Mental health: Stories from the propane industry

May 25, 2026 By Chris Markham 0 Comments

In 1949, May was designated as Mental Health Awareness month in the United States. In the almost 80 years since, society overall has become much more open to talking about mental health.

But there is still a long way to go. In my nearly two years since joining LP Gas magazine, I haven’t heard many propane industry members talk about mental health.

So when a propane retailer told me about his struggles with anxiety a few months ago, I saw an opportunity to collaborate with him and share his story.

My intention was to start a conversation about mental health across the propane industry. If one person was open and honest about their mental health struggles, that could get more people to share about theirs, and it could encourage people to seek help if needed.

As Mental Health Awareness month approached, I thought the May issue would be a good time to share this retailer’s story. So I called him, and we had a great conversation about his experiences and his thoughts on talking about mental health.

In addition to sharing this retailer’s story, I wanted to speak with someone who had insight into dealing with mental health in the workplace. I spoke with Kelly Bosak, chief people officer at Lettermen’s Energy and the HR Solutions columnist for LP Gas magazine. She shared some stories about how she approaches mental health issues with employees at Lettermen’s.

While I received a great deal of valuable information from both conversations, as I sat down to write the article, I couldn’t help but feel there were a few cracks that needed to be filled. So I reached out to a few more members of the propane industry to see if anyone else had anything to add.

The responses blew me away.

Several industry members shared stories with me – and in great detail, too. A few people also mentioned how some of their colleagues in the industry would be interested to share their stories, too.

I suddenly went from having two interviews to write about, to having a whole roster of people eager to share their experiences with mental health.

I knew just one article couldn’t do justice to everyone’s stories, so I had to rethink my overall approach. As such, please allow this article to serve as an introduction to a series of articles about mental health in the propane industry.

In this series, we will sit down with people across the industry and talk to them about their experiences with mental health in and out of the workplace. We will explore their stories, their challenges, the resources they’ve consulted and the strategies they’ve employed in their journeys to take care of themselves and show up to work with clear heads, ready to take on the day.

We will discuss topics such as anxiety, stress, depression, substance abuse and more. These are challenging topics, but they are also important. These are conversations that need to happen.

Look next month for the first official article of this series.

If you would like to share your own story with LP Gas, please reach out to me at cmarkham@northcoastmedia.net or 216-363-7920.

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