Live @ Florida Natural Gas Association Symposium + Expo

[00:00:23] Speaker A: Jimmy, it's loud in here. [00:00:25] Speaker B: It's very loud in here. [00:00:27] Speaker A: Oh, it wasn't me. [00:00:28] Speaker B: Oh. [00:00:32] Speaker A: Is that a potential guest? [00:00:35] Speaker B: It's potential something. [00:00:38] Speaker A: We are live from the Florida Natural Gas Association. Did you hit the start button yet? We're live. I've already danced on screen. What were you doing? [00:00:51] Speaker B: I didn't realize. Okay, now I'm okay. Okay. You had me though. We had a few issues that were going on first. Right. [00:00:59] Speaker A: We did a James cold open just then. [00:01:01] Speaker B: That was more than a cold open. You actually, actually had me hook, line and sinker. I did not know we were going, but I'm glad that we are. [00:01:08] Speaker A: That's where you get all the bloopers, Jimmy. [00:01:10] Speaker B: Oh, that's a blooper. There's a lot of bloopers that were happening over the last hour. I'll say that that's true. So yes, we are here. Thank you for coming down. [00:01:22] Speaker A: You've been in committee meetings all day. Is that. [00:01:24] Speaker B: We have been in committee and then we had board of directors meeting at the end of the day. So I've been here since 7:30 in the morning and right now we're going on six, so. But that's all right though. It's a great investment, as you can see. I think they said we have about. Let's just call it 250 people attending this and then with families, it's a very, this one's a very family friendly event. And so I think tomorrow night we're expecting about 400 or so at the block party. [00:01:51] Speaker A: Okay, I'm excited about that one. [00:01:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:53] Speaker A: I brought a special shirt. [00:01:55] Speaker B: Oh, do we, do we know what it is or you know what it is? Might have, might have had so much. [00:02:04] Speaker A: In honor of James, we brought special shirts. [00:02:06] Speaker B: Oh, that's just a. Unveil those tomorrow. I cannot wait. [00:02:10] Speaker A: So did you do your homework and get people lined up to come on the show? [00:02:14] Speaker B: I absolutely did, yes. Actually, you know, it's interesting. Finga, Florida Natural Gas Association. How long do you think they've been around for? I don't know, 1951. 1961 or 1971? [00:02:29] Speaker A: 61, correct. [00:02:31] Speaker B: That's good. Yeah. Good job. Yeah. [00:02:34] Speaker A: Total guess. [00:02:35] Speaker B: They've been around for such a long time. And one thing that I know with Dale Calhoun and Carrie and the leadership within, they're very much into gas advocacy. A lot of programs in Tallahassee at the state capital. And you know, we really want to lean into that during this conference because again, this is a very fun conference. But throughout the majority of the year. You know, we have people like Finga, you know, going to bat for us the natural gas industry here in Florida as well as other places. But here in Florida for sure. And we want to lean into that. Chesapeake Utilities came by today, Victoria, and said she would like to come on to talk about that aspect. Yep. [00:03:15] Speaker A: Okay, cool. [00:03:16] Speaker B: Yeah, so we do have, we have a lot of guests like that, but that's just one that comes to mind. So we're going to lean into that and those type of questions because, again, I think there's just so much. I will say this. So we are in Cape Coral, Florida, which is in the southwest corner. And as you know, two years ago, this area is hit hard by a hurricane. [00:03:35] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:03:37] Speaker B: Remember that? [00:03:37] Speaker A: I don't know that I remember that. [00:03:39] Speaker B: But it was Hurricane Ida. [00:03:41] Speaker A: Okay. [00:03:42] Speaker B: And I remember. Ready for another trivia? If you're ready for it. It was the third costliest hurricane in United States history. The cost to personal property, do you think was 10 billion, 30 billion? Over 100 billion. What would be 30 over 100 billion? But that's not just in Florida. It's more. But this was like ground zero right here. And I'll tell you, we really learned that so many of these folks are definitely still recovering even after two years. I know that so many service people thanked us for coming here. They really, they really enjoy having, like, groups like this attend their property because it really helps the economy at a very grassroots level. [00:04:29] Speaker A: I feel like we're going to learn a lot about you Floridians this week. [00:04:32] Speaker B: You know, it's. [00:04:33] Speaker A: I do have a question. [00:04:35] Speaker B: Let's go. [00:04:36] Speaker A: Why do you have to have your pool enclosed at residential areas? What's that about? [00:04:41] Speaker B: You don't have to. [00:04:43] Speaker A: Oh, you don't? [00:04:43] Speaker B: No, you don't have to. That's called a lanai. [00:04:46] Speaker A: Okay. Oh, la nai. [00:04:48] Speaker B: And it's generally screened. The nice thing about it, it keeps out bugs and lizards as well as snakes and other things that are in Florida. Could be an iguana. There have been pools in Florida that have had alligators make their way into it. Again, a lot of homes sit on water and it could be a pond or a creek, so. Yeah. So lanais are more of protection. [00:05:17] Speaker A: Okay. Gotcha. [00:05:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:18] Speaker A: Do you have one? [00:05:19] Speaker B: We do not. [00:05:20] Speaker A: Oh, you're just inviting those alligators in. [00:05:23] Speaker B: But we have a six foot, pretty solid wood fence, so. But we do get. We do get a lot of lizards, though, and Jesus lizards. [00:05:35] Speaker A: Jesus lizards. [00:05:37] Speaker B: It's a lizard that. It'll run across the Water on its back. Two feet. [00:05:41] Speaker A: I want to see that. Yeah, you better send me a video. [00:05:44] Speaker B: I will. True story. [00:05:47] Speaker A: All right, well, we got a full lineup up. We got a lot of exciting things happening this week. [00:05:51] Speaker B: We really do. [00:05:51] Speaker A: We have an outing tomorrow that there may be some B roll from. So stay tuned, because I don't know if Jim can fish. And we're going to find out. [00:05:59] Speaker B: Allegedly. [00:06:01] Speaker A: Allegedly. [00:06:02] Speaker B: All right, thanks for coming down. This is going to be great. [00:06:06] Speaker A: Stay tuned. [00:06:07] Speaker B: You go right here, sir. [00:06:09] Speaker C: Okay. [00:06:09] Speaker A: The man of the hour has arrived. [00:06:13] Speaker C: I'm Dave. [00:06:14] Speaker B: I'm sorry. I apologize. [00:06:16] Speaker C: I don't. I don't have my name tag either, so. [00:06:18] Speaker B: Oh, no, no. I. I don't think you need a name tag. [00:06:22] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:06:23] Speaker B: Come on. I didn't know you were going to be here. So we're standing around. Ashley James is in Texas at tga. I'm here. I said, we got to take your finger this year. Ashley's like, I'll volunteer. [00:06:35] Speaker A: I'll go to Florida. [00:06:36] Speaker C: What's up, Jake? [00:06:38] Speaker A: Darn. [00:06:38] Speaker C: So we actually have James speaking at our board meeting. [00:06:41] Speaker A: Yeah, I did hear that. [00:06:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Which is going to be great. He does a great job with that. So we turn around, and Dave is standing literally right over there. And I'm like, we got to have him on at least a talk about the synergies between FNGA and apga. But before we get started, for the three people that don't know you, please introduce yourself. [00:07:01] Speaker C: Sure. Dave Shriver. I'm with the American Public Gas Association. I've been with APGA since 2004. [00:07:10] Speaker A: 2004. [00:07:11] Speaker B: Whoa. 20th anniversary. [00:07:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I guess so. I look a lot younger. [00:07:16] Speaker A: So this is my first FNGA finga. So what is the overlap between. I'm curious. [00:07:24] Speaker C: Sure. [00:07:24] Speaker A: I want to learn. [00:07:25] Speaker C: If you look at our university, there are a thousand public gas systems in 38 states. We represent public gas systems. Of those thousand public gas systems, about 740 are APGA members. And most of the Florida public gas systems are APGA members. So there's a strong overlap there. And, in fact, Stephen Mayfield, who's now president of fnga, in July, he becomes our incoming second vice chair. Oh, isn't no rest for the weary. [00:07:54] Speaker B: Oh, I see a lot more with Stephen Mayfield in our future. I mean, that's absolutely wonderful. So that makes a correlation with all the municipalities. And they're very big here in Florida, I will say that. And they have a huge voice here at fnga. One thing that fnga, and I'd like your opinion on it. We've been talking about it in the industry and we noticed that out of all the associations, FNGA really leans in heavily in the gas advocacy. Also working, you know, in talent Tallahassee at the, you know, at the state capitol and such like that. Your thoughts on that? [00:08:29] Speaker C: I think, I think it's critical. I mean, nationwide we've seen these attacks on natural gas. You've seen a pushback. About 25 states have already passed energy choice legislation. [00:08:39] Speaker B: Yep. [00:08:40] Speaker C: Florida is one of those states. I think in the case of Florida, they're very fortunate in that they have a community, a legislature, a governor that recognize the importance of natural gas and a role it should play in our energy future. You know, other states are not so lucky. [00:08:55] Speaker B: Yep, that's, that's a really good point. And I'll just say one thing, one thing we were talking about today. Florida is a very storm potential state hurricanes. And one thing we understand that people need multiple choices of energy, you know, natural gas, electricity and such like that. But one thing in Florida, so many people are putting in natural gas generators. Not just homes, but also businesses. Businesses like small businesses that are restaurants if they have a natural gas generator so when the power goes out during a storm, they can maintain their facility. The amount of money that they would lose if all the food, all the perishables went bad. The generator pays for itself. One time. Sure. [00:09:43] Speaker C: It just goes to demonstrate the resilience of the natural gas infrastructure. It's below ground, it's less subject to weather events. A couple years ago, during winter, TVA was going through rolling blackouts and our government relations vice president was in Mississippi with his two young kids. And every 50 minutes the power was going out and he took his kids to a diner for breakfast and the power was out, but they were still cooking on a natural gas cooktop with an iPhone, you know, with the light. So, you know, it's a resilient infrastructure. It's one of the benefits of natural gas. [00:10:16] Speaker B: It is. [00:10:16] Speaker C: Even during Storm Yuri, the infrastructure held. Now, the price of natural gas is more than people wanted it to be, but the infrastructure, you know, stood strong. [00:10:26] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's important because when you go through peak times like that or major events, you know, you want to have an energy source that you can rely on and you can take care of, you know, constituents, people, your homes, your neighbors, your businesses. And it's important. [00:10:45] Speaker A: It is definitely. So. But the real question I have. [00:10:49] Speaker B: Oh boy, here we go. [00:10:50] Speaker A: Is this your first time on this podcast? [00:10:53] Speaker C: No, I did it a couple years ago. I thought with James. With James. I think. [00:10:59] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:59] Speaker C: It may have been with both of you. I can't remember. [00:11:02] Speaker B: I think it was like two years years ago. Yeah, I know. [00:11:05] Speaker C: Stuart's done it. [00:11:06] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, Stuart's done it. [00:11:08] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:11:08] Speaker A: Stuart. We love Stuart. He hops on our team meetings sometimes. [00:11:11] Speaker B: Stuart Salters, Vice President, apga. Yeah. And Aaron and the whole staff there. You guys are great, actually. We actually partner up very well. Go ahead. [00:11:20] Speaker A: I was going to say, I think I heard Erin might be at EWM. [00:11:24] Speaker B: CON Conference coming up in September in Arlington, Texas. [00:11:30] Speaker C: She might be there. I know she's at Southern G Association today. We're on the road a lot this time of year. [00:11:37] Speaker B: Well. And you guys are doing great things. Yeah. There's a lot of infrastructure bill going on right now and APGA is a big advocate for helping people get that. And I will say I've seen a lot of posts with checks where people are getting checks to help expand infrastructure, replace it, make sure it's good. Any comments on that? [00:11:55] Speaker C: Yeah, we've been very proud. The infrastructure legislation is about two years ago we got signed into law. It's a billion dollars just for public gas systems, $200 million a year. But the interest was so strong year that they combine years two and three into one year. And that that rollout just occurred. We tried to go to as many events as we could. I think I went to five events. Stuart and Aaron and Renee covered other events. We just like to be there. We support our members when they're getting these big Publisher Clearinghouse checks. [00:12:24] Speaker B: Yeah, they're huge. And there's some great money. It's really going to benefit. And that's another good reason for the APGA members to be happy and strong with their membership. Or if you're not a member, you should be a member. [00:12:36] Speaker C: I agree. [00:12:37] Speaker B: How does that sound? [00:12:38] Speaker A: Y'all have a couple event coming up, right? [00:12:40] Speaker B: We do. [00:12:41] Speaker C: Our annual conference is coming up in July. [00:12:43] Speaker A: Okay. [00:12:43] Speaker B: Traverse City. [00:12:44] Speaker C: Traverse City, Michigan. [00:12:45] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:46] Speaker C: And in the fall we're in Knoxville for our persons conference. In Knoxville too. [00:12:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:50] Speaker C: It's actually. I did not know this, but it's the same weekend. Alabama's playing Tennessee in Tennessee. So our members are SEC intensive. So I think there'll be a lot of interest to go into that game. [00:13:02] Speaker A: We should all go to the game. [00:13:05] Speaker B: I like the idea. [00:13:06] Speaker A: Tailgate it, right? [00:13:08] Speaker B: That's. Yeah. Or you guys. Yeah. Tailgate is a football. Tail board is a safety meeting. There you go. [00:13:14] Speaker A: All right. All right. [00:13:16] Speaker B: Thank you for stopping by. Nice meeting you. Thank you. [00:13:19] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:13:19] Speaker A: We'll be back. Really big. It's like. [00:13:23] Speaker B: No, no, go for it. Come on. Are you good or not? [00:13:26] Speaker A: I don't think I can do this and be serious. [00:13:28] Speaker B: Okay, then put it on the ground. [00:13:31] Speaker A: Okay. But I am gonna wear it. I just feel like this is business with Keith. [00:13:35] Speaker D: Oh, wow. Wow. [00:13:37] Speaker B: Jeez. I'm gonna tell you right now, Keith, we are high flirting. [00:13:42] Speaker D: I thought this was like for the podcast without a camera. [00:13:45] Speaker A: Well, just the audio. [00:13:46] Speaker D: Just audio. This is bigger than that. [00:13:49] Speaker A: We want to see your face on the LinkedIn. Cool. [00:13:53] Speaker B: Are you excited? [00:13:54] Speaker D: I am thrilled. [00:13:54] Speaker B: Are you nervous? [00:13:55] Speaker D: A little. [00:13:56] Speaker A: How many times have you been on. [00:13:57] Speaker D: The show now, you know. Really? Gina and I did that one combo together. [00:14:03] Speaker B: Sga. Yeah. Sga. [00:14:04] Speaker D: That was fabulous. I mean, I was a little bit anxious about that one, but then it was just so easy once we got started. Plus, Gina is a consummate pro. I mean, she is she. [00:14:16] Speaker B: I mean, she is. I talk about smooth and polished. Gina. It could be coffee with Gina and Ashley. We're out. [00:14:25] Speaker A: We're gonna switch the drink out, though. [00:14:27] Speaker D: That's right. That's right. [00:14:29] Speaker A: Sweet tea with. [00:14:31] Speaker D: Oh, sweet tea. She's from Cleveland. I don't know if sweet tea is the right choice for her. [00:14:35] Speaker B: Black coffee. [00:14:37] Speaker D: Yeah. It might be an after hours discussion. And it could be bourbon in bourbon. [00:14:44] Speaker A: Stay tuned. It might not be on LinkedIn. We don't know. This is your show, please, sir. [00:14:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I was. Well, I was going to tell everybody too. I'm celebrating 13 year sobriety this upcoming July 10th, so I have to do that. You can't host, so I can't host that bourbon show. [00:15:03] Speaker D: Yeah, right. [00:15:04] Speaker B: Anyway, Keith is a long, dear friend of ours. Not just in the industry, but also personally. We're both Floridians. You and Keith know each other? James and Keith are a long time buds. But before we get further, for the folks that don't know you, why don't you just introduce. [00:15:18] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:15:19] Speaker B: Who you are and what you do. [00:15:20] Speaker D: Sure. So I'm Keith Ormsby. I'm vice president of commercial operations for Artera's Southern gas division. [00:15:28] Speaker B: Okay. [00:15:29] Speaker D: And really what that means is usually three businesses. Southeast Connections, which is a large construction company. Hydrox, which is a soft digging company that love. That really, really focuses on damage prevention. [00:15:43] Speaker B: Definitely. [00:15:43] Speaker D: And then Versiv, which we were joking about earlier. Gina Rundo runs that business for us. And I'm super proud of that. I wrote the business plan for it, we got it funded and we're out there helping operators Solve problems of emissions riding. [00:15:59] Speaker B: You know what, let's dive into that a little bit because we're here at finga, or as we always like to say, fnga, Florida Natural Gas association, depending on who you talk to. It's very different. But some people say finga. [00:16:09] Speaker A: I always thought it was finga. [00:16:10] Speaker B: I know. But anyways, here we're talking about a lot of things. You know, the people at fnga, Dale, Carrie, everybody, are very much gas advocates. [00:16:19] Speaker D: Right. [00:16:20] Speaker B: They spend naturally a lot of their time in Tallahassee and talking about things. And right now, a big initiative too, across the world is reducing greenhouse emissions. And I'm going to say that, you know, with Versa, when we first got together a few years back to learn about that, I was like, this is a great thing. [00:16:36] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:16:37] Speaker B: Explain a little bit what you think, how Versa fits into that model a little bit. [00:16:41] Speaker D: Well, you know, natural gas is a bit under attack, right? [00:16:46] Speaker B: Oh, it is. [00:16:47] Speaker D: And people used to call it a bridge fuel or whatever, but it's really the solution to helping us get to a future of a more greener future. But what we really have to be conscious of is being good stewards with that natural gas because it does have some ill effects to the environment if it's not handled correctly. And so, you know, when we looked at our businesses, Arterra, when Arterra looked at our businesses, Southeast connections specifically, we said, hey, we're the ones that are in the field doing this maintenance and the field work, and we're the ones that are opening valves and releasing gas to the atmosphere. And, you know, surely there's got to be a better way. Our founder, Billy Campbell, he used the analogy of that old commercial of the Indian shedding a tear. And they're trying to place, would anybody pour oil in water? I mean, natural gas into the atmosphere is very similar to that. That. So we said, well, let's help our customers find a solution. And hence the, you know, the origin of Versiv. And, you know, Gina, we hired Gina shortly after that, and she's just an amazing person and really dedicated to the. To the industry. Oh, she is. And she wants to help provide solutions versus been in existence for about three years. We've done over a thousand operations. So. Yeah. Yeah. 10 million cubic feet. [00:18:20] Speaker B: 10 million cubic feet have been saved by capturing it out of the pipe and then pumping it into the next pipe instead of venting it. [00:18:27] Speaker D: That's right. [00:18:27] Speaker B: Okay. [00:18:28] Speaker A: That's a good number. [00:18:29] Speaker D: And a thousand. And a thousand avoidances, which is, I think, is even a bigger number. So that's that's really kudos to her. [00:18:37] Speaker C: Okay. [00:18:37] Speaker D: So she does a great job. [00:18:39] Speaker A: So assuming since you are here from Florida, you've been coming for quite a while, why would someone back home need to get involved in this organization and start coming into these events? [00:18:49] Speaker D: Yeah, you know, I think it's all about education and just learning what the industry is trying to do. You know, I think we all need to have our elevator speech ready for why natural gas is the right fuel for our future and how it fits into the puzzle. I mean, you know, you look at how many people are moving into Florida and how much fuel is needed to create the energy to run Florida, and, you know, it's just there's no near term solution other than natural gas. So, you know, let's just make sure that we have our message right. [00:19:22] Speaker A: I like that. [00:19:23] Speaker B: I like that. I got thrown before. We had. We had some visitors come in and. Oh, that's wonderful. [00:19:29] Speaker A: It's a great producer. Oh, we do shout out to my boss. [00:19:33] Speaker D: Yeah, listening. [00:19:34] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:34] Speaker A: All right, well, thank you so much for jumping out with us. [00:19:37] Speaker D: My pleasure. Always, always. [00:19:39] Speaker B: And I get. I'm gonna say if we've affected one person that would explore that a little bit more, that message and do something maybe a little bit differently in the future. We have done our job well today, so. [00:19:50] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:19:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Thanks, brother. Appreciate you. [00:19:52] Speaker A: Yep. Stay tuned. We'll be back. [00:19:56] Speaker E: See, I'm better for probably for radio than tv, so I can admit it. [00:20:00] Speaker A: Do you have a face for radio? [00:20:02] Speaker E: I have a face for radio. [00:20:03] Speaker A: That's what they say. Right, right. [00:20:04] Speaker B: But they. They do. I'm not gonna. [00:20:07] Speaker A: We're not gonna reel you in for that one. [00:20:09] Speaker B: No, no. Oh, I see what you did there. Reel us in. Yeah. [00:20:13] Speaker A: You know, fishing. [00:20:14] Speaker B: It's exciting when we have somebody, though here that has spent time in the White House and you spent time in the White House. Mike Pence. [00:20:21] Speaker A: I didn't know this. [00:20:23] Speaker E: Same name. Different. Different. Oh, different version. [00:20:26] Speaker A: Got it. [00:20:27] Speaker E: Different version. [00:20:27] Speaker B: I just handed. [00:20:28] Speaker A: I'm following now. [00:20:29] Speaker E: I've driven. I've driven by the White House. I worked by the block. [00:20:32] Speaker B: I just had to. I just had to because my own mother. Right. [00:20:36] Speaker E: This is when it hit the apex. This was the summit. So the last election, my own mother calls me out of the blue during the week. She never calls me during the week. [00:20:43] Speaker B: Oh, boy. [00:20:43] Speaker E: So something has to be wrong. [00:20:45] Speaker B: Oh, boy. [00:20:45] Speaker E: Mom, what's up? Did you get your suit? I'm sorry, can you. [00:20:50] Speaker D: What? [00:20:50] Speaker E: She goes, did you go pick up your new suit? What the hell are you talking about? She goes, well for the inauguration. We're done, Mom. [00:20:56] Speaker A: Click. But thank you for the name. [00:20:59] Speaker E: Yes, thank you. [00:21:00] Speaker B: That's awesome. That's awesome. [00:21:02] Speaker A: All right, well, before we get too far in, do you mind introducing yourself and who you're with? [00:21:06] Speaker E: Mike Pence. I'm the director for operations for Primoris Distribution Services, Primora Service Corporation company here for Florida and the southeast region. [00:21:14] Speaker A: All right, that sounds fancy. [00:21:15] Speaker E: It sounds really fancy. It's. It's not. [00:21:18] Speaker B: Primoris has been a client of ours, Energy World Lab, for a long time. And thank you for that. That. For the folks that are out there that know you well. They know you well. But there are folks out there that do listen to the show that probably are saying, what does Primoris really focus on? As in a grassroots, like, what's. What's a main focus that you do as far as projects that people could see as they're driving down the street? [00:21:42] Speaker E: My focus is natural gas industry. Obviously we do. We focus on distribution, and honestly, we don't. I don't want you to see us. [00:21:51] Speaker B: Oh, okay. [00:21:53] Speaker E: We're in the public eye, but the idea is for us to. If we're doing our jobs properly, you're not really going to notice us because generally speaking, people only look when there's a problem. If things are going the way they're supposed to go, we're just part of the landscape. So as you go by, you pay no mind. Now, if we're in the road, we're not setting up traffic control properly. We're causing delays. That's when you really notice this. That's how. That's how bad things happen. So our focus is actually at the ground level. Like, if you set your job right every single morning and do it right, no one notices. You can just do your work and when they don't notice you, they don't get in the way. [00:22:32] Speaker B: That's a really good observation and analogy for, you know, not being noticed and you know that you're doing your thing. Well, I appreciate that. [00:22:40] Speaker E: Absolutely. Well, I'd say I tell all of our clients that I've dealt with and I had the good fortune or misfortune, depending on how you look at it. I've been in the industry for 31 years. Okay, so 31. [00:22:51] Speaker A: Are you sure? [00:22:51] Speaker E: 31. I was 19 when I started as a laborer. So I got to travel all over the place and I got to experience a lot. A lot of rough lessons, a lot of really good lessons. But one thing was always, as I came up through the ranks. One thing was always very, very clear to me and I kind of adapted a philosophy when I got into. When I got into early entry level management and into leadership and the difference between the two. And I tell my customers this all the time and sometimes it comes across a little cliche. But you don't hire me to put pipe in the ground. You don't, you don't hire promoters to put pipe in the ground. You can hire anybody you want. I mean, look at the conference we're at. There's contractors all over the place. You hire me so your phone doesn't ring, your projects get done and you don't get complaints. [00:23:35] Speaker A: True. [00:23:35] Speaker E: That's what painful. [00:23:37] Speaker B: That is a great. Not twist. That's the wrong term, but that is a great knowledge. Perspective. Thank you. [00:23:44] Speaker A: It's a great perspective. [00:23:45] Speaker B: Yeah, there really is. [00:23:46] Speaker A: So assuming you've been coming to the finger, we call it finga. [00:23:50] Speaker E: Yes, the fng a finger. I like that. I like that. [00:23:53] Speaker A: There's a debate going on here. [00:23:54] Speaker E: I like it. I'm adapting it. [00:23:55] Speaker A: You've been coming for a while, I'm assuming. [00:23:57] Speaker E: Yes. [00:23:57] Speaker A: For someone back home that maybe is not involved in the organization, why should they come to these events and get involved? What's. [00:24:05] Speaker E: Honestly, there's great networking opportunities as far as just collaborating with I. Again, I have a different perspective on all things. Even with other contractors, not only suppliers, but like yesterday with the educational sessions, you know, learning more about defensive rules and the grants that are coming out and how they apply. The municipalities that attend that a lot of contractors don't see those municipalities, they don't. That exposure. Right. There's different metrics for getting on certain bid lists, that type of thing. The old days of just cold calling and knocking. A lot of people don't do that anymore. I still do a lot of that because I know that's just tried and true and it works. So there's an opportunity just to get. Not only represent your company and get your company name out there, but also to meet people who might be right in your backyard that you might have an opportunity to either help with providing a service or maybe they have projects coming later that hey, we can do this, or hey, I'm. I'm building a bid right now that there's a service that I can't cover. There's three or four contractors here that do. [00:25:06] Speaker B: Right. [00:25:06] Speaker E: So it's an opportunity to just expand that network and really just. It's tight. I like it because it's just Florida. [00:25:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:13] Speaker E: I go to a Lot of the other conferences as well. And I don't be wrong, I love them. But when it's just Florida, we're all in the same boat together, we're all doing the same work, we should all be doing it the same way. So it's a matter of kind of how do you do it? [00:25:27] Speaker A: Right. [00:25:27] Speaker E: So learn some new tricks. [00:25:29] Speaker B: Yeah, no, and great perspective. And you know, we also talk about. You kind of alluded to the networking and I now change those instead of networking events. Knowledge sharing events. [00:25:37] Speaker E: Absolutely. [00:25:38] Speaker B: Because exactly what you talked about is what happens here is those conversations. And again, they might be high level. And again, for the folks that out there that are consciously incompetent, I don't mean that as a shot, but people know that they have a need that they don't know how to solve. And when they're here, they can say, hey, we ran into this and I'm just not really sure how to solve it. And through conversations and this friendships that we have here, a lot of things. Do light bulbs go on. [00:26:06] Speaker E: Well, and what's interesting about this, I refer to these as like a high school reunion. [00:26:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah. [00:26:12] Speaker E: Because this and another conference, the SGA is like a high school reunion. Again, I got the. I had the privilege. Privilege of working all over the place. But you do make a lot of friends and it's a great big world. But in our industry, it's a small network. [00:26:26] Speaker B: Oh, it is. It's. What do we call it? [00:26:28] Speaker A: About who you know. [00:26:29] Speaker B: Yeah, all about who you know. It's the biggest littlest industry that there is. [00:26:32] Speaker E: Absolutely. [00:26:35] Speaker A: Biggest littlest. [00:26:36] Speaker B: Thank you, brother. [00:26:36] Speaker E: Absolutely. [00:26:37] Speaker B: Always appreciate it. [00:26:38] Speaker A: Very nice to meet you. [00:26:39] Speaker E: Absolutely love it. [00:26:40] Speaker A: Yeah, I always want to see someone from the White House. [00:26:43] Speaker E: So, hey, play my cards right, maybe I'll get in. [00:26:46] Speaker A: All right. Well, thank you. [00:26:48] Speaker E: Thank you. Appreciate it. [00:26:49] Speaker B: Job, man. [00:26:52] Speaker A: The other. So what, Monday? This is Wednesday. [00:26:55] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:26:55] Speaker A: This is three. [00:26:56] Speaker B: Because we had nothing Sunday night. Did we have anything Sunday night? No, nothing. So see, when. When there's a Sunday night reception, I call that day one. Because we're traveling and we're an event. So that's day one. [00:27:09] Speaker F: I see. I understand. [00:27:10] Speaker A: It wasn't really a day. It was just like. [00:27:12] Speaker F: It's like the beginning before the end. [00:27:13] Speaker A: So really, Monday could be my day zero. Because I flew in on Monday and I was here for the rest. [00:27:18] Speaker F: So this is your day three. Your day two. [00:27:20] Speaker A: See, I like her already. [00:27:22] Speaker F: I glad you brought her. [00:27:23] Speaker B: And with this, I'm gonna step out of the conference. No. Before we get going Victoria, would you please introduce yourself to the folks? Sure. [00:27:32] Speaker A: Sorry. [00:27:32] Speaker F: I'm Victoria Price Lang, and I work for Chesapeake Utilities. I do our government affairs for the south portion of our service territory. Chesapeake Utilities is based out of Dover, Delaware, but we serve nine different states. Florida is our largest service territory right now. I know that's weird. Chesapeake Utilities in Florida? What does that mean? [00:27:50] Speaker A: Why? [00:27:51] Speaker F: Well, we operate Florida Public Utilities and Florida City Gas. Those are our two natural gas local distribution companies. But beyond just being a natural gas provider, we are an energy delivery company, too, so. So what's cool about it is we serve gas to the customers, but if there's a pipeline that needs to be built, we can do that, too. If a pipeline is under construction, then customers need the gas right there. We have Marlin Gas services that can stand up that system on the dime and have people get gas to their home. So we are really dynamic and really cool, especially with Florida's growth right now. [00:28:23] Speaker B: It is booming. Yes, I said that in a booming voice. It is. [00:28:28] Speaker F: It's truly been so. It's a great place to be, a great state to be in. And I'm a Florida girl, so work for a Chesapeake, you know, company. But I am Florida. Born in Pensacola or raised in Pensacola. All Southern here, so there we go. [00:28:44] Speaker B: So a couple things, too. I don't know if we ever talked about this, but Marlin Gas, back in my before energy world, that I was CEO of an LNG company, right? So I used to know the old Marlin Gas and used to go over to Clearwater. Oh, boy. We're under construction. So I. When I. When you folks picked up Marlin, I was very happy, and I've been following it ever since. But then we got to know each other. I believe it was last fall at St. Augustine for our board of directors committee planning session, and we really got to know each other, and it was really nice to kind of connect the dots. And then here, when we were setting up coffee, Jim and James, I said, you know, one thing I want to bring to light about FNGA is all they do for gas advocacy. And also Victoria goes, that's my bailiwick. [00:29:30] Speaker A: I'm your girl. [00:29:32] Speaker B: So that was. I told Ash, I said, victoria's gonna be on. She's like, great. So. And we are literally on day three. This is winding down, this part of the conference, but we have the president's dinner tonight, so we have a lot more to do today. But thoughts on gas advocacy and fnga. [00:29:49] Speaker F: So FNGA is truly the voice for our industry in the State of Florida. And I think, you know, people like me who work in it every day and work with our state legislators or work with our local officials. Having an association to help be your voice, where it doesn't have to be the individual company fighting alone, but you're fighting with everybody else. And I don't mean fighting, but you're telling the story. Right. We oftentimes our story is not being told loud enough. And so to have an organization like Florida Natural Gas association be able to give the story out there and show what the members, like our company are doing, are the suppliers and everything a part of that is really, really important. You know, our panels today talked about advocacy. We have, you know, not just fnga, but you have the AGA and you have API and you have all of the people, you know that were on the panel today. But all of that is working to tell the story of what we do. And I think when you start telling people what we're doing every day, they're like, oh, my gosh, I had no clue. Like, how did the lights come on? Well, you know, it came down. 75% of natural gas or 75% of electricity is generated by natural gas in the state of Florida. You shut off natural gas, there's no power here. [00:30:57] Speaker B: And the problem here is no air conditioning. [00:31:01] Speaker A: Yeah, y'all need it over here. [00:31:02] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness, it's hot. [00:31:03] Speaker A: I thought it was hot in Texas, but it's like, humid hot. [00:31:06] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:31:07] Speaker F: It's just a different hot. Right. And South Florida is so hot. But, you know, in North Florida, too, it gets cold. So, like, you have this balance of keeping the AC running or keeping hospitals going, and natural gas is doing that. And so telling that story through the association, in the Capitol, at city council meetings, I think about that all the time. How can we tell our story better? Who do we need to be reaching out to? And what are the fun, innovative ways to do so? I didn't start in this industry. I started in agriculture. So learning all this was new for. So I think about that when I'm telling my story. No one knows anything. So how do you give them information that they never heard before? [00:31:46] Speaker A: Right. [00:31:46] Speaker F: And make it exciting and fun? [00:31:48] Speaker B: Can you hear the passion in her voice? [00:31:49] Speaker A: I can. I can. And I can relate, too, because I didn't start in this industry either. [00:31:53] Speaker F: Right. [00:31:54] Speaker A: And so it was a little bit of overwhelming introduction, like the world of acronyms and all the things, so many acronyms. But it was just crazy to me that this world was out here and I had no clue. And I think there are so many people that are the same way. Right. Like, they take for granted the flip of the switch. They take for granted their AC and everything and how it came to be. [00:32:12] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:32:12] Speaker A: You know, absolutely. So it's very cool that you're passionate about. [00:32:15] Speaker F: Yeah, I. You can definitely tell I'm passionate about it, right? [00:32:18] Speaker A: Without a doubt. [00:32:20] Speaker B: And that's great. That's wonderful. [00:32:21] Speaker F: I mean, it's hard to not work in something that you like to do, Right. I want to my job. I wake up every morning and know we're serving people and we have a. We have a job to do to get people what they need. And I think that so cool about this industry. We really are service minded, service oriented. And, you know, whether that's with safety, whether that's with our employees, whether that's our direct customers, but knowing that what you're doing every day is helping someone's life be better, you know, your why. Yeah. [00:32:49] Speaker A: Your personal why. [00:32:50] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:32:50] Speaker A: I was talking about somebody or I was talking with someone the other day about it, like knowing your why and why you do what you do. For me, it's people. Right. I love people. I'm a people person. So when we talk about why we do what we do, it's because I value and I love working with people. Yeah. And how that brings to our industry. So anyways, yeah, I'm with you. [00:33:10] Speaker F: Totally agree. [00:33:10] Speaker A: Totally. [00:33:10] Speaker F: People person. I mean, as you can tell, I'm super shy. [00:33:14] Speaker A: Me too. [00:33:15] Speaker B: She's like me, Jim too. [00:33:17] Speaker A: All right, well, I'm glad you had her. Come on. [00:33:20] Speaker B: Oh, I am so glad. Anything else you want to say more? I mean, you really. [00:33:24] Speaker F: No, I. There's our marlin guy right there. Actually, no, I would just say find your why is really important and being able to explain your why to people is that other step. Right. And doing that for this industry, whether it's a natural gas or whether it's in something else, connecting with people and just remembering it's people that we need to connect with to tell that story. [00:33:49] Speaker A: So. Yeah. [00:33:50] Speaker F: Thank you for having me. [00:33:51] Speaker B: Oh, that was wonderful. [00:33:52] Speaker A: Mic drop moment right now. [00:33:53] Speaker B: I tell you what, that could be a clip unto itself. [00:33:55] Speaker A: It was good to meet you. [00:33:56] Speaker F: It was so nice to meet you. Thank you for having me. [00:33:58] Speaker A: I appreciate you guys. [00:33:59] Speaker B: Absolutely. You always have a seat at the table and we hope to have you on more with more updates in the future. [00:34:04] Speaker F: Happy to do it. Thank you for doing this. It's important. [00:34:06] Speaker A: All right, bye. Bye. [00:34:10] Speaker B: We're gonna cruise right into this episode Whoa. [00:34:14] Speaker G: Nice. [00:34:15] Speaker B: Oh, Sometimes I am so smooth, I just feel like I could just glide across the floor. [00:34:21] Speaker A: So silly too. [00:34:24] Speaker B: This is, this is, this is low stress. This is easy. [00:34:29] Speaker A: Yes. [00:34:29] Speaker B: If I can do it, anybody can do it. [00:34:31] Speaker A: Someone actually told us recently that they like our show because we don't try very hard. So it's super low maintenance. [00:34:37] Speaker G: Like I said, I love it. [00:34:39] Speaker A: I don't know if that's a good thing. [00:34:41] Speaker G: But you know what though? [00:34:42] Speaker B: It's. [00:34:43] Speaker G: This is the industry, you know, so it's blue color is. [00:34:48] Speaker B: And this is our industry. James, Shout out to James. You know, we were sitting at the docks this morning. Was it 4am or is it 5am? [00:35:00] Speaker A: It wasn't that early at all. You're lying. [00:35:03] Speaker B: I felt like it was that early. We're getting ready and we almost got to sail out into the blue oceans with our friends, but they all split us up. So they got to go out on a nice. [00:35:14] Speaker G: We both. [00:35:15] Speaker B: We were in a rowboat. [00:35:16] Speaker A: No, we weren't. It was close, but God bless America. You're lying a lot. [00:35:22] Speaker B: I'm ad libbing. [00:35:23] Speaker A: That's not what that is. [00:35:25] Speaker B: I'm embellishing. [00:35:26] Speaker A: Before we get too far in, do you mind introducing yourself and who you're with? [00:35:30] Speaker D: Yes. [00:35:30] Speaker G: Hi, my name is Cruz Gonzalez and I am with Field Precision OQ in training and we are a mobile OQ operator, qualifications service provider. [00:35:40] Speaker A: So before I'm going to put you on the spot for a second, no pressure all, but I put a post up on LinkedIn and I saw that you commented and my post was just mentioning knowing what your why is and understanding why you do what you do. And you made a comment on it. So for you, I'm curious, why do you do what you do? Why is it so important, man? [00:36:01] Speaker G: So we are, our industry is very tedious. You know, we're, we're service providers. So we're in the natural gas industry. Very dangerous, very necessary in the United States. And we gotta make sure that we have safe and qualified people doing their job, you know, so our mission is to provide a service and not only do we do OQ and train OQ qualifications, we also do training, you know, so leadership training. You know, we have an umbrella of services that we provide so we can help the industry. [00:36:37] Speaker A: Sorry, I went off. [00:36:38] Speaker B: No, no, I love this. This is a great conversation. At some point I was going to tie back in that we got to know each other from Northwest Lineman's College where Billy Kidd, a great friend of ours, great friend of mine, Billy and I mentioned that. Then all of a sudden, Cruz mentioned the connecting the dots to me and I'm like, this is fantastic. And then they have now grown where Cruz has started your own company, but also they become one of the third party evaluators for Energy World Net too, you know, working with us. So, I mean, the dots just became very connected that we came to Florida and all these things came together. It was really. [00:37:14] Speaker A: We know you like to connect the dots. [00:37:16] Speaker B: I love to connect the dots. I mean, that's, you know, but that's the thing that really that our industry thrives on is the relationships that we have in this industry. And, you know, I may or may not have the solution for somebody, but if I know somebody that does, I like to provide that because again, again, I think we're very aligned, all of us and everybody out there, safety first and foremost. I mean, we want everybody to go home at night to their loved ones, and that is first and foremost. And with the idea that everything out in the industry is safe and it's been done to their best of ability. [00:37:51] Speaker G: Absolutely, yes. And, you know, going back to the why. Right. So, Michael, I think my exact comment was, you know, if your why does not make you cry, it's not strong enough. [00:38:00] Speaker B: And that goes where? [00:38:01] Speaker G: Like everything that we do in life, you know, is a passion. It's got to be there. You know, you got to be 100% sold out to your craft or whatever you do, and it doesn't feel like work, you know, So I gotta also say, you know, when we started this business, you know, my, my friend and business partner, Matt Peterson, out of Texas, you know, worked hand in hand with Billy Kidd. [00:38:21] Speaker B: Yep. [00:38:22] Speaker G: And, you know, he, he's just as passionate as we are. You know, he's dying over here. He's actually doing some work today. But, you know, big shout out to him. You know, it's, it's, it's a team, you know, whatever it takes, you know, to get the education out there where it's needed and, you know, the training and make sure that everybody goes home to the families at the end of the day and one, you know, with all their fingers and all their toes. [00:38:46] Speaker A: You know, so while we're talking about real work, the real question I have is, was it you that pulled the fish up today or was it your wife? [00:38:55] Speaker B: Answer correctly. [00:38:57] Speaker G: So, yes, I think we, I don't know if we won that, if we won that tournament or not, but it was definitely a team effort. She was the one that, that initially started pulling on it and then My friend Randy over there was like. He was like the muscle, you know, I was just kind of, like, assisted in there. But, you know, Stephanie was. You know, it was. It was rough. [00:39:20] Speaker A: It was a sawfish. For all those back home that aren't. [00:39:24] Speaker B: 10Ft long, maybe, or whatever it was. It was released or wasn't brought in. It was free. [00:39:29] Speaker A: That the tree trimmer, as Randy called it, came out of the water and he ran. He was scared. So I don't know. That's. That's a legend. [00:39:34] Speaker G: I was probably, like, two feet away from that. From that snow when it came off. And I think Randy still talks about it. It's like, yeah, a little bit. [00:39:42] Speaker B: If we know Randy as we know Randy, he. He was probably another boat by that time. He was walking on water almost. [00:39:49] Speaker A: Well, hopefully you guys win some sort of record or a prize for that one. [00:39:54] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:39:54] Speaker G: Awesome. [00:39:55] Speaker A: Very cool. It's on LinkedIn, so go check it out if you haven't seen it yet. [00:39:58] Speaker B: Oh, wait, we're going to end with a trivia question. Okay. The United States. [00:40:04] Speaker A: Oh, Lord. [00:40:05] Speaker B: Okay. [00:40:05] Speaker A: Yeah, he Googled these before, just so y'all know. [00:40:07] Speaker B: Allegedly. What is the oldest city in the United States? [00:40:12] Speaker G: Oh, right. Here it is, right right up the road from my mom's house that has the castle. Like, I'm from Puerto Rico, so it has the castle just like Puerto Rico. And I cannot think you're doing better than I did, Santa. [00:40:26] Speaker B: Oh, wait, wait. Oh, no. Say that one more time for me. [00:40:29] Speaker G: San Augustine. [00:40:30] Speaker B: I love. [00:40:30] Speaker A: How did you say it? [00:40:31] Speaker B: St. Augustine. [00:40:32] Speaker A: All right. [00:40:33] Speaker B: I like his way a lot better. [00:40:34] Speaker G: I'm. I'm Latino, so we also provide training in Spanish as well, too, with our company, so. [00:40:39] Speaker B: Okay. Okay, nice. Well, we just learned a little bit more, didn't we? [00:40:44] Speaker A: So how did you say it one more time? [00:40:45] Speaker B: St. Augustine. [00:40:46] Speaker A: One more time? [00:40:47] Speaker G: St. Augustine. [00:40:47] Speaker A: All right. All right. [00:40:53] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:40:54] Speaker A: All right, we'll be back. [00:40:56] Speaker B: Thank you. We thank you for joining us for. [00:40:59] Speaker E: This episode of Coffee with Jim and James.