September 10, 2015

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

Here is what you will find in this edition:

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE

TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE

                                                                                                                                                            

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER SATISFACTION SURVEY -- RESPONSES NEEDED
NJGCA DINER TOUR -- JOIN US NEXT WEEK IN FORKED RIVER
PLUS, SCHEDULE OF BREAKFAST MEETINGS THROUGH MARCH 2016

It's a quiet time for us down in Trenton, and although I don't have anything to report that is much different from my recent reports in terms of legislation and policy, I do have two announcements and important reminders for you.
 
1. Member Benefit Partner (MBP) Satisfaction Survey --  Responses are coming in, but we NEED to start compiling the data.  Without this information, we cannot assess how satisfied our members are with the MBP Program that we've created. If you've ever had suggestions or recommendations, NOW is the time to share them, so that we can make our Program better than ever! To take the survey, please click HERE.
 
2. NJGCA Diner Tour -- Below is the anticipated schedule of breakfast meetings through March. Please take a look to see what's coming up near you.  For those of you in Monmouth, Burlington, Ocean, please take note of our meeting on September 16 in Forked River.  We would really love to see you next Wednesday. All members are permitted to attend all meetings! If you've attended any in the past, you know that we enjoy a delicious (FREE) breakfast while having lively and productive roundtable discussions about the state of our industry, which includes petroleum retail, convenience store and auto service issues.  Please RSVP to Jacy at 732-256-9646!

One final announcement is a UST Regulatory Training and Re-Certification course being offered by PECA on Sept. 25, 2015 at The Imperia in Somerset, NJ.  If your license is up for renewal anytime from now until September 2016, this course is adequate for your renewal credentials. Not only is it an excellent review of the entire tank systems, and will afford you the opportunity to ask questions, it also serves to prepare you for the upcoming Operator Training that is proposed in the New Regs. Please click HERE for the informational brochure.

I am glad that this week's message didn't contain much information and was easy to write, since I'm out of the office attending several conferences.  The NJ Weights and Measures conference in Atlantic City started yesterday, and I will be on a panel there today to discuss industry issues. I'll be leaving AC tonight for Ocean City, MD for the annual meeting of the Service Station Dealers of America! I'll write you next week when I return!

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

TRAINING CLASSES!!

ETEP Re-Cert, Sections 8, 9 and 10 being offered in SOUTH Jersey (Wall Twp) -- DAY and EVENING Classes Available!

For Class Informational Flyer, please click here.
For Class Registration Form, please click here.

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 732-256-9646 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS.  THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

CLASSIFIEDS! -- FOR SALE & HELP WANTED ADS 

NJGCA MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER GILL ENERGY LOOKING TO HIRE FOR (3) DIFFERENT POSITIONS!

District Manager
Store Manager
Trucking Operations Manager

For more information about these positions, and to submit a resume for consideration, please contact: ravigill@gillenergy.com.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

09/09/2015:
How Retailers Can Respond to Local Tobacco Issues
Unlike the vast majority of state legislatures that meet for a limited number of months in any given year, local governments like city councils and town boards meet year round. This means that local governments consider proposed tobacco regulations throughout the year and the number of cities and towns that have enacted tobacco regulations has been increasing not only in number, but also in degree of restrictiveness. In many cases, advocates will urge local city councils and town boards to adopt a particular kind of tobacco regulation and then take the issue to the state legislature after local governments have set a precedent for imposing the restriction. This is why it is so important for tobacco retailers to oppose a local tobacco regulation because it could become a statewide issue.

 
09/08/2015:
Gun-toting man who robbed gas station caught with drugs, police say
A 44-year-old Winslow Township man is facing robbery, assault, gun and drug charges after police said he pointed a handgun at a gas station attendant on July 31 and stole $1,300. Franklin King was arrested after evidence found at the scene of the crime identified him as the suspect. Police said King robbed the attendant of the gas station and fled on foot after taking the cash. Evidence from the scene was sent to the state police's crime lab, which resulted in the identification, and police detectives conducted surveillance near his home. Police stopped King's vehicle and found he was also in possession of crack cocaine and marijuana. He remains in Camden County jail in default of $250,000 bail on charges of robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon by a certain person, aggravated assault, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession of marijuana. 
 
09/07/2015:
Workers march through Trenton to call for minimum wage hike
As the nation recognized Labor Day, workers from across NJ marched through Trenton to show support for raising the minimum wage and other labor issues. With elected officials by their sides, workers from NJ's Service Employees International Union (SEIU) marched from Trenton City Hall to the Statehouse, according to an NJTV News report. Héctor Figueroa, president of SEIU 32BJ, called for raising the minimum wage from its current level of $8.38 per hour, according to the report. Members of the local include office cleaners, school maintenance and food service workers. "What workers are facing, including our members, is the need for work to pay and the need to have a path for the middle class," Figueroa said, according to the report. SEIU Food Services Worker Shirley Newell said most of the workers at the march are working two to three jobs to pay their bills, the report states.
 
09/07/2015:
How low can N.J. gas prices go?
Downward spirals are usually something people don't like. Even the connotation of just doesn't sound good. Except when it comes to gas prices. If you drive, you can't help but to have smiled this past week, after filling up at a gas station with a price at or under the $2 mark. And it's going to continue to drop. Prices in NJ slid seven cents a gallon last week, putting the average price for regular at $2.14. Close to a month ago, that was considered a super low price. Today? Meh. You can do better. Gas Buddy.com showed the super low prices tumbling through the low $1.90's in to the $1.87 over the weekend. The federal Energy Administration heralded gas prices this Labor Day weekend as being the lowest in 11 years. Expect to see more of that kind of downward spiral, as retailers battle to keep cars coming to their stations.
 

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:

TMP Energy Solutions
Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it's difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an "accurate" analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. 

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member's usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require 12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #'s, meter #'s  service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Greg Cannon at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs.  Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. 

Contact GREG CANNON at 732-256-9646 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.