CEMA Honors Marketers of the Year
Jennifer Tracey-Carlo and Ralph Carlo of Tracey Energy in New Haven, Conn., and Ed Ryan and Paula Ryan, of Ryan Oil in Hamden, Conn., received Marketers of the Year honors at the Southern New England Energy Conference in Newport, R.I. Donnell Rehagen, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, was honored as Associate of the Year.
The awards were presented by the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, which said of the Carlos and the Ryans:
“We hear a lot about the so-called ‘Deep State’ in Washington on the news these days. But if you’re in Connecticut, Rhode Island or Massachusetts, does that really affect you?
“The answer is most assuredly yes. The local manifestations of the Deep State are state government bureaucracies and their associated social service agencies that feel they can ignore your problems, that they’re above the law, and can get away with screwing your businesses without consequence to themselves.
“So, today we recognize two Connecticut marketers who stood up against this kind of abuse and said they weren’t going to take it anymore. CEMA’s highest award, Marketer of the Year, is presented this year to Jennifer Tracey-Carlo and Ralph Carlo of Tracey Energy in New Haven, Connecticut; and Ed Ryan and Paula Ryan, of Ryan Oil in Hamden, Connecticut.
“Many of the marketers in the room participate in [the] Low Income Energy Assistance Program. Last year, both Tracey Energy and Ryan Oil participated in the program as vendors, believing in good faith they would be paid within 30 days per the terms of their agreements. Well, 30 days went by, then 60, then 90. After six months, the social service agency administering the program still owed $200,000 to 40 marketers for deliveries made earlier that year. Why did this happen? Because the agency thought it could get away with it and no one would complain.
“But someone did. Many marketers aren’t comfortable in confrontational meetings with government agencies, legislators, or agency bureaucrats. But Jennifer, Ralph, Ed and Paula, not known for their shyness, stood up and attended countless meetings to resolve this problem, pushing hard on behalf of everyone to get paid, even their competitors. Eventually half the money was paid, but it took meetings with state commissioners and legislators before all the money was paid in November of last year. Then to cap it off, legislation was passed earlier this spring that put in controls to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.
“So for your determination, your eloquence, and for the end results you achieved on behalf of our industry, we present the Marketer of the Year Award to you, Jennifer Tracey-Carlo, Paula Ryan, Ralph Carlo, and Ed Ryan.”
About the NBB’s Rehagen, the Connecticut association said:
“Individuals and companies associated with energy marketers are critical in helping bond the disparate parts of our industry together, though information, education, advocacy, resources and advice, making the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
“It is therefore with great pleasure that we present our Associate of the Year Award to Donnell Rehagen, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board.
“Donnell has represented NBB for the past several years, during which time he has been a tireless advocate for supplying our industry with the cleanest source of fuel—a renewable, American fuel, which, in its purest form, is cleaner than any heating source including utility gas.
“Under his leadership, NBB has emphasized inclusiveness and collaboration—both within its membership ranks and through efforts with other organizations, including those here in the room today. From hundreds of miles on the road visiting biodiesel plants across the country to building a growing team of resources in Washington, D.C., to visiting fuel marketers like at our conference this week, his efforts have paid off with ever-increasing U.S. biodiesel production, awareness and use.
The conference was sponsored by the New England Fuel Institute. It was held at the Newport Marriott, Sept. 24-25. The keynote speaker was April M. Salas, executive director of the Revers Center for Energy at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
PICTURED ON HOME PAGE: Ed Ryan and Paula Ryan, of Ryan Oil in Hamden, Conn., as they received Marketers of the Year honors at the Southern New England Energy Conference.
Photo by Stephen Bennett
