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26 AUGUST 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com BIO: Shane Sweet is an energy and manage- ment consultant with clients in the heating oil, propane and motor fuel sectors, a partner with the firm of Lake Rudd & Company. Sweet is the executive director and techni- cal director for the New York Propane Gas Association. He served the industry as president and CEO of the New England Fuel Institute from 2007 to 2011, and as executive vice president/director and lobbyist for the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association from 1993 to 2007. CONTACT: Sweet lives in Shaftsbury, Vt., and may be reached at shanem- sweet@gmail.com or 802-558-6101 cell/text. Suggestions by readers for future column con- tent, as well as general comments are welcome. http://www.linke- din.com/pub/ shane-sweet/7/a52/701 Shane Sweet OPERATIONAL INSIGHT THE NORTHEAST PROPANE SHOW returns to its home at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Mass., Aug. 10-11. I have been saying for years that if you throw a rock in any direction during the spring and sum- mer months you will hit at least one trade show. If you are provider of services to the retail energy sector and you take booths at these events, spring and summer can seem like an endless parade standing on a hard, concrete trade show floors for days on end. As one who generally participates as a visitor at shows like this, I find attendance at these events to be a productive venture. NPS is unique in many respects. The event is energetic yet relaxed, the location features ample free parking on-site, is a stone's throw from the highway and provides easy access to and from I-495. Overnight rooms are reasonably priced and "the tent" (see the pic on this page), itself an NPS trademark, is literally feet from the ballroom where the majority of the booths are located and provides for a cool venue for bobtails, transports, service trucks and live burn equipment demos. Last but not least, the show is about propane, with few exceptions. The 2016 two-day NPS event, created in 2010 as a joint venture between the Propane Gas Association of New England and the New England Fuel Institute, has become a bi-annual favorite for propane people in the Northeast and beyond. PGANE is the sole producer of the show, now in its fourth iteration. The show began with about 100 exhibitors and this year will boast 150 exhibitors. On Aug. 10, registration will open at 8 a.m. and the trade show floor will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. That morning, business and technical content will include: How to Use Multi-Meters Seminar Successfully Managing Inventory for Your Business Combustion Analysis Basic Operation of a Vaporizer Technician Tools of The Trade Seminar Things that Go Bump In The Night Venting of Category IV Gas Fired Appliances Bobtail Creep Test Starting at 11:30 a.m. there will be a buffet lunch (Note this is a ticketed event) Afternoon sessions will include presenta- tions on: Relief Valve Sizing and Operation Seminar Customer Service Marketing Today's Marketing Basic Operation of a Vaporizer Bobtail Creep Test At 6 p.m. there will be a banquet (again, a tick- eted event) On Aug. 11 registration will begin at 8 a.m. with Show Hours starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m. Morning sessions on Aug. 11 include: Advancement in Technology in Direct Fired Wall Furnaces Seminar How Much Is Your Propane Business Worth? CSST Codes and State Regulations Basic Operation of a Vaporizer New Technology in The Market and Get Propane Involved Seminar Why Use Tank Monitors Carbon Monoxide—The Silent Killer Bobtail Creep Test Following a ticked Buffett Lunch starting at 11:30 a.m., the business sessions will conclude with: Supply Update Seminar Best Practices in Collections New Technology for Gas Fittings If you have not yet made the trip to this event, I recommend it to anyone and everyone who has interest in propane. Tell Joe Rose, exec and presi- dent of PGANE, that Shane sent you. l F O N Northeast Propane Show