Propane Personality: Emily McComas

Emily McComas
Communications Manager, Propane Education & Research Council

Education

Marshall University
Bachelor’s Degree in Online Journalism
Class of 2010

Work Experience

June 2014-Present
Propane Education & Research Council (PERC)
Communications Manager

2010-14
The Charleston Gazette
Copy Editor

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What is a typical day for you as communications manager?

“A typical day for me could involve creating and scheduling the social media posts on all of PERC’s channels. [It also involves] working on The PERC Update weekly e-newsletter that goes out to the industry, sending out an email to a group of industry members about something they need to know about, working on a blog or editing a blog by a staff member for the Can-Do Journal on propane.com. [I also] respond to requests from industry members for resources and other information, and stay updated with what all the other teams are doing. That informs me of what to put on our social channels and in The PERC Update. [I also] work with our agencies to review content, coordinate efforts and work on strategy.”

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PERC’s podcast: ‘The 1075’

In 2017, PERC began a podcast known as “The 1075,” which promotes the use of propane and discusses relevant topics and events for the industry. McComas took the lead on it in 2018, and has continued to produce episodes since.

“The podcast is exclusively for propane industry members. It’s turned into using this podcast as a platform to give people in our industry a voice and a way to share their challenges or opportunities, and to share them with their peers so we can all learn and get better together. I feel like that ultimately helps our industry succeed as a whole when we can talk to each other and then give individuals a platform to share what’s going on. So I try to just stay abreast of different topics that are relevant to our industry in the moment or a particular season.”

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Do you think the industry should bolster its digital footprint?

“I for sure think so. Industry members’ time is limited and their money is limited, so they need to use it as efficiently as possible to get the results they want that’s going to help their business grow. I feel like going digital helps that in a lot of ways. I think as anybody needs to do nowadays, we need to continue to evolve and change, and look at how we should do things differently to meet the changing demands of new generations of Americans and how they do things way differently than their grandparents or their parents do [so that we] stay relevant and keep propane in the mix as conversations and ways of doing things change on a regular basis. I’m all for the industry going more digital or making changes as to what’s needed to survive and to thrive.”

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Mission at PERC

“I think it’s to equip marketers with the tools and information they need to be successful for their business and their day-to-day work. That’s mostly through the channels that I lead, like The PERC Update newsletter, ‘The 1075’ podcast, social media, content videos or working directly with them. I think it’s also to help spread the message about how propane is clean, reliable and safe, so that more consumers learn about it and use it as their fuel, and I do that through social media, the Can-Do blog and supporting my colleagues on the different campaigns that they’re working on.”

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Hobbies

“I enjoy spending time with my family. My husband and I have an almost 2-year-old. So we like spending time outside, especially now, just going to local parks. I also do a lot of writing in my spare time for my own pleasure.”