August 21, 2015

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

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

MORE MEETINGS ON MANDATORY TIRE REGISTRATION
OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE NJ LOTTERY AND EARN COMMISSION
NEGLIGENT SAFETY INSPECTION LEADS TO FATALITY IN VERMONT

I'm starting again this week with a topic that you should be very familiar with: mandatory tire registration. Last Thursday, I was joined by my friends from WMDA, my associate Eric Blomgren and NJGCA Board Member Norman Lippmann, at a meeting with Congressman Leonard Lance. This meeting built upon the discussions that we had several months ago with the Congressman in Washington, DC.  Last week, Congressman Lance confirmed that he is still on our side on the mandatory tire registration issue, and if the highway funding bill follows the "proper" path in Congress, Congressman Lance's committee would "mark-up" the bill, which would allow him to remove the mandatory tire registration section.  However, I have a real concern that Republican leadership will bypass the proper procedure (because the bill is so full of 'extras' which many Congressmen have a vested interest in securing for their districts), and Congressman Lance's Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade will never get to see the bill.  We continue to track this issue very closely, because we cannot allow mandatory tire registration to slip past everybody and become a huge burden on our members!  For more on our fight to stop mandatory tire registration, please click HERE to read an article published in a national industry publication Rubber and Plastics News. The article makes particular note of Roy Littlefield, who is my counterpart at WMDA, and the efforts of NJGCA.
 
Next, I want to remind you about a number of upcoming lottery special events, which allow you the opportunity to:

• Supply instant tickets from your store inventory and earn selling commission and cashing commission.
• Utilize a lottery terminal supplied by Northstar New Jersey to sell Draw games and earn selling commission and cashing commission.
• Earn an additional $250 above the usual lottery commission for your participation.

The event schedule is as follows:

9/25 - 9/27 - Mercer County Italian Festival, Mercer County Park, West Windsor
10/9 - 10/11 - Ocean County Columbus Day Italian Festival, Seaside Heights
10/17 - Chatsworth Festival, Chatsworth

If your store is in the geographic region of the event, your participation could earn you goodwill with the Lottery Commission and in the community, and allow you to introduce yourself to potential customers. This is an opportunity for you to gain publicity, earn a small stipend, and especially if your store is in close proximity to where these events are held, it should help you attract customers for future in-store sales.
 
Next, I received this article from a number of sources in industry. Although NJ does not have safety inspections, the broader issue is how well you do your job when inspecting vehicles in your shops for other reasons. Although only a few states still have mandatory safety inspections, the results of a poor safety inspection in Vermont certainly call into question whether eliminating safety inspections is a good idea, since they are obviously claiming that if this safety inspection had been done properly, this life would have been saved. Click HERE to read the article. It certainly gives me at least a shred of evidence in my argument to bring back safety inspections.
 
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.

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 NORTH and SOUTH Jersey -- 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

08/18/2015:
Ouch: Our Cars Earn Just 4 More MPG Than They Did in 1923
Fuel economy is a hot topic among car buyers. Even with low pump prices, efficiency remains one of the top criteria for folks in search of new rides. After more than a century of making cars, you'd think that the auto industry might have made serious headway on the fuel economy front, but today's new cars earn an average of just 25.4 mpg. That's a fairly ho-hum figure, especially when you consider the 50+ MPGs that vehicles like the Toyota Prius are capable of earning. The stats get worse if you look at all cars on the road, not just new ones. According to a study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, fuel economy has improved about four meager miles per gallon since such data first became available in 1923. To read the study methodology and exactly how the researchers reached these conclusions, please click the link above.

08/14/2015:
The Three Most Troubling Tobacco Legislative Trends of 2015
It has been a particularly troubling year. From increasingly restrictive e-vapor bills to a slew of states and local govs raising the minimum purchase age to the proposed deeming regulations announced by the FDA, it has not been an easy year for tobacco retailers. Speaking at CSP’s Total Nicotine Conference in Philadelphia, NATO executive director Thomas Briant educated attendees on multiple issues facing the industry.  Three of the most pressing regulatory trends are: 1.) The New-Product Grandfather Date, 2.) Minimum Age Pre-Emption, and 3.) Increasing Cigarette Taxes.  For more info on each of these topics, please click the link above.

08/14/2015:
N.J. workers owed $7 million as back pay goes unclaimed
Nearly 10,000 NJ workers are owed more than $7 million in combined back pay and may not know it, according to the US Department of Labor. The federal agency's regional office in Philadelphia said this week that its Wage and Hour Division is holding $7,157,792 that rightfully belongs to 9,953 private-sector workers in NJ.  That's about $720 per worker, on average.  The unclaimed back pay was collected from employers over the past three years as the result of enforcement actions, said the director of operations for the division's Northeast region. Workers who switch jobs or move away can be hard to find, she said. Those who believe they have cash coming to them can go to the agency's new online "Wages Owed Workers" site and type in their employer's name and location, followed by their own last name and first initial, she said.

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.