During the PEI Board meeting on October 4, President Charlie Burns was appointed to a three-year term on the PEI Foundation Board of Governors. As you may know, the Foundation provides college scholarships to deserving sons and daughters of full-time PEI member company employees. Scholarship applications for the 2020-21 academic year will soon be available at www.pei.org/foundation. You are encouraged to make your employees aware of this outstanding opportunity. 

Organizationally and financially, your association remains very strong. PEI today has some 1,600 corporate and individual members and a budget of over $3.7 million. 

As for the just-completed 2019 Convention, the fuel equipment and services area of the trade show sold out, with 221 exhibitors in nearly 650 booths displaying the latest in technology and services. With 1,609 registrants, paid attendance exceeded the attendance for PEI's last Atlanta convention (2016) by 2.3%. Education sessions on such topics as safety, fuel compatibility, succession planning, aging USTs, drug testing, electric vehicles, and the economy were well attended and well received. 

The annual membership meeting featured a “State of the Industry Report” from Executive Vice President Rick Long. He provided an update on business conditions, industry trends, renewable fuels, and association developments. During the membership meeting, Bill Mascott, Mascott Equipment Co., was elected 2020 president. He will soon be making more than 200 committee appointments during a November visit to PEI headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you are interested in serving on a committee, please email your name and area of interest to Rick Long at rlong@pei.org. A complete list of PEI committees and committee members can be found here.

In the board meeting, directors discussed a number of matters, including: 

• PEI Priority Club. In July, PEI announced a revised Priority Club program to members. To date, 29 companies have signed up for the 2020 program. Booth selection for the 2020 PEI Convention at the NACS Show for Priority Club members begins in early December.
• Latin American Initiative. PEI’s Strategic Long-Range Plan includes an initiative for PEI to increase membership and establish PEI as a recognized authority in Latin America. Earlier this year, PEI hired Liliana Cruz to direct the association’s efforts in this area. The initiative encompasses three primary objectives for PEI: 1) building value; 2) building brand; and 3) building membership.
• Recommended Practices. PEI’s Recommended Practices continue to serve an important and growing role in the industry. PEI/RP1200 (testing of UST spill, overfill, leak detection and secondary containment) was recently revised to include procedures on when and how to perform low liquid level testing of containment sumps under certain site conditions. PEI/RP1600 (LNG fueling systems) remains under development.
• 2020 PEI Convention at the NACS Show. Plans are already underway for next year’s PEI Convention at the NACS Show on Oct. 11-14, 2020, in Las Vegas. Please save these dates on your calendar and plan to attend!

To learn more about the PEI Board of Directors or locate your district representative: PEI Officers & Directors.