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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22 JANUARY 2017 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com BUSINESS OPERATIONS NEWS valuable presence in the industry, his services are being retained by U.S. Boiler as a consultant and company ambassador. Chris Mitchell has been promoted to director of sales for the Mid-Atlantic and Western regions. Mitchell previously worked as the director of sales and marketing for Burnham Commercial, Inc. In his new position, Mitchell will be responsible for direct- ing the sales activities of U.S. Boiler's sales representatives in a territory that extends from Alaska to Pennsylvania, extending southward through Virginia. JOE LANTHIER JOINS FIREDRAGON ACADEMY AS ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR Joseph (Joe) Lanthier has joined the teaching staff of Firedragon Academy as an adjunct laboratory instructor. His duties will be to aid primary instructors and instruct and supervise basic and advanced students in hands-on laboratory experiments and problem-solving practices at Firedragon's primary training facility at the Beckett Training Center in Sturbridge (Fiskdale), Mass., and at other locations throughout the Northeast. A licensed oil burner technician in Massachusetts, Lanthier worked as a service technician for forty years in the Greater Boston area. He is retired from Alliance Express, an oil heat and HVAC company in Chelsea, Mass. Lanthier is also a U.S. Air Force veteran. He is a graduate of Billerica High School, Billerica, Mass., and he has completed numerous trade courses, including those of the New England Fuel Institute, as well as Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Conn., and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Firedragon teaches the 80-hour NORA Bronze Basic Oilburner School and a 40-hour Basic Gas School that are taught in both day and night formats. Additional courses offered by Firedragon include an eight- hour Massachusetts Oilburner License/Certificate Course and the Massachusetts Oil Burner Code (NFPA31) classes taught in conjunction with Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association and the National Oilheat Research Alliance. Additional courses are taught on Wiring & Controls, Heating System Design, Service Management and other subjects. All Firedragon oilheat classes are NORA CEU eligible. For further information, contact Firedragon Academy, 608 Moose Hill Rd., Leicester, Mass. 01524 or call 508-421-3490 or visit www.FiredragonEnt.com. PPMA HIRES TED HARRIS AS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING The Pennsylvania Petroleum Marketers Association has hired Ted Harris to a newly formed position, director of marketing. In his new role, Harris will be responsible for membership communication, association programs, and strategic partnerships. Harris brings more than five years of industry experience working with Mid Atlantic energy providers in his previous position as a senior consultant for Boston Environmental, Portsmouth, N.H. STEPHEN CONNORS, CO-FOUNDER OF ALTWHEELS: 1958-2016 Stephen Connors, co-founder of AltWheels (www.altwheels. org), died at home Nov. 13 after a four-year battle with esopha- geal and then brain cancer. He was 58. His death was announced by the AltWheels organization. AltWheels is an annual alternative transportation festival in New England for fleets (see "AltWheels Highlight: Propane as a Motor Fuel," page 43, Fuel Oil News, December 2016). Connors founded AltWheels with his wife, Alison Sander. Known as "Steve," Connors was an alter- native-energy researcher at the Massachusetts Stephen Connors Ted Harris