LPG Spotlight: Newport Propane

July 8, 2026 By Bob Sandrick 0 Comments

Newport Propane presented Stevens with a check for $5,000. (Photo courtesy of Donnie Pelletier)

Peter Sherman and Donnie Pelletier were not expecting a snowstorm on the 5½-hour drive from Rhode Island to Vermont in January. But for them, the rewards of that slippery journey far outweighed the risks.

Sherman and Pelletier – of Newport Propane, a retailer in Middletown, Rhode Island – were on a mission to present a $5,000 check to Brian Stevens, a propane technician at Fred’s Energy in Vermont. Stevens had become paralyzed from the chest down in a motorcycle crash in July 2026.

Newport Propane had raised the money for Stevens and his young daughter Addy to help them through the crisis. They were determined to present the check in person.

“We could have FedExed the check,” says Sherman, president of Newport Propane. “But when we got there and met Brian and his daughter, we realized what an amazing two people they are together. It was very emotional.”

The first 3½ hours of the Vermont trip were uneventful. Sherman and Pelletier stayed overnight at the New Hampshire home of one of Pelletier’s relatives. When they woke in the morning, the snow was thick in the air.

“We had a four-wheel-drive truck, so we figured we’d be fine,” says Pelletier, who specializes in customer relations, industry affairs and communications. “But the further we went into the mountains, it was bad. We slid off the road twice.”

Sherman and Pelletier faced whiteout conditions on the highway. They followed tire tracks in the snow and inched their way to Fred’s Energy, where Stevens and his daughter were waiting.

“It was an emotional thing for us, to see him and talk to him,” Pelletier says. “What a tragic thing to go through. He has sole custody of his daughter Addy, so it felt really good to give him that check.”

Raising money to help others is part of Newport Propane’s business model. Every year, the company hosts a Christmas party fundraiser. Sherman matches the amount raised through the sale of raffle tickets to employees. When Sherman and Pelletier heard about Stevens’ motorcycle crash, they dedicated the Christmas fundraiser to him and his daughter.

Newport Propane is seeking even more assistance for Stevens. Pelletier has distributed fundraising flyers to propane firms as far away as Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, Propane Angels, a nonprofit motorcycle club consisting of members of the Propane Gas Association of New England, is organizing a half-day motorcycle ride fundraiser in June to benefit Stevens.

Pelletier, vice president of Propane Angels, says Fred’s Energy will provide Stevens a three-wheeled motorcycle with hand controls for the ride, which will be in Woodstock, Vermont.

Company profile: Newport Propane

Year founded // 1959
Founder // Alton Sherman
Owners // Peter Sherman Sr., Peter Sherman Jr. and Peter Sherman III
Headquarters // Middletown, Rhode Island
Employees // 17
Bobtails // 8
Online // newportpropane.com