LP Gas Hall of Fame profile: Denis Gagne

The 2026 LP Gas Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony will take place April 18 at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s inductees are Joe Armentano of Paraco Gas, Bob Barry of Bergquist, Denis Gagne of Eastern Propane & Oil and Brian Sheehan of Rural Computer Consultants. Visit the LP Gas Hall of Fame website.

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You’ll know when Denis Gagne has an opinion.

He’s not afraid to share it.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t listen to yours.

He’ll have considered all the sides, studied the evidence and listened to all the points of view. But when it’s time to make a decision, Gagne won’t be shy.

His boldness separates him from the crowd, and that – along with a half century of experience – has made him a natural leader within the propane industry.

“Managing people, and making decisions, are some of my strong points,” Gagne says. “They used to call me a provocateur. I wasn’t afraid to steer the cart.”

Gagne steered the National Propane Gas Association’s (NPGA) cart as chairman in 2020-21, beginning his term during a virtual board of directors meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic shook the foundation of most industries.

Over his career, Gagne spent 45 years with Eastern Propane, helped reorganize the Propane Gas Association of New England (PGANE) from a part-time network to a strong regional association and served on NPGA committees that shaped the growth of the propane industry.

“Denis is kind, patient and quick-witted,” says Stephen Kaminski, NPGA’s president and CEO. “He also speaks his mind and is not afraid to challenge widely held views. His leadership style leans into his breadth of experience and deep knowledge of the propane community’s history.”

▶ Family first

He was born north of Boston in the pre-Revolutionary War town of Methuen, Massachusetts, along the New Hampshire border. One of 11 children, Gagne worked alongside his father, Arthur, at his small company, Gagne Bottled Propane, since he was 8 years old.

At Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, he studied accounting and met his wife Marybeth in 1973. They envisioned a future where he took over his father’s business, and she taught in a Catholic elementary school. Those plans changed after Arthur suffered a heart attack and stroke, and soon after, sold to Eastern Propane in 1976.

That’s when Gagne, albeit reluctantly, joined Eastern. Looking back, though, he sees the hand of God in that transition.

Eastern was a small, family-run company back then, which resonated with Gagne’s experience.

As the only college graduate on staff, Gagne quickly moved from working in the plant and service department to roles of progressing responsibility in sales, operations, district and then regional management. In 1984, he earned his MBA, and in the 1990s, he was promoted to vice president and eventually senior vice president of supply and logistics. Always fostering relationships with customers and others in the industry, Gagne served as the point person on Eastern’s acquisitions team.

Along the way, the company grew too, becoming what today is one of the largest family-owned and -operated energy providers in New England, serving New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island.

Gagne’s role led to his involvement with PGANE – first on the marketing committee, where he challenged decisions about spending money associated with the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). Before long, he ran as an officer.

“I didn’t feel companies were getting the best bang for their buck, and we needed to do more,” he says. Gagne helped craft a strategic plan that included the reorganization of PGANE and the 2007 hiring of Joe Rose as its first president/CEO.

“It was great to be part of that transition, bringing PGANE to that next level,” he says. Today, under the leadership of Leslie Anderson, Gagne says: “It’s a very strong organization.”

▶ Leveling up

As his interest in industry leadership increased, Gagne was drawn to the NPGA, and became a District 10 director in 2008.

“I wanted to have a say in how our industry was being run,” he says.

He learned, especially as a member of the Technology, Standards and Safety Committee, how differently people in other regions of the country approached problems.

“If you don’t know what consensus building is about, join that committee, because you get a lot of opposite heads pounding each other,” Gagne says. “Respectfully,” he clarifies.

Along the way, he was asked to serve as vice chairman, then chairman, of that committee, then invited to become treasurer at NPGA in 2017.

He knew the importance of consensus, but at the end of the day, decisions had to be made. Sometimes that meant voicing a question that others might have refrained from asking, just to make sure it was answered clearly. He was never afraid to speak up when the situation required it.

“I definitely was an outspoken individual,” Gagne says. “Hopefully I got better with being respectful as time went on.”

As an NPGA officer, Gagne saw an opportunity to transition the association’s role to be less about solving individual companies’ problems, as he saw it, and more legislative-driven.

“If I see something wrong, I want to fix it. I also want to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves, that’s No. 2,” he says. “Whether it’s at Eastern or at the volunteer organizations, New England or NPGA, I always looked at what’s best for the industry, not for one company.”

▶ A new orientation

Gagne served as chairman of the NPGA Selection Committee when Kaminski was appointed the association’s third president and CEO of NPGA. Coming from outside the propane industry, Kaminski relied on Gagne to orient him.

Six months later, the COVID pandemic shut down travel, and Gagne had more time than usual for that orientation.

“When I joined NPGA as its new president and CEO, no one helped me learn the propane industry more than Denis Gagne,” Kaminski says.

Instead of traveling to dozens of state association meetings, Gagne spent time forging stronger bonds between NPGA and PERC. He thinks both organizations are more effective as a result, and that, together with the state associations, they form a “three-legged stool” that serves the industry well.

In 2021, Gagne ended his term with NPGA and retired from Eastern. After a lifetime in the Northeast, he and Marybeth moved to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, 2 miles from the ocean. They enjoy visits with their two sons, one of whom is married with their only granddaughter, and volunteering at their Catholic church.

“I have always believed that we’re put on this earth to serve,” he says.

He’s extremely humbled and honored to be included in the Hall of Fame, he says, among so many others who have worked hard for the industry.

“My life has been God, family, country, Eastern Propane and then the propane industry,” Gagne says. “I’m in a very happy place. I am blessed.”