Building stronger partnerships through the LP Gas Growth Summit

May 18, 2026 By Chris Lewis 0 Comments

While attending the 2022 LP Gas Growth Summit, Mike Dodd had a mission. As CEO of Propane Ninja, a propane retailer based in Plant City, Florida, Dodd needed a truck. Immediately.

Luckily, he happened to cross paths with two of Westmor’s regional sales managers, Brady Griffith and Jason Soulon, during the summit’s one-on-meetings. The Morris, Minnesota-based energy equipment manufacturer and distributor had exactly what Propane Ninja needed. In fact, it even enabled Dodd and Managing Director Dayne Brady to provide the exact specs they required.

“They made everything in their shop and sent it down to me within two weeks,” Brady emphasizes. “You can’t beat their service. We have a rock-solid relationship.”

Their relationship has only continued to flourish over the years. As an example, Propane Ninja has since ordered one more truck from Westmor.

To enhance the relationship even further, Dodd attended the summit again last fall, when he was joined by two of Westmor’s territory sales managers, Josh Griffith and Michael Kruger. During the summit, Dodd had an opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Griffith and Kruger.

While reflecting on the 2025 summit, Dodd was especially impressed by its one-on-one meetings, which helped him develop his relationship with Westmor – even beyond what it was before.

“The format of the summit was wonderful and allowed for several meetings with vendors,” Dodd says. “Ever since, Propane Ninja has had a very close relationship with Westmor.”

Brady Griffith and Soulon agree. As they look back at the 2022 summit, they believe their conversations with Dodd and Peter Samuelson, COO of Propane Ninja, were deep throughout the one-on-one meetings.

These in-depth conversations were due to two primary reasons. First, the summit facilitates profound conversations with individual companies, one at a time. In turn, manufacturers and distributors like Westmor can have better understandings of every propane marketer’s exact needs.

“Attendees receive our undivided attention,” says Brady Griffith, regional sales manager, Northwest. “And we receive theirs.”

Second, the summit’s structure is especially noteworthy. Through the one-on-one meetings, Westmor has had the opportunity to understand each customer’s specific needs while also establishing foundations for long-term partnerships.

Without question, that has been the case with Westmor and Propane Ninja and will likely remain for years to come. A key reason?

As Dodd, Samuelson, Brady Griffith and Soulon discovered even more during the summit, both companies have several commonalities.

Above all, they’re both committed to top-notch customer service, which leads to corresponding goals between each company.

“They’re all stupendous,” Brady says. “I call. I text. I get an immediate response.”

He continues, “They have a willingness to be part of our team. They’re eager for it.”

Both companies also have nearly identical values, leading to a compatible partnership, as well as outstanding conversations before, during and after the summit.

“Westmor makes high-quality products and delivers when they say they will, much like Propane Ninja,” Dodd says.

A partner at the summit since 2022, Westmor has been satisfied with the personal connections it has cultivated with prospective and current clients. Brady Griffith and Soulon are especially appreciative of the summit’s distinctness. It empowers a level of connection Westmor wouldn’t have had otherwise with Propane Ninja or other customers.

“We’re grateful we chose to sponsor and attend the summit, as it has far exceeded our expectations,” Brady Griffith says. “In addition to the relationship established with Propane Ninja, we have successfully created connections with numerous other propane marketers.”

These connections have been sustainable, too.

“We continue to collaborate with them,” Soulon adds. “And we’re going to continue to grow and strengthen the relationships we’ve developed from the Growth Summit.”

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