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 A nother issue of the magazine and another announcement within the pages of an association executive stepping down and leaving behind a signifi- cant legacy. Although she still has formally over one year left to go, and we will no doubt provide more coverage as the end of that year approaches, the National Association of Oil and Energy Service Professionals chose this year's convention and trade show to honor Judy Garber for her years of effective service to both the organization and the industry. You can find a partial interview on page 24 and the full interview online at: FuelOilNews.com/Judy. For starters, OESP is one of those rare organizations that effortlessly combines the type of hominess you would associate with going down to the VFW for a Friday night fish fry, but combined with a professional focus on meeting the critical need of industry education. That not only encompassed technical training for industry tech- nicians and service managers, but the exploration of new technologies and business opportunities available to the industry. Obviously, such an atmosphere is driven by the people involved, and I think a large part of that successful combination has been due to one specific person who has served as the executive director. With a year to go it seems a bit premature to be pushing the sendoff too formally, but the industry has been well served by Judy's leadership. This is a challenging time and not just for heating fuel dealers, but for industry associations as well. There are numerous state and regional organizations that do a fine job serving their members who provide heating fuels, motor fuels and HVAC services, but to some extent it is becoming crowded field in the Northeast. That is particularly the case with the continuing consolidation in the industry. Adapting to new market realties is just as critical for the associations as it is for their members and even the media outlets serving that audience. Associations are looking to boost revenue and keep attendance strong at their events, while serving an ever expanding platform of needs from their members. OESP and the Atlantic Regional Energy Expo have just announced they are join- ing together to combine their conventions and trade shows in a move that makes perfect sense in today's environment, and Judy will be sticking around to help smooth that transition. At the same time, I admired her willingness, along with the OESP board, to take chances in the past such as trying the roadshow format. While that effort didn't particularly work out as hoped, most of the people reading this have a leadership position and should fully understand the need to be creative and flexible when easy answers are in short supply. On a personal note, it has been a pleasure working with Judy over the years and I found her highly and personally responsive to my needs, which were often sought on a less than timely manner. Judy will be assisting in the process of finding her replacement, but finding someone as thoughtful, respectful of her members and effective may just be her biggest challenge yet. l F O N Keith Reid 8 JULY 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com Membership applied for January 2014 OESP and Judy Garber