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In the spring of 2016, the National Propane Gas Association’s (NPGA) Women in Propane Council (WIP) launched the Knowledge Exchange network to serve as a mentorship program for members of NPGA.

According to Laurie Irish-Jones, chair of WIP, the program was devel-oped after hearing conver-sations about what the in-dustry might need as far as the next generation.

“There are so many people who have been in this industry for such a long time that they are experts,” Irish-Jones says. “Transfer-ring that knowledge in a one-to-one situation would be invaluable.”

Irish-Jones sees the program as par-ticularly important because it is a way to reach everyone. The partnerships and the knowledge gained from them are primarily based on what the mentee and mentor need from them.

There is also a benefit to working with someone who can look at the other person’s situation objectively. According to Irish-Jones, “You can get a clarity that you can’t get from inside your own busi-ness. Somebody can be totally objective and ask you questions that you wouldn’t even think to ask yourself.”

The program has about 20 mentor-mentee pairs who started working to-gether last spring. Many of them are currently finishing up their six-month

partnerships. The pairings are com-posed of individuals just out of college to those who have been in the indus-try for several decades. They come from companies of all sizes, in which they serve a variety of roles. Although the program was started by WIP, both men and women have participated in

the Knowledge Exchange.As their time working

together ended, two of the pairs shared their thoughts about the program, as well as the insights they gained through working one-on-one.

Allison Platz is the mar-keting manager at Delta Liquid Energy in Paso Robles, California. She has

been in the industry for just over a year. Her mentor, Felicia Houston, is a general manager at Ferrellgas in Grand Junc-tion, Colorado.

Julie Johnson has been working at Ted Johnson Propane for 36 years, cur-rently serving as president of the com-pany. Her mentee, Jessica C. Johnson (no relation), is the member liaison at Alli-ance AutoGas, a position she has held for just over a year.

LP Gas: How did you get involved in the men-torship program?

Platz: I was introduced to the pro-gram last fall (2016) when I went to the NPGA fall board meeting and sat in on

Participants in an industrywide mentoring program discuss impact, knowledge gained.BY CLARA RICHTER | MANAGING EDITORcrichter@northcoastmedia.net

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a WIP meeting. They were discuss-ing the program and, since I was new to the industry, I thought, “This is a nice opportunity for me to learn more about the industry and get more perspective from someone who has years of experience.”

Houston: There were a couple of women that work at Ferrellgas that I’ve used in a mentor capacity since I started at the company and they had mentioned the program and suggested that it would be good for me to be involved.

Jessica C. Johnson: I’m new to an industry that historically has been dominated by men, and I wanted to become more connected and understand it as much as possible. Some of my colleagues mentioned WIP and I thought, “I need to be a part of that.” After joining the group and learning about the mentor program, I decided to get involved because I wanted to learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could.

Julie Johnson: I think as a member of WIP, I have to be pro-active and pay attention to what’s happening in our industry. I’ve been pretty close with Nancy Coop (founding chair of WIP from Ferrellgas) and she suggested that I be a mentor. My daughter is also participating in the program. She is the mentee and has someone else as her mentor. We decided to-gether that we could jump in and do it.

LP Gas: How have you benefited from the program? Jessica C. Johnson: I have a long list. First, the program re-

quired us to identify goals. This was helpful because the last thing anyone wanted was a session where you complained or asked for endless advice. Each of our sessions led to the achievement of a goal. I’ve gained confidence in my public speaking and presentation skills, as well as my ability to help lead my team. Having little bits of advice from another woman in the industry has been just fantastic. Julie’s experi-ence has offered me a different perspective. She really gave me the ability to step back and evaluate where I’ve been, how far I’ve come and where I want to end up.

Julie Johnson: I don’t know the right words to describe it yet, but I think that women really need a positive role model in other women. I think it’s good for women in business to have a good role model of a trailblazer or someone who has gone before them. I feel fortunate that I can give somebody else the knowledge I’ve gained.

Platz: It’s been a great opportunity to get another perspec-tive on how to be a manager in the industry. We work col-laboratively to come up with strategies on how I can improve personally and professionally. Our main focus is working to-gether and being collaborative and that has really helped me grow. It’s important to learn from co-workers in your local organization, but more so to learn from professionals who

have an outside perspective, those with an unbiased opinion. It’s been great to learn from somebody whose skill set differs from my own.

Houston: I mentor and coach people in my current posi-tion, but this mentoring program really outlines a step-by-step process to establish expectations, build a relationship and then develop the mentee. It’s been rewarding for me to just be able to ask questions and listen to someone and

provide a bit of guidance in different ways. I’ve also benefited from getting to know somebody else in the indus-try who is from a different company and to answer questions and help in any way I can. It’s bringing a new light to the quality of coaching that can be provided within my own or-ganization.

LP Gas: For the mentees – how has estab-lishing specific goals helped you?

Jessica C. Johnson: Having goals not only gave me a sense of anticipation, but accomplishment after each of our calls. By ending each session with an assignment, or “personal home-work,” this program gave me an element of personal account-ability that has only to do with my personal success. There is something extremely rewarding about that, and without the mentor program I don’t think I would have it in my daily routine. It allows me time to reflect, but also to take small steps toward whatever it is I’ve decided to do.

Platz: My main goal in starting this program was to learn where I can move forward in the industry and how I can grow in my specific position. Given my job responsibilities and Fe-licia’s background in sales and management, we’ve talked a lot about building up my confidence and building a strong marketing strategy and team for future growth. Using skills and techniques that Felicia has shared with me has helped me improve as an individual as well as a team leader.

LP Gas: What are your biggest takeaways?Platz: I think I would want to participate as a mentor at

some point in my career. I believe this program is a valuable tool and being on either side of the coin you will learn some-thing from the other person in your partnership. Coming into a mentoring relationship where I can learn from somebody who has walked down a path similar to mine in this industry has been very positive and if I can share my experience one day to help someone else grow and blossom in the industry, that would be great.

Jessica C. Johnson: Having a program that addresses that there aren’t a lot of women in our industry says a lot about the industry itself. Looking to the future and being inclusive is extremely valuable. Programs like this one provide an out-side perspective to newcomers like me, and a level of support

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and insight that goes beyond the everyday work environment. From sharing her experiences, to recommending books, Julie has become someone I look up to as a leader in the industry as well as a friend. Another valuable theme that emerged from our sessions was being actively involved in reaching our goals – being intentional. Even setting the smallest goal can lead you to your big one and Julie has shown me the power in that. This practice creates such a great mix of accountability and achievement.

LP Gas: What is the most important thing you have learned from one another?

Platz: I think the most important thing I’ve learned from Felicia has just been how to navigate being a woman in a predominately male industry. She’s shared stories about her experi-ence with me and using her examples will help me as I continue to work within the propane industry. Also, her perspectives on management and sales tactics have helped me form new ideas for where my organization can go.

Houston: For me it is just a way to set up a plan and help develop somebody, work with them and build a relationship

that allows for that mentoring to take place. I think it has helped me to provide a higher level of coaching to managers in my own company.

Julie Johnson: I feel fortunate that I can give someone else the knowledge I’ve learned. This has been really re-warding for me. Just seeing those few goals develop in the past months has been amazing. I think of how long it took me to get where I am and how

fast I was able to get Jessica knowing how to be a woman in business and finding her voice.

Jessica C. Johnson: Again, I have a really long list. Julie has taught me so much about confidence, strength and address-ing change through positivity and intention. Being new to any industry can be an exciting and scary step in one’s career, and having her mentorship has been a great experience for me. All the fears and hesitations that I had were not unique to me and I found real comfort in knowing that it wasn’t just me that felt that way. Julie at one time has felt a similar way about a certain situation. By sharing her knowledge and being the encourag-ing person she is, Julie cheered me on as I branched out and reached for the goals I set. LPG

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Julie Johnson

Jessica C. Johnson

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