How the LP Gas Growth Summit sparks lasting business relationships

March 26, 2026 By Chris Lewis 0 Comments

In 2021, Carl Kaplan decided to attend the Southeast Propane Alliance’s inaugural meeting. While sitting at a table with various propane leaders, he happened to set down his phone.

Without a second thought, he heard someone ask, “Hey, who’s the Steelers fan?” Upon looking up, he noticed Sean Daugherty was intrigued by his phone’s background. In a matter of minutes, he learned they had a common passion: the Pittsburgh Steelers.

From there, a friendship was formed. Fast-forward four years. Kaplan continued to serve Gray, Gray & Gray as business development manager. However, in January 2025, Daugherty transitioned to CEO of Reliable Energy Partners, a new propane platform based in Tampa, Florida.

By this point, Kaplan had also introduced Daugherty to Marty Kirshner, partner at Gray, Gray & Gray. Kaplan was excited to learn their discussions would continue at the 2025 LP Gas Growth Summit. In particular, he was looking forward to the Growth Summit’s one-on-one meetings. Renowned for their uniqueness, the meetings enable propane companies to converse with vendor partners for 20 minutes at a time.

“The meetings allow us to listen to each other, learn more about one another and discuss our services,” Kaplan says. “It’s a great way to network, an experience I’d recommend to any propane industry supporter.”

Kirshner agrees. An LP Gas Growth Summit partner attendee since 2020, he loves the one-on-one meetings.

“No other industry event gives you the opportunity to sit down with 20-plus owners and decision-makers and have one-on-one, distraction-free conversations where you can learn from one another,” he says.

Kirshner doesn’t expect to form new relationships with propane companies “on the spot.” Instead, he views the Growth Summit as a first step, leading to the beginnings of potentially long-term relationships.

“We go in looking to meet people, learn more about their businesses, talk about what we do and use future opportunities to cultivate relationships until the time comes when they need our services,” he adds.

For Reliable Energy Partners, that time had arrived. Steadily growing through acquisitions, it was seeking assistance from an accounting and advisory firm. As a specialist in the energy space, Gray, Gray & Gray was a perfect fit for Reliable Energy Partners, according to Kaplan.

Not only does Gray, Gray & Gray have a “FuelExchange program” – a mergers and acquisition service for energy groups – but it also has more than 80 years of experience. When combined with Daugherty’s 34 years of experience, the partnership made sense.

“We were able to come to an agreement to work together because of the relationships we built and the time we spent together at the Growth Summit,” Daugherty says. “Gray, Gray & Gray was very amenable to work with us. They created a plan that worked for us and gave us what we needed. And we gave them skin in the game, too.”

While reflecting on his newly formed partnership with Gray, Gray & Gray, Daugherty believes both companies have “a mutual respect” for one another, as well as commonalities that may lead to longstanding success.

“At Reliable Energy Partners, we put people first, and so does Gray, Gray & Gray,” he says. “They have a value system that aligns very closely to ours: truth, honesty and understanding we’re all in this together.”

Through these commonalities, Reliable Energy Partners and Gray, Gray & Gray will “create a stream of opportunities that will be mutually beneficial,” according to Daugherty.

For instance, Gray, Gray & Gray is helping a propane company achieve its acquisition goals. In turn, Reliable Energy Partners is receiving multiple leads every week now, a considerable increase over the past few months.

“On our own, we might have gotten a couple leads in the past year,” Daugherty adds. “It’s been very rewarding so far.”

Featured homepage image: LP Gas Staff

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