LP Gas, November 2011

Dixie Gas Oil Corp Virginia marketer says goodbye to employee whose tenure spans 60 years BY BRIAN RICHESSON SENIOR EDITOR I n the early days when Buddy Harris Jr was beginning a long and fruitful career in the propane industry companies didnt enjoy the benefits of technology Instead they relied on employees who paired a creative mind with a desire to uncover solutions And if you were fortunate to have a Buddy Harris on staff ready for the journey and the next challenge that waited your company was better off Dixie Gas Oil Corp was better off The Virginia company said goodbye this past summer to Harris who spent all 63 years of his professional working career with Dixie Gas Oil before he finally decided to retire at the age of 82 Harris opportunity with the company came in 1948 when he walked into the Dixie office simply to pay a bill They asked me if I wanted to work for two weeks remembers Harris whose first job for the company was delivering propane by cylinder exchange for cooking water heating and refrigeration They never did tell me not to come back Over the next six decades Harris held numerous positions including service technician service manager and operations manager He worked on construction projects and built trucks and bulk plants Much of his time in the last few years was spent on maintenance projects with an emphasis on refrigeration and HVAC one segment of Dixies diversified business model that also includes convenient stores and Subway restaurants I was on the move most of the time going from place to place and performing many different things Harris says of the variety of work that kept him at Dixie for all of those years I didnt do the same thing every day year after year I was in a different place with different problems to solve Harris has seen the industry change in many ways since the early days What has stood out Increased regulations and operating procedures an impressive growth in propane sales volumes across many markets a greater focus on safety and the incorporation of technology Harris had been with Dixie eight years before its current president Chris Earhart was even born Earhart calls Harris one of his mentors who would attack any project with a positive attitude and whose work provided a high level of service to Dixies customer base The Virginia Propane Gas Association VAPGA presented Harris with a resolution commending him for his devotion to Dixie Gas Oil According to the resolution Dixie and the Virginia propane industry significantly benefited from Harris hard work selfless efforts and great humor Fewer people stay at the same place their entire life says Mary Howell executive director of the VAPGA To me Buddy is just about a record not just for the industry but for the whole workforce LPG COMPANIES TO WATCH Dixie Gas Oils Buddy Harris front left with top daughter Delena Painter son Danny Harris bottom daughter Malissa Warren and wife Joan Harris LOCATION Verona Va with Virginia offices in Lexington and Covington FOUNDED 1946 EMPLOYEES 100 total 30 40 in propane delivered products PROPANE CUSTOMERS 7000 PROPANE SALES About 4 million gallons annually ONLINE www dixiegasandoil com Does your company have a unique story to tell Let us put it in writing Email brichesson@ questex com 56 LPGas November 2011 www LPGasmagazine com