How LP Gas continues to raise the bar on coverage

September 10, 2026 By Brian Richesson 0 Comments

Just like your teams are constantly working to raise the bar and perform at the highest level within your companies, we at LP Gas are doing the same.

Our Cleveland-based parent company, North Coast Media, holds an annual content meeting in which we discuss the latest trends and best practices in business-to-business media and share our best work with our colleagues. I also wrote about this event in 2022.

One big difference between then and now is the use of artificial intelligence (AI), both in our personal and professional lives. At LP Gas, we continue to explore the use of AI in media. AI can help with generating ideas (what are we missing?), researching topics and organizing notes, for example – adding efficiencies and allowing more time for high-priority tasks.

As Dan Farkas, a professor, author, podcaster and the guest speaker at our meeting, says, “Storytelling drives technology” – not the other way around.

Side note related to AI. Chris Caywood, our Retailer Technology columnist, continues to author some great articles about the use of AI in retail propane operations. Check out his latest and others at lpgasmagazine.com.

At our meeting, we also discussed event coverage, interview styles and design techniques – ways to stay on top of our game, just as propane industry companies strive to stay on top of theirs.

▶ Propane industry coverage

One of my favorite parts of the content meeting is when our brands, which cover a variety of industries, share their best work from the past year. I enjoy sifting through our print pages and webpages to see what stood out most.

Here’s what I shared with the group this year:

Mental health series. We’ve covered mental health for the first time in 2026, and we learned that industry leaders have a lot to say about it. LP Gas Managing Editor Chris Markham created and has authored this series of articles. This month, we take a unique approach as we interview Drew Kanaba, the son of LP Gas Brand Manager Brian Kanaba, about a rare condition called PANDAS.
Rising Leaders Rewind. This year’s new feature is an offshoot of our annual LP Gas Rising Leaders initiative. Each February since 2017, we have recognized a group of young, up-and-coming leaders who hold key positions in their companies (nominations are still open for 2027). With “Rewind,” we’re catching up with some of our past Rising Leaders through video interviews on our website.
Reagan Bonnette and James Harris interview. Hands down, this is one of the best video interviews we’ve ever recorded. This is a heartfelt, genuine story about how Harris became Bonnette’s mentor – and they just happen to be competitors, only three miles apart, in the Southeast. Their video is on our website, and we followed up with a print story about them in our August issue.
U.S.-Iran war. With the U.S. energy markets, including propane, tied more than ever to global markets, this geopolitical conflict is impacting propane retailers and their customers in some ways. Our weekly Trader’s Corner newsletter, in partnership with Cost Management Solutions, has analyzed these market impacts through multiple reports since the war began in February. The article titled “Impacts of US-Iran conflict on propane market” is the second-most-visited post on our website behind our Top Propane Retailers.

What LP Gas articles, videos or other content has caught your attention? Let us know. We’re always interested in hearing from readers about your content preferences. We want to tell those stories that are most important to you, and maybe we’ll get to share them at next year’s company meeting.

Featured homepage image: everythingpossible/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Powering the propane opportunity

How state associations protect the propane industry

Newport Propane team saves a life during Propane Expo in Nashville