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LPG Spotlight: Phillips Energy

August 23, 2022 By    
Photo courtesy of Consociate Media

This summer, Phillips Energy hosted a “Grease”-themed fundraiser for Alzheimer’s disease research. (Photo courtesy of Consociate Media)

To family-owned and -operated Phillips Energy, business is about more than gallon sales.

Photo: Consociate Media

Phillips Energy will donate more than $7,400 to the Alzheimer’s Association after its weeklong fundraiser dubbed “The Longest Week.” Jennifer Wood, left, and Cynthia Crawford are shown here. (Photo courtesy of Consociate Media)

Phillips Energy is based in Gloucester, Virginia, and serves propane to customers throughout the Chesapeake Bay area and Providence Forge, Virginia. It also provides heating oil, on- and off-road diesel, gasoline and lubricants.

The company was founded in 1946 by Frank Phillips Sr. and has remained in the family for multiple generations, with Phillips’ grandchildren, Elizabeth McCormick and John Phillips, serving as company owners today.

In the last decade, McCormick and Phillips, a brother-sister duo, have worked together to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease research.

It’s a cause that hits particularly close to home for McCormick and her brother. Frank Phillips Sr. suffered from the disease and died in the early 1990s. Their father, Frank Phillips Jr., also died from the disease, as did their grandmother.

This summer, Phillips Energy raised more than $7,400 for the Alzheimer’s Association by hosting a weeklong fundraiser dubbed “The Longest Week.” The event kicked off with Phillips Energy donating a portion of its sales at its public gas station to the cause, raising over $2,300 from that alone.

The company also hosted a raffle that accrued more than $3,700 for research, and the week’s events concluded with the Phillips Energy team pumping gas for customers while dressed up as characters from “Grease” and accepting donations.

Photo by Sara Harris Photography

Phillips Energy donates 1 cent of each gallon sold from this wrapped bobtail toward curing Alzheimer’s disease. (Photo by Sara Harris Photography)

Phillips Energy supports the cause year-round by hosting awareness events at local restaurants, sponsoring the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s and encouraging online donations. The company wrapped a bobtail to raise awareness, and it donates a cent per gallon pumped from that bobtail toward the cause.

The retailer began its fundraising efforts in 2012. In 2021, it surpassed $100,000 in total giving to the Alzheimer’s Association over the nine-year period.

While it’s a cause holding special meaning to the Phillips Energy team, McCormick explains that Alzheimer’s will likely impact nearly everyone in some way.

“More than 6 million Americans live with the effects of Alzheimer’s,” McCormick says. “It’s just staggering how fast it’s grown as a disease. It affects everyone, and everyone really knows somebody affected by it.”

It is as crucial as ever for propane retailers to be involved in their communities, considering the “electrify-everything” threats posed to the industry, McCormick adds. That involvement may help bridge the gap between customers and marketers, creating more awareness of propane.

“I just want to say how important I think propane businesses across the U.S. are to the local communities,” McCormick says. “There’s been a push away from propane, and I just would really like to say that we’re here, we do give back, we take care of our people, and we take care of our customers.”

Company Profile: Phillips Energy

Year founded // 1946
Headquarters // Gloucester, Virginia
Founders // Frank Phillips Sr. & Frank Phillips Jr.
Owners // John Phillips & Elizabeth McCormick
Bobtails // 9
Employees // 50

About the Author:

Carly Bemer (McFadden) was the managing editor at LP Gas magazine.

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