NPGA chair Bimson Maggi ready to ‘fight for the industry’

Michelle Bimson Maggi stood at the podium to make her incoming remarks as the first female chair of the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA). She considered her journey.

Bimson Maggi

Bimson Maggi grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, about 10 miles from where she was sworn in as chair. She always thought of Washington, D.C., as her “backyard,” hooked by its “amazing energy.” In the nation’s capital, she helped to break down a barrier for NPGA and, in the process, energize its membership.

As Steve Kaminski, president and CEO of NPGA, told her: “I hope you’re wearing shoes because there’s glass everywhere.”

Bimson Maggi, vice president of law at AmeriGas, recognized the importance of the moment, saying she’s “very proud” to become NPGA’s first female chair and hopes she serves as an example for other women who see her and consider undertaking leadership positions within the association.

“Our industry needs people from all different backgrounds, professions, capabilities to meet the challenges we have for us,” she said.

For much of her 12-minute speech, Bimson Maggi focused on the state of the propane industry and the difference-making ability NPGA’s members can have in getting involved, speaking up and working to change the national energy narrative. She referenced Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech, which credits “the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. …”

“The electrify-everything movement has hijacked the national conversation on the future of energy, and each and every one of us has to enter that arena and tell our story,” she said. “The stakes have never been higher.”

Bimson Maggi, who earned a bachelor’s in government and politics from the University of Maryland and a Juris Doctor at Widener, is confident that she’s the right person, at the right time, to chair NPGA. She’s spent her career acquiring the skills necessary to take on the challenge – from learning how government functions, to how the legal system works, to how a propane company operates.

“We need to get into that arena and fight for the industry,” she said.

In addition to Bimson Maggi, who replaced Bob Barry of Bergquist, NPGA installed officers Mike Hopsicker of Ray Murray Inc. as treasurer, Tom Van Buren of Meritum Energy Holdings as vice chair and Jeff Stewart of Blue Star Gas as chair-elect.

Watch a video interview with Bimson Maggi.