Fortner Gas Put Ag Customers Before a Congressman; Superior Gave a Free Year of Propane

The Situation

A single trade photo showing your ag accounts costs nothing. It signals to every industrial prospect in the county that you already serve operations like theirs. Fortner Gas Co. made that move when Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., toured the company's Princeton, Kentucky headquarters. Shane Fortner, Rollie Fortner and Chad Pepper stood in the frame with the congressman, local officials and the ag and industrial accounts they serve. Superior Fuel Co. worked the same angle from a different moment: CFO Joe Stariha presented the company's first customers, Almon and Patty Alton, with a year of free propane on Superior's 20th anniversary.

The Facts

What Happened

LP Gas's Faces & Places feature, published September 21, 2026, carried both moments in the same roundup. The Fortner image, credited to Amy Simms, showed Shane Fortner, Rollie Fortner and Chad Pepper with Rep. Barr, local officials and the ag and industrial accounts who joined them at the Princeton headquarters. The Superior image, credited to the company's marketing manager Ella Davis, showed Stariha presenting the Altons with their commemorative check as part of Superior's 20th-anniversary customer appreciation initiative.

Business Impact

Why It Matters

Putting commercial accounts in the frame with a visiting congressman makes those revenue relationships visible in trade press, signaling to other ag and industrial prospects that Fortner already serves operations like theirs. Superior did the same thing from a different angle: naming its first customers turned a 20th-anniversary milestone into proof of a two-decade relationship. ## What This Move Does

This works whether you run three trucks in one county or thirty across a state, as long as you have commercial accounts whose work tells your story better than a logo does. What this means for your business:

1. 1.A commercial customer pictured with a district official becomes a visible link between your business and the community you serve. 2. Naming your first customer, the way Superior named the Altons, gives your longest relationship a public moment a competitor can't copy. 3. Neither move required a media buy; a dealer just made the invitation or wrote the check.

Key Takeaways

• Fortner Gas brought its own agricultural and industrial accounts to stand alongside Rep. Andy Barr during his visit to the company's Princeton, Kentucky headquarters.
• Superior Fuel's CFO, Joe Stariha, publicly thanked the Altons, the company's first customers, with a year of free propane on its 20th anniversary.
• LP Gas ran both moments in its September 21, 2026 Faces & Places feature, giving each dealer a trade-press image built around named customers.

Action Steps

1. 1.Pull the names of the ag and industrial accounts on your route that would make a strong image next to a visiting official, and note them this week.
2. 2.When a district scheduler calls about a site visit, tell them you want two commercial clients and one industrial operator standing in the photo with the congressman, the same move Fortner made with Barr.
3. 3.Look up your company's very first customer by name and the year they signed on.
4. 4.Before your next slow week, ask that operator if they'd stand for an image and accept a public thank-you, the same move Superior made with the Altons.

Competitive Advantage

The Competitive Edge

Fortner and Superior got there by inviting their own commercial customers into good news instead (a congressional visit, an anniversary gift), turning routine business into an image readers, neighbors and referral sources actually notice.