November 27, 2013

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

LOOK FOR A NEW, IMPORTANT ONLINE SURVEY ON VAPOR RECOVERY
HAPPY THANKSGIVING MESSAGE TO OUR NJGCA FAMILY!

This week's Road Warrior will be short and sweet. The one order of business that I would like to inform you about is a very important online survey that we will be sending out in next week. Many of you know that NJGCA conducted a generator survey after Super Storm Sandy, and the information that we gathered was sent to the Governor's Office to strengthen our argument against mandatory generators.

Soon, we will be sending out a survey to collect data on the vapor recovery system used at your station. We want to revisit our efforts to have Stage II Vapor Recovery abolished in New Jersey. The results of our previous survey greatly helped our ENTIRE membership by allowing them to avoid costly generator mandates. With your help on this upcoming survey, hopefully we will be able to persuade NJDEP to eliminate Stage II Vapor Recovery equipment and testing at our locations. We expect to work with our friends at FMANJ and even in alliance with the NJ Petroleum Council who represent the major oil companies.

PLEASE LOOK FOR THIS SURVEY AND ANSWER IT PROMPTLY. We will know who has answered the survey and who has not, and we will continue sending them out until we get a significant number of responses. Your participation is critical. Thanks in advance.

Finally, I want to wish you and your families a very happy and very blessed Thanksgiving.

Although we should always be thankful for our blessings, we sometimes forget. This is a special time of year that helps remind us that we have much to be thankful for. All of us have plenty of reasons to be fearful, or at least concerned about world events and a difficult economy. But when we think about it, all of us have plenty of reasons to still remain thankful for many blessings that are sometimes taken for granted.

Although some of you have just traversed a difficult year economically, and although the road ahead looks like it may be difficult, you will always have a bounty of food on your table and a loving family to share it with. I would like to wish you all the most Happy of Thanksgivings, and I pray that you will all receive God’s blessings, so that you will have much to be thankful for next year too.

I encourage you that no matter how difficult it may be, to please spend time with your families and be thankful together. This is a great time to take the kids or grandchildren to a parade or a football game. This is a great time to enjoy the bountiful meals we are so blessed to share. This is just a great time to be with your family and friends. Get away from those gas pumps, get away from those wrenches, get away from your convenience stores. Be thankful!

I thank you for your continued support as we strive to fight battles together. I thank you for persevering through a difficult economy, and I especially thank you for having the guts and the stick-to-it-ness that makes you special small business owners. I am thankful for that.

Have a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

Do you have a business for sale? Are you looking for a new location or opportunity?

NJGCA also assists members in selling equipment through the placement of advetisments in Road Warrior!

If you'd like to list your business for sale, publish a location you're selling, or are seeking a business partner for your establishment, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066!

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

11/26/2013:
Cigarette Price Hike an Overall Benefit to Tobacco Industry: Analysts
Tobacco analysts are calling this week’s increase in cigarette prices a positive for the industry. This week, both Altria Group, parent of Philip Morris USA, and Lorillard Tobacco Co. announced they will increase prices by 6 or 7 cents per pack effective Dec. 1, 2013. Reynolds American Inc. is expected to follow suit. Meanwhile, Philip Morris USA is also increasing the list price of Marlboro Snus tins and Marlboro Snus Flip-Top Box by 6 cents per tin. To read more about this move by the tobacco industry and the expected impact, please click on the link above.

11/25/2013:
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Come From Toyota, Hyundai, Honda
Though the hydrogen fueling infrastructure is virtually non-existent in the US, with only a few dozen stations operating nationwide and no option to refuel at home, global automakers are pushing forward with small numbers of hydrogen vehicles for limited markets. The allure of a hydrogen fuel-cell car -- essentially an electric car with the large battery pack replaced by a much smaller one with a hydrogen fuel cell as a range extender -- is that it offers both range and refueling time comparable to that of a gasoline car. Last week saw no fewer than three hydrogen fuel-cell cars appear at auto shows around the world. To read more about the automakers moving in this direction and their plans for alternative energy vehicles, please click the above link.

11/21/2013:
SIGMA Sets Legislative Priorities - Renewable fuels, SNAP, swipe fees
In outlining its top legislative priorities, the Legislative Committee of the Society of Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) very much returned to its core: fuel issues. In recent years, the gasoline-marketer group has taken a hard line on several retailing issues -- swipe fees, tobacco taxes, etc. And while those issues remain concerns, the committee, assembling during SIGMA's Annual Meeting in Charlotte, N.C., hit hard on renewable fuel matters, USTs, and fuel taxes, among other issues. To read about the rest of the issues discussed at the conference and to see what direction SIGMA is moving in, please click on the above link.

11/21/2013:
More employers to cancel employee health plans in next five years, others may greatly raise deductibles
About 7% of New Jersey employers said they are likely or very likely to terminate their health plans within the next five years, when their workers can buy their own coverage on the Marketplace, according to a new survey by the Mercer employee benefits consulting firm. And for those employers keeping their plans, the deductibles individuals pay could rise dramatically. Nationally, 6% of large employers and 31% of small employers said they are likely or very likely to terminate their plans within five years. Cost may be the primary reason for the move, the survey indicates. The cost of employer-sponsored health plans rose 7% in New Jersey in 2013 to an average of $13,120 per employee. To read more about the results of this survey and see how other small business owners think that ObamaCare will impact them and their business, please click on the link above.

TRAINING CLASSES!!
-ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT NJGCA HEADQUARTERS-
66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081 (Union County)

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 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!!

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 require12 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 973-376-0066 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
66 Morris Avenue
Springfield, NJ 07081
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

MEMBER SAVINGS PAGE
Check out all of our MBPs and Programs designed to SAVE YOU MONEY!