The purpose of the event was to bring together LIHEAP advocates and recipients from across the county to help convince Congress to fully fund LIHEAP at $5.1 billion for FY11 and encourage an increase to $7.6 billion as outlined in Rep. Ed Markey’s (D-MA) Energy Assistance for American Families Act. President Obama proposed LIHEAP funding for FY11 at a level of $3.3 billion, down from $5.1 billion in FY10 and FY09.

We also called on Congress to release the remaining 2010 LIHEAP contingency resources–$100 million—to help vulnerable Americans who cannot afford to cool their homes during these blazing summer months.

Throughout the day there were various activities, and one of the most exciting events was the press conference we hosted on Capitol Hill where we were fortunate to be joined by Congressman Gene Green and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Both from Texas, they certainly understand how high the mercury can rise, and how dangerous high temperatures can be for those without energy assistance. We were happy to have them with us to echo our calls for LIHEAP funding—for both heating and cooling.

You can see some of the photos of the press conference at the end of this post. You can see more photos from the day’s events on our Flickr stream.

Another highlight of Summer LIHEAP Action Day was when Dave Parker and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass) were presented with awards from NFFN. Dave Parker was awarded the Sister Pat Kelly Achievement Award, NFFN’s highest energy assistance recognition award. This award is given to individuals who have demonstrated superior achievements in goals set by NFFN: increasing public awareness and understanding of low-income energy issues; influencing energy-related policies beneficial to low-income people; assisting in the creation and development of fuel funds; promoting communication and coordination among parties concerned with low-income energy issues on national, regional, and statewide levels. Rep. Markey (D-Mass) was presented with The Extra Mile Award, which recognizes legislative achievement on behalf of LIHEAP.

Here are photos of Dave and Rep. Markey receiving these prestigious awards.

Rep. Markey (D-Mass) with The Extra Mile Award, which recognizes legislative achievement on behalf of LIHEAP. Dave Parker with the Sister Pat Kelly Achievement Award, NFFN’s highest energy assistance recognition award.

While the cold winter months seem distant as we read the temperatures these days, our next LIHEAP Action Day will be here before we know it. Make sure to mark your calendar for February 9, 2011 so you can join us in the nation’s capital as we continue to make sure LIHEAP funding is available for those who need it most.

And don’t forget to post your thoughts about LIHEAP below in the comments—we always like to hear how this great program is helping folks throughout the nation.

Related posts:

1. Summer LIHEAP Action Day
2. Pictures from natural gas industry outlook for 2010
3. Welcome to the new Washington Area Fuel Fund web site

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1. Beating the Heat with Summer LIHEAP Action Day
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LIHEAP is a block grant program under which the federal government gives states annual grants to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households, and these funds go directly to those who need it most. Every year, Congress must appropriate funds for LIHEAP, and for the past two years, Congress has funded LIHEAP at the fully authorized level of $5.1 billion. Even with funding at $5.1 billion, only 1 in 5 eligible low-income households are served by the program. In February, the Obama administration released the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget for government spending, which recommended a total of only $3.3 billion for the FY 2011 LIHEAP.  With the need for LIHEAP at a record high, the administration’s proposed reduction in LIHEAP funding is disappointing.

AGA is actively lobbying Congress to appropriate at least $5.1 billion in FY 2011 for LIHEAP. But with a very tight budget, we need to convince Congress to fully fund this important program. That is why AGA, along with our utility members and other organizations are getting together on Wednesday, July 28^th for Summer LIHEAP Action Day. During this event, we will travel to Capitol Hill to meet with Members of Congress and lobby for full funding of LIHEAP.

I hope you are able to join us as this event is bound to be a great one—you will hear from key Congressional members regarding legislative updates and the latest information about the LIHEAP funding issue. For more details, please visit the Summer LIHEAP Action Day web site. Or click here to register online.

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I’ve been at AGA for almost two years now and have nothing but good things to say about Dave. The thing about AGA is there are a lot of people that have been here a very long time. Always a good sign when you’re thinking about where you want to spend your day during a job search. When you talk to those people they talk about the way Dave handled the transition of AGA from a much larger organization based in Virginia to a much leaner organization based in DC.

One of the first stories they’ll tell you is how Dave configured the AGA space to be entirely open to improve communication. There are only five people with offices at AGA (they need them for HR/legal reasons). Dave isn’t one of them. He sits at a desk two spaces over. If I stand up right now, I can see his desk. It’s been great to be able to sit so close and hear some of the conversations he has. Very valuable. It’s not so great if I want to take a slightly longer lunch. Of course, since Dave tells me he reads every blog post, he knows I’m only joking and I never take a long lunch. Right, Dave?

Dave announced his retirement plans back in February. We’ll certainly miss him when he finally leaves but he’s made sure to put plans in place so AGA keeps moving ahead with purpose. I’ve pulled some quotes from that article so he can tell you about his time at AGA in his own words.

“It has been a wonderful 13 years. I am extremely proud of all that the AGA team has accomplished.  When I became president in 1997 I pledged that we would raise our voice, increase our visibility and provide outstanding value to the membership, and I believe we have succeeded in all three of those goals.  On Capitol Hill and at the agencies that regulate our industry, AGA is considered an honest broker, a reliable partner and a knowledgeable source of information on all issues of importance to the natural gas utility. The dedication and commitment of the entire AGA leadership to this association has been the real key to our success.  I have enjoyed working with every one of our members.”

On AGA staff.  “I have never worked with a finer group of professionals. Over the years, as we streamlined operations and reduced staff, AGA team members took on more responsibility, yet the quality of the work only increased.  Thanks to them, AGA will always be one of America’s most influential and effective trade associations.”

Congrats Dave. We’ve still got him for at least until the end of the year so I’m sure we’ll have some more posts like this one. Feel free to leave Dave a message below. You can certainly send him an email but if you leave the comment here, everyone can see it.

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Great job Rusty.

You can see the video report below. You can also visit Spectra Energy’s YouTube channel to watch more videos like this one.

Just another story…well maybe a little more than a regular story…but still, another good example of the type of people that work at a natural gas utility. People that live in your neighborhood. Leave a comment below if you’ve got your own story to share.

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The flooding from Rock Creek and the Nehalem River left much of the city’s public infrastructure and property  damaged or destroyed. Half of the district’s 2,200 homes suffered damage, 800 of which were substantially damaged. More than 100 homes were deemed to be beyond repair. The elementary school, middle school and high school were left uninhabitable after five feet of water poured into the buildings.

But instead of giving up, the people of Vernonia devised a plan to rebuild those schools that are so essential to every community. They call this plan the CATALYST plan.

The plans diverse group of community leaders selected a site and developed the master plan for the new campus. In November 2009, the community approved a $13 million bond – the down payment toward the $37 million price tag to rebuild three schools. NW Natural has already stepped up with a significant contribution and is encouraging others to do the same.

You can get the full scoop over at  Oregon Solutions but here are some details on the plans for the schools.

• Carefully located in a central, accessible and safe location high above the flood plain;
• Built for current classroom capacity and at least 30 years of projected population growth;
• The first LEED Platinum-certified public K-12 building in the country which will lower operating costs considerably in the long term;
• Designed with “green” environmental features and indoor/outdoor spaces that provide powerful learning opportunities and curricula that link to emerging Oregon economic opportunities;
• A unique-to-Oregon integrated K-12 model; and
• A case study in investing in schools as a means to stimulate rural economic development and recovery.

Here’s a video snippet on the project. If you’re working on this, let us know in the comments.

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Pictured from left to right: Robert C. Skaggs, Jr., Karen Ellerbrook, Niel C. Ellerbrook, and David N. Parker

This esteemed award is the highest honor that any member of AGA can receive, and as he readies for retirement on May 31, 2010, this was a great way to pay tribute to Niel’s dedication to the natural gas community during his career. Congratulations, Niel, and good luck with all of your future endeavors! We know you will bring your great passion, enthusiasm and leadership to all your new ventures.

You can read more about Niel in our release and send along a congratulations to him in the comments below.

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3. Essential Utility Customer Service

Well Spectra took me up on my suggestion. Last month, Spectra Energy employees participated in more than 25 volunteer projects that occurred in Houston and across the Southeast United States as part of the company’s Helping Hands in Action (HHIA) initiatives. HHIA is the company’s annual month-long volunteer drive that encourages employees to give their time and share their talents to local non-profit/charitable organizations across North America.

I sent an email to Caitlin Bubela and Jerry Hereden over at Spectra Energy to learn about some of the highlights from the program. Here’s what they sent along:

• Play ball! Volunteers in Thomaston, Tex., helped the Goliad County Little League spruce up its field in preparation for opening day at the ball field.
• Nothing like a PBJ. Numerous volunteer teams in Houston gathered to prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to benefit SEARCH, a homeless service provider in the community.
• Sprucing up the campus. In Oran, Mo., Spectra Energy employees planted trees at the local public school to beautify the new campus playground.
• Swing away. Volunteers in Norris City, Ill., painted swing sets and picnic tables for the enjoyment of all members of the community.
• Elbow grease. The Ensemble Theatre in Houston has clean carpets and a fresh coat of paint thanks to the elbow grease of Spectra Energy employees.
• Preparing meals. A team of volunteers in St. Francisville, La., partnered with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society (ACS) to prepare a meal, which was sold at the organization’s Relay for Life event. The proceeds from the meal benefited the ACS.
• Time to play. The Rose City Boys and Girls Club in North Little Rock benefited from the time and talent of Spectra Energy’s team that painted playground equipment and executed a general site cleanup.
• Sweat equity. The home of an elderly, disabled Houstonian received much needed repairs, thanks to the sweat equity of Spectra Energy employees and Rebuilding Together Houston.
• Discovering the great outdoors. Tennessee Jaycee’s Camp Discovery in Gainesboro, Tenn., provides a camp experience for children with disabilities.  A group of Spectra Energy volunteers painted and worked on numerous projects at the facility for the special campers.
• Woodworking. Evangeline Elementary School in Evangeline, La., is the beneficiary of new cabinetry, thanks to the handiwork of the Spectra Energy team.
• A long trek. A team of Spectra Energy riders biked from Houston to Austin in celebration of the annual MS 150.  The ride raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to fund continued research in hopes of identifying a cure.
• New roots. The Next Door in Knoxville, Tenn., provides a home for women recently released from prison.  Spectra Energy volunteers planted a garden and did general gardening work at the facility.
• Right down the middle. Palace Lanes in Houston was the place to be as Spectra Energy employees gathered for the annual Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon.  The citywide event raises money to support the organization’s mission of educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

You can watch more Spectra Energy videos over at their YouTube page. Their Helping Hands in Action effort will continue throughout Canada and in the Northeast United States on June 1.

If you’re a natural gas utility, don’t forget to drop us a line so we can help spread the word about all the valuable work you’re doing in your community. You can just leave a link in the comments below.

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Mary Jane McCartney and AGA Chairman Robert Skaggs

Remarks from AGA Chairman Robert Skaggs

I have the privilege this evening to recognize someone who has provided extraordinary service to our industry and our association with AGA’s Distinguished Service Award.

First, let me thank Niel Ellerbook of Vectren, who chaired the 2009 selection committee, and David McClanahan of CenterPoint Energy and Doug Yaeger of Laclede, who served on the award committee.  Gentlemen, thank you.

AGA’s Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor that any member of this association can receive, and our recipient is most deserving. This is the first time the award has been made to a female colleague – and it should come as no surprise that I am talking about Mary Jane McCartney, former senior vice president of Consolidated Edison Company of New York.

David N. Parker, president and CEO of the American Gas Association and Mary Jane McCartney

Named one of the Most Influential Women in New York City Business by Crain’s New York Business in 2007, she was recognized as being responsible for gas delivery to 1.1 million homes and offices in New York City and Westchester, supervising a team of 1,000.   During her tenure natural gas usage increased 150 percent.   Mary Jane — Are you sure you want to remain retired?  I think some of us would like to see those numbers.

Crain’s further noted that in addition to the positive effect natural gas has had in helping Consolidated Edison of New York reduce CO2 emissions, Mary Jane shepherded innovations such as robotic gas-pipe sealers on New York City’s streets.

She was also recognized in 2007 with Consolidated Edison’s Living our Values Award – it is the most prestigious honor the company bestows on an employee.  This award recognizes employees who personify the corporate values of service, honesty, concern, courtesy, excellence, and teamwork, at work and home.

Mary Jane’s record of leadership in our industry has been exemplary.  Her hard work and dedication to excellence throughout her entire career has been a model for all.  Through her efforts, our industry has been able to successfully navigate many significant challenges.

When AGA formed the Government Relations Policy Committee in 1996 to guide AGA in its core mission, advocacy, Mary Jane was one of the first asked to serve, and her knowledge, wisdom and leadership never failed to advance the cause and interests of AGA members.  She continuously served on that committee from 1996 to 2009.

Whenever the natural gas sector needed to come together to solve a problem, she was among the first asked to help guide the effort, if not lead it.  She was a very active and vocal member in AGA’s Climate Change Task Force, Demand Task Force, Leadership Council, Marketing Communications Committee, Research Committee, Supply Task Force and Taxation Committee.

In addition to AGA, the organizations in which she served or led include the Gas Technology Institute (from which she retired as chairman); the Gas Industry Standards Board; the North American Energy Standards Board; the Northeast Gas Association, the International Gas Union; and the Society of Gas Lighters.

Certainly our industry, and our association, owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mary Jane, one that we can only partially pay by recognizing her with AGA’s Distinguished Service Award.

Mary Jane, so glad that you and your husband George could take time from your valuable personal time to travel down from New York to join us.

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1. Congratulations to the AGA Awards of Merit Recipients
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