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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DECEMBER VOL . 7 6 NO. 1 2 EDI TO R' S NO T E EDITORIAL STAF F Editorial Office 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 Keith Reid grinding on since 2008, though officially we are probably in some form of weak recovery phase. And oil prices, might have averaged out to be higher through the course of the year than they were dur- ing the peak year of 2008. Hard fought and won legislative successes aimed at reducing speculation in the oil markets and credit card swipe fees for those diver- sified oil dealers with convenience store operations have been watered down in the regulatory phase. It could be argued that the best thing about this year for Americans is that we are not Europeans – but of course, those events have ramifi- cations that are global in nature. So what is there to be thankful for as I we pass Thanksgiving and move into the holiday season and the new year? For all the challenges we face, America remains a productive, stable, creative and safe place to live, raise a family and con- duct business. For all of the challenges the industry faces, oil dealers and marketers reflect some of the best of the American entrepreneurial spirit. This is an industry that has faced tough times in the past and found a way to leverage core competencies to not only overcome those challenges, but move successfully into the new world that was developing around them. Coal mer- chants moved into oil. Today's oil dealers and marketers while continuing to serve Put 2011 to Rest T'S BEEN ANOTHER TOUGH YEAR FOR THE country and certainly a tough year for the industry. The recession has been their customers are broadly aggressive in looking for new markets and new oppor- tunities to offset the industry's challenges. And for those challenges, the industry has developed higher efficiency heating appli- ances and environmentally friendly fuels. Current high oil prices will have to, at some point, see a real-world adjustment relative to real world—on hand today— supply and demand. Regardless of your personal political stance, 2012 for all of the uncertainty does hold the promise of breaking the current grid- lock in Washington one way or another. And potentially in ways that dramatically reduce the current regulatory war against fossil fuels. I tend to be an optimist and Americans should be optimistic because as a people we do tend to actually solve our problems and come out ahead. We face many of the same problems as others in the world, with debat- ably ours being worse in the long run while others are worse in the short run. Historically, we tend to be a bit late in addressing impor- tant, but unpleasant things. However, when we have to we pull together, we do what needs to be done. Let's look forward to 2012 and see what we can make of it. On a personal level, from me and the rest of our Fuel Oil News staff – Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and happy time off, if you can squeeze a few hours out of the busy heating season. Enjoy your families and friends and we will touch base again next year. l FON Editor Keith Reid 847/720-5615 kreid@m2media360.com Managing Editor Debra Reschke Schug 847/720-5618 dschug@m2media360.com Columnists Charles Bursey, Sr. John Griffin George Lanthier EXECUTIVE STAF F President/CEO and Group Publisher Marion Minor List Rentals/ Reprints – Cheryl Naughton 678/292-6054 Fax: 360/294-6054 cnaughton@m2media360.com PRODUCT ION Production Manager – Mary Jo Tomei Art Director – Andrew Stamm ADVERTISING SALES East – Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher 413/528-2364 Fax: 413/528-8835 dcampbell@m2media360.com Central & South – Rich Alden 603/899-3010 Fax: 603/899-2343 ralden@m2media360.com West – Ken Jordan 972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127 kjordan@m2media360.com MAIN OF F ICE 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 • Fax: 847-720-5601 CUSTOMER SERVICE 845/856-2229 • Fax: 845/856-5822 Fuel Oil News P.O. Box 4290, Port Jervis, NJ 12771 M2MEDIA360 Membership applied for 7/1/2010 BEV-AL COMMUNICAT IONS INC. Marion Minor Gerald Winkel President/CEO Director of Finance Joanne Juda-Prainito Mary Jo Tomei 8 DECEMBER 2011 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com VP Audience Develolpment Production Director