The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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EDITOR'S NOTE E D I T O R I A L S T A F F Editorial Office EPG Media & Specialty Information 3300 Fernbrook Lane N, Suite 200, Plymouth, MN 55447 Publisher John Prusak 763/383-4402 jprusak@snowgoer.com Editor Keith Reid 847/ 720-5615 kreid@specialtyim.com Managing Editor Nicholas Upton 763/383-4466 nupton@epgmediaLLC.com Senior Contributor Stephen Bennett Columnists Charles Bursey, Sr. Shane Sweet George Lanthier List Rentals MeritDirect, Jim Scova jscova@MeritDirect.com 914/368-1012 Reprints Robin Cooper rcooper@specialtyim.com P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager – Karen Kalinyak Art Director – Brian Snook A D V E R T I S I N G S A L E S East – Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher 413/528-8835 Cell: 413/717-1007 dcampbell@specialtyim.com Central & South Rich Alden 603/899-3010 Fax: 603/899-2343 ralden@specialtyim.com West – Ken Jordan 972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127 kjordan@specialtyim.com M A I N O F F I C E EPG Media & Specialty Information 3300 Fernbrook Lane N, Suite 200, Plymouth, MN 55447 C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E 847/763-9565 • Fax: 847/763-9569 Fuel Oil News PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823 I have worked with Dan Gilligan during his presidency of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America almost since I arrived in the industry in 1999. From the beginning he was one of a handful of "go to" folk at the various associations from whom I could get the straight story on whatever the pressing issue was of the day. He was also one of a hand- ful of folk that was super responsive to my requests, in most cases calling back or shooting a reply email as soon as he got my message. As a journalist it's hard to over value this. Dan is now in the process of stepping down from PMAA and turning over the reins to Rob Underwood, who has been in the trenches for the association since 2007 fighting its battles on the Hill as the director of government relations. As much as I appreciate my relationship with Dan, and how easy that made my job, I can certainly also appreciate what he brought to the table at PMAA. This organization consistently "punches above its weight" in Washington and has tended to win more fights than it lost. My interaction began at the motor fuels level while I was senior editor at National Petroleum News magazine (which has since ceased publication). One of my favorite memories of this period was watching Dan being interviewed live on one of the cable business news channels. This was around the time of Hurricane Katrina in the mid-2000s, and gasoline had passed the "unheard- of" price of $3 per gallon in the face of a massive supply disruption. The on-air talent was working to imply a price gouging angle, which thankfully today has died out as public education measures from the various associations have taken root. Dan coun- tered with a quote, one that I had also come across, from a trader joyously explaining that with all the money he made from the Katrina market volatility he didn't have to work for the rest of the year. The Wall Street friendly staff at the show didn't appreciate that line very much. I laughed. Getting back to punching above its weight, a few years down the road PMAA took up the cause of market speculation and market reform driven initially from NEFI by Sean Cota. PMAA took on SPCC regulations and wet lines regulations and numerous other major legislative initia- tives impacting petroleum marketers. And, especially as I became more involved with the fuel oil side, I saw how well Dan managed an organization that is made up of 47 state and regional entities to accomplish these and many other initiatives. I have association management in my background on the communication side. I've like- wise observed numerous associations from the outside over the years. And while it's not all that unique, a federation model was certainly something new to my experience. Managing a traditional association can be tricky, but an association of associations similarly led by strong personalities has to be on another level. I've heard of some contentious internal challenges the organization has worked through over the years, and can only imagine that there were many others small and large that stayed more or less private. For all of the politics, strong egos and wildly divergent needs (outside of some core issues) Dan has been able to navigate the various minefields in a seemingly effortless and impressive performance. Because Dan was always so accessible I didn't have the interactions with Rob in his legislative position that I had with his counterparts at some of the other associations. Judging by PMAA's success in its legislative efforts, and the feedback I got from Dan, the Association seems well covered moving forward. Rob, you have big shoes to fill. I wish you the best of luck and PMAA members a continuation of the organization's well-established reputation serving the industry. And Dan, relax and enjoy your time off. You can read my interview with Dan on page 20, and Shane Sweet's interview with Rob on page 28. l F O N Keith Reid 8 JUNE 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com Membership applied for January 2014 Changing of the Guard