Propane Personality: RMPA’s Tom Clark

Tom Clark
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ROCKY MOUNTAIN PROPANE ASSOCIATION

EDUCATION

Weber State University (Utah)
Attended 1996-98

WORK EXPERIENCE

1992-2018
Intermountain Truck Rebuilders
Service Technician
Vice President

2001-18
Mountain States LP Gas Co.
Vice President

2007-18
Western Propane Storage
Vice President

2018-Present
Rocky Mountain Propane Association, Rocky Mountain Propane Education & Research Council
Executive Director

How has your experience prepared you for state association work?

“I have a unique range of high-level experience, from large commercial standby systems to wholesale distribution of propane. From building bobtails and dispensers to delivering gas in a transport to operating a dispenser to filling a consumer’s 20-pound cylinder, propane has given me the opportunity to travel the world to provide sales, installation and training services.”

SERVING THE BOARD:

Chairman, Utah LP Gas Board, appointed by Gov. Olene Walker
2004-12

President, Rocky Mountain Propane Association
2013-15

District 3 Director, National Propane Gas Association board of directors
2013-18

Do you have any plans for the summer?

“It’s going to be a busy summer with Propane Days in Washington, D.C., and providing CETP classes and Propane Emergencies training throughout Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. I hope I’ll find some time to ride the Road King and do some camping.”

HOBBY

“I have been skiing for 40 years. I work as a mountain host at the local ski resort on weekends, only 18 miles from my home.”

What challenges are facing the Rocky Mountain Propane Association (RMPA) and the states it oversees?

“RMPA has four very large states with some of the lowest populations, making it a challenge to provide services to members. When I took over, the membership database was poor and membership was low. Since then, we have grown membership by 40 percent and identified and mapped all members and prospective members. 2019 will be the best year ever for RMPA with record participation in our programs. We were also successful in getting a new container law introduced and passed in Idaho. RMPA’s future looks exceptionally bright.”

RMPA GOALS:

100 percent participation from retailers and vendors