ESC GFEN NA Consortium Minutes 112119

ESC GFEN/NA Consortium Minutes from November 21, 2019 Meeting was called to order at 2:03 pm Eastern Time Attendance: APGARF Southeast Alabama Gas District Will Bumpers Atmos Energy Greg Anderson ONE Gas Cortney Dennis Spire (Missouri Gas Energy) Beverly Passantino Spire (Missouri Gas Energy) Craig Layman Update from Greg Tomsick, Relationship Manager: Greg noted that he was able to meet with the Headquarter’s personnel from Panera Bread during September. Since Panera’s HQ is located in St Louis, Greg was able to set up a meeting after the conclusion of TMAF. Greg was pleased to report that Panera has been a strong user of natural gas and they plan to continue to use gas. Greg also attended EEI in October (held in Las Vegas). Of note was his conversation with Harris Teeter grocery stores. They are planning to test natural gas cooking equipment and Greg was able to connect Harris Teeter with Carl Peterson from Duke-Piedmont. Carl will be providing the opportunity for Harris Teeter to test natural gas cooking equipment in Piedmont’s demo kitchen. Greg also noted that Sheetz is planning on testing natural gas fryers. Greg has been offering support to Southern Co as they have been contacted by RaceTrac Petroleum. RaceTrac is looking to test tankless water heaters. Other events: Greg attended MUFSO (Multi Unit Food Service Organization) in October as it was held in Denver. Greg would like to attend next year as it proved to be a great source of developing contacts. Greg will be visiting with Frontier Energy and SoCalGas during the first week of December and plans to incorporate visits to customers/potential customers who are located in close proximity to where he is meeting. Greg has one visit confirmed and is working on others. Meetings planned for 2020: RFMA (Restaurant Facility Management Assoc); EEI National Accounts Conference (spring and fall); MUFSO, National Restaurant Assoc and of course our 3 TMAF meetings. If you are aware of another conference that would benefit GFEN/NA please speak with Greg or Barb. 2020 Blue Flame Award: It is time to solicit companies to apply for the 2020 Blue Flame Award! The purpose of the GFEN Blue Flame Award is to recognize the full spectrum of benefits that come from the development of new and improved appliances. These include added employment, economic development, strengthening of the nation's competitive position and contribution to the public's standard of living. The product must be available for North American sale before the 2020 NRA show occurs. All entries must be submitted by January 31, 2020 and the award will be presented at the 2020 NRA show in Chicago on May 16th. The application form is available through the GFEN site and the solicitation of entries is being promoted. 2020 GFEN/NA Budget Barb shared the GFEN/NA actual figures through November 15th and projected to year-end and the proposed budget for 2020. We spend most of the revenue that comes in each year, and we spend more than what comes in during the years that we have a Customer Care Workshop which is held every 2 years. However, we have a very healthy balance from when we combined the GFEN and NA consortia; our balance is slightly over $409k. So, we have money to spend on worthwhile projects. To start the discussion, Barb asked Greg what were the main topics of discussion when meeting with customers or potential customers. Greg noted that more and more customers are mentioning electrification or the threat of electrification in meetings. He thought we should look into promoting CHP in the foodservice industry as a means of being proactive. This could be extremely popular in light of the planned power outages that have been occurring in California. Greg also mentioned that tankless water heaters were a big topic with customers. This sentiment was echoed by Will Bumpers, SEAGD. Barb asked members to think about any studies that they would like to have done on behalf of the consortium. Any training needs? Melisa Marks had asked (via email) about the survey that was done on 2011 by Fryett and chefs’ preference for gas. Update? Any other venues that Greg could attend? Anything non-food related? Hotels? Education? Please give this some thought and contact either Barb or Greg with any ideas that you have. Barb also wanted to share an article that appeared in a San Diego newspaper. Although is it about yet another town looking at banning the direct use of natural gas, it does include some powerful quotes from chefs and their thoughts of cooking with electric. Enjoy the article! https://www.10news.com/news/encinitas-considers-ban-on-natural-gas-in-new-homes-businesses-to-fight-climate-change The meeting was adjourned at 2:42 pm Eastern time.