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry looks like an old timey ship, but was completed just this year. It has engines that run on biodiesel, fuel that was supplied by Newport Biodiesel. (Story, pg. 14 September.) T.H. Malloy & Sons, a fuel marketer in Cumberland, R.I., that delivered the biodiesel to the ship for its maiden voyage, is a longtime marketer and promoter of the fuel. “They’ve been our partners from day one,” says Robert Morton, chairman of Newport Biodiesel. Some of us are attending the Southern New England Energy Conference in September in historic Newport, homeport of the Oliver Hazard Perry, and a town renowned for ships, yachts and generally “salty surroundings” (as the tourism promoters put it).
Boots2Roots, a Maine non-profit organization, focuses on connecting with active duty military members who are planning to transition to The Pine State before they leave military service. “We connect with people while they are still in the service and help them do self-assessments, write cover letters and resumes, help them with networking and interview preparation,” says Jen Fullmer, executive director of Boots2Roots. “We want to establish relationships with employers. It takes a lot of time and effort to translate military experience so that employers can understand” the capabilities and potential of military members, Fullmer says.
Mike Estes, owner of Estes Oil & Propane in York, Me., is one employer who has no trouble understanding that. His company has a long history of hiring people with military backgrounds, including its recent hire, Shawn Campbell, a young U.S. Air Force veteran. Boots2Roots, Fullmer and Campbell reached out, Estes says, “And we were hiring and we were glad to take him on.” This summer Campbell was working as a helper on air conditioning, heating oil and propane installations, and this fall he is working with oil technicians (story, pg. 17, September).
Also in the September issue: a feature article about full-service fuel marketers building distinct discount operations online; our annual Truck, Trailer and Equipment Directory; and a report on Eastern Propane Gas using propane-fueled trucks.
WEBINAR ON BIOHEAT: SEPT. 21
Fuel Oil News and biofuel producer REG Inc. are hosting a webinar on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. EDT that will show how heating oil companies are managing and marketing Bioheat blended fuel—biodiesel blended with traditional heating oil. Our speakers include Ray Hart, founder of Hart Home Comfort, in the Long Island and New York City metropolitan area. Hart Home Comfort started as a cash-on-delivery heating oil company nearly 40 years ago before expanding into the diverse company it is today. Hart will talk about how Bioheat blended fuel has helped his business continue to thrive, how he incorporated biodiesel into his fuel offerings, and the positive customer reactions to the cleaner-burning fuel.
Joining Hart is Barry Knox, director, Northeast region, REG, who has more than 30 years of experience in the petroleum industry. Knox has served as a board member of industry organizations, including the New England Fuel Institute (NEFI), the Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association (MEMA) and the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA). Knox will discuss trends in the heating oil industry, how the Northeast is supplied biodiesel and the infrastructure that is in place to get it to dealers and the positive economics of Bioheat blended fuel for heating oil retailers and their customers.
Register for the webinar at fueloilnews.com/webinars/register/.
