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September 24, 2015

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!

• Hurricane Joaquin and State of Emergency Declared; Need A Location to Hold Training Classes in South Jersey; Efforts to Increase Tobacco Purchase Age to 21; NJ Counties Settle with EPA for UST Violations; Great Breakfast Meeting in Clifton -- West Milford and North Arlington Coming Up

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS

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

District Manager
Store Manager
Trucking Operations Manager

For more information, and to submit a resume, please contact: ravigill@gillenergy.com.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

• Did the Papal 'state of emergency' scare away customers in South Jersey?
• Waste Management Launches Public CNG Station in N.J.
• PennEast applies to feds to build $1.2B gas pipeline

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!
• Emission Inspector Training Class on Tues, December 8, 2015
• ETEP Re-Cert, Sections 8, 9 and 10 in South Jersey (Wall Twp)!

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD
•Gill Energy: Getting you There!
•Bellomo Fuel: Exceptional Service, Aggressive Petroleum Marketing
•TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On Your Energy Bills

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
•Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX
•On the NJGCA Homepage

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE

TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE

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

HURRICANE JOAQUIN AND STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED
NEED LOCATION TO HOLD CLASSES IN SOUTH JERSEY!
EFFORTS TO INCREASE TOBACCO PURCHASE AGE TO 21
NJ COUNTIES SETTLE WITH EPA FOR UST VIOLATIONS
GREAT BREAKFAST MEETING IN CLIFTON -- WEST MILFORD AND NORTH ARLINGTON COMING UP!

You all should have received my Wildfire Alert yesterday, which I sent as we began to make our preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Joaquin. Right after sending that alert, Governor Christie announced a state of emergency covering all 21 counties. As you know from previous storms, this automatically triggers to anti-gouging laws, which I have reproduced for you below:

The State of Emergency declaration triggers the price gouging law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-109).

Specifically, this law makes it an unlawful practice to sell merchandise at what constitutes an excessive price increase during the State of Emergency or within 30 days of the termination of the State of Emergency. An excessive price increase is defined as:

"Excessive price increase" means a price that is excessive as compared to the price at which the consumer good or service was sold or offered for sale by the seller in the usual course of business immediately prior to the state of emergency. A price shall be deemed excessive if:

(1) The price exceeds by more than 10% the price at which the good or service was sold or offered for sale by the seller in the usual course of business immediately prior to the state of emergency, unless the price charged by the seller is attributable to additional costs imposed by the seller's supplier or other costs of providing the good or service during the state of emergency;

(2) In those situations where the increase in price is attributable to additional costs imposed by the seller's supplier or additional costs of providing the good or service during the state of emergency, the price represents an increase of more than 10% in the amount of markup from cost, compared to the markup customarily applied by the seller in the usual course of business immediately prior to the state of emergency.

A violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 for the first offense and $20,000 for the second and subsequent offenses. Each individual sale of merchandise is considered a separate and distinct event.

We'll continue to remain in close contact with you if we begin to experience severe effects from the storm.

Next, I have a request for my members in SOUTH JERSEY. You know who you are, the ones who still consider our new location in Wall Township to be Central Jersey! As you should know, we have expanded the training classes that we are offering, and the locations in which the classes are held. Since we are now located in Wall, we are having classes here, and we are continuing to have classes in North Jersey. We need your help in scouting out locations for our training classes to be held in South Jersey. So, for our South Jersey members, we would like to have you help us either look for, or suggest, a place where the classes can be held. If we can arrange a location, and we have the demand, we would be more than happy to hold classes in a place that is convenient for you!

Moving on, Eric and I have another battle next week in Hillsdale, another town trying to raise the age to purchase tobacco. To give you an idea of what we're up against, Sen. Codey, who has been one of the most vocal Senators leading the charge against tobacco sales, recently authored an op-ed that was published in the Star-Ledger. Senator Codey admits that youth cigarette (and cigar) smoking has been on the decline, and he attributes this decline to "increases in the use of electronic cigarettes and other forms of tobacco." However, he remains skeptical of e-cigs and even calls them a "gateway into the use of other tobacco products and drugs." Click here to read his op-ed in its entirety.

Just an FYI, though NJGCA members have been much better about complying with burdensome environmental regulations in the past few years, I want to point out a situation that proves that it's not just you guys, the small business owners, who get picked on! A recent report indicates that both Monmouth and Middlesex counties have recently settled with the EPA for various UST violations. Monmouth County has agreed to pay $275,000 for the installation of a 20,000-gallon above-ground tank to replace three underground tanks, and was also assessed a $3,660 penalty, while Middlesex county just agreed to pay $51,000 for failing to keep adequate records of their Veeder-Root system. It seems like you guys aren't the only ones that have trouble with this stuff!

My final announcement is about our recent Diner Tour in Clifton. It was a great meeting, though we did hit a little snag in the beginning. When we arrived at the reserved diner, we found that the conditions were totally unsuitable for us to have a private meeting. But thankfully a local member directed us just down the road to an IHOP, where we proceeded to have an extremely successful meeting with a lot of participation from a good group of members. Pictures below. And please keep October 14th in West Milford and October 21 in North Arlington on your schedules!

The group at the Forked River Breakfast Meeting on 9/16

The group in Clifton -- September 30, 2015

$50 Raffle Winner in Clifton, Marty Gallagher -- Marty also won the $50 Raffle at our August 12, 2014 Breakfast Meeting in Fair Lawn!

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

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

TRAINING CLASSES!!

In order to be licensed as a Motor Vehicle Emission Inspector, you must complete this course and pass a "Written Exam" given by the State of New Jersey. NJGCA offers this training in a ONE DAY State approved training program that will provide an understanding of inspection related issues including EPA Regulations, Safety, Diesel, Customer Service and the New Jersey State Specific Curriculum. This specially tailored NJGCA course fulfills all requirements.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

CLASS DETAILS:
Class Date: Tuesday, December 08, 2015
Class Location: NJGCA Headquarters -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Twp, NJ 07753
Arrival Time: 7:00am
Lunch Break: 12:00pm (Pizza and soda will be served)
NJMVC Test: 1:00pm

CLASS FEES:
NJGCA Members: $250.00
Non-members: $300.00

Manuals are included and payment is due upon registration. All credit cards are accepted.

License Fee: Bring a $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State's licensing fee.

PLEASE NOTE: If you live out of state, you must bring 6 points of ID with you, such as a license, passport, healthcare card, utility bill, etc.

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

9/28/2015:
Did the Papal 'state of emergency' scare away customers in South Jersey?
Hundreds of thousands of papal pilgrims may have found their way to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this weekend, but the crowds being funneled through South Jersey were significantly less than expected. "There are no cars on the highway," said the manager of Weber's Drive-In on Route 38 in Pennsauken, which offers car-hop service. "I think people are staying inside." Not even Weber's Elvis impersonator wearing a papal mitre on his head could lure more customers in. "Oh, God, I'd say we were down more than 30%" from a typical weekend. We're normally running around at this time of day." On Sept. 18, Governor Christie declared a state of emergency to prepare for the papal commuter impact. It allows the governor to call out the National Guard if needed. While the preparation for an onslaught of pilgrims may have been necessary, it had a real impact on how people made their plans for this weekend. "They were scared by Chris Christie saying there would be road closures, to expect major delays, the bridge is closing, and all of the signs are saying to expect traffic. I think everyone just went like, 'I'm going to relax. I'm going to watch the pope on TV. I'm going to watch the Eagles game.' That's what I think people planned for."

09/24/2015:
Waste Management Launches Public CNG Station in N.J.
Waste Management and NJ Natural Gas (NJNG) have opened a public-access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station at Waste Management's facility in Toms River, the companies announced. The construction of the CNG fueling station in Toms River is part of NJNG’s pilot program, the NGV Advantage. With approval from the NJ Board of Public Utilities, NJNG invested a total of $10 million to build, own, and maintain the infrastructure for three public CNG fueling stations in its service territory, according to the energy provider. The station at Waste Management’s Toms River facility is the first to become operational. “Natural gas conversion has allowed us to achieve important environmental goals of reducing our fleet’s emissions by 15% and improving efficiency by 15%,” Waste Management Senior District Manager Carmen Perez said. “These ambitious goals were announced in 2007 and the natural gas conversion allowed us to reach these milestones well before our 2020 deadline, and we have many more trucks to convert." Previously, there had been only eight CNG fueling stations open to the public in New Jersey, according to NJNG.

09/24/2015:
PennEast applies to feds to build $1.2B gas pipeline
The PennEast Pipeline company on Thursday announced it would file its formal application with federal authorities for permission to construct a $1.2 billion, 118-mile natural gas pipeline stretching from northeastern Pennsylvania to Mercer County. At a 10 a.m. telephone conference with reporters, representatives from PennEast and trade groups said they would be filing the formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sometime Thursday, ending a nearly year-long pre-application period that has rallied NJ environmental groups, municipalities and elected officials against the proposal. "The PennEast pipeline project is set to deliver reduced energy costs to residents and businesses, thousands of good jobs and a cleaner environment by cultivating clean-burning American energy," Peter Terranova, PennEast board chairman, said during the call. PennEast, a consortium of natural gas companies that includes all four New Jersey gas providers, wants to build a 118-mile, 36-inch pipeline stretching from Northeastern Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township. It needs approval from the federal energy commission because the proposal crosses state lines.

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.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!

If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies.

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
4900 Route 33 West, Suite 100
Wall Township, NJ 07753
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call.

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX

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