Mid-County Newsletter MCnewsletter-spring06

Mid-County Messenger www.midcountycoop.com Spring 2006 Cologne - 125 th Anniversary Mark your calendars now for July 28–30, 2006: the dates for Cologne’s 125th anniversary celebration! There are a number of committees planning activities to commem- orate the event. A parade is scheduled for Sunday, July 30 — Chair- man Don Smith and his committee are recruiting bands, military groups and other units to participate. If you have suggestions, call Don at 466-5995. Float Committee: The Cologne 125th Anniversary float will make its debut at the Carver County Fair Aug. 14. The Lions Club is building the float, which features scale models of the old city hall, train depot, water tower and photo panels from Cologne’s past. Heritage Book: Chair Theresa Willems and her committee invited residents young and old to help create a Heritage Cookbook — a collection of recipes and heritage stories that will serve as a kitchen favorite and cherished keepsake. Old-Timer’s Baseball Tourney: Baseball was an important part of Cologne’s past and is a significant part of our current culture. Chair Craig Pexa is organizing an Old-Tim- er’s baseball tournament. Watch for more information about 125th activities at www. ci.cologne.mn.us. Mid-County Messenger Mid-County Coop Contact Information Bill Reimers General Manager [phone] [email protected] Agronomy Manager Kent Fabel [phone] [email protected] Agronomist Joe Forner [phone] [email protected] Petroleum Operations Quay Zander [phone] [email protected] Certified Energy Specialist Aaron Huebner [phone] [email protected] Service Department Jim Jochum [phone] [email protected] Office Manager Belinda Storms [phone] [email protected] Cenex Convenience Store Cologne Manager Del Gallup [phone] [email protected] 700 W. Lake St. Cologne, MN [phone] Office [phone] Fax www.midcountycoop.com Hon esty • Inte grity • Val ue Vol. 9 www.midcountycoop.com Spring 2006 Mid-County: Past, present, and future Mid-County’s history as an energy company dates all the way back to 1926 when Vic- toria Oil was started, and 1935 when Mid-County Co-op was started. In 1998 the two Co- operatives merged to further enhance our position in the energy business. We have recently hired Aaron Huebner as our Cer- tified Energy Specialist. He will play an important role in assisting our customers with not only fuel needs, but also in the area of lubricants, propane, and a very important aspect of the energy business-petroleum equipment. With all of the regulations that are adopted by the federal and state agen- cies, there is a whole menu of items that local cities or gov- ernments may adopt that we need to make our customers aware of. Mid-County is also a leader in renewable fuels. We have been at the forefront of ethanol gasoline and soy based diesel fuels. Being the leader with new products can also create some risks. Though our Co- op did not experience prob- lems with soy based diesel this winter, many dealers had issues with filters plugging. We understand that this fil- ter plugging issue has been resolved, and we will moni- tor any product issues next H O N E S T Y Bill Reimers General Manager [email protected] winter. As with any fuel, if you start out with a quality base product, your finished blended product will perform better. Starting with a quality fuel has always been important at Mid- County. Warm winters are nice for everyone except ice fisherman and energy companies. We have experienced substantial declines in our heating oil and propane sales this winter. We have been through this before, and we will experience it again someday. Fortunately we are diversified in other areas to handle situations like this. You may have noticed our improved gas and diesel island at the Convenience Store in Cologne. We have increased our gasoline pumps by one- third. We also changed the gas and diesel pumps to have card readers in the pump, making pay at the pump much easier. Last week we also increased the speed of our diesel pump- ing by one-third. When we installed the new pumps the speed was not improved, so we added more horsepower to our pumping system to make it not only easier to use, but faster as well. Through the years, we have also expanded into auto and truck repair. Our commitment can be shown in building a new facility in Cologne in 2000. We are continually investing in new equipment and tech- nologies, such as our state of the art wheel alignment sys- tem, and our new transmission flush equipment. Our Agronomy division is in preparation for what we see as a very busy spring. We experienced a lot of rain dur- ing the fall season when anhy- drous usually is applied, so we are preparing the equipment accordingly. Watch for upcoming infor- mation on Cologne’s 125 th anniversary celebration this July 28-30. For more informa- tion you can go to the City’s website at www.ci.cologne. mn.us. As always, we are work- ing to make your Co-op bet- ter with Honesty, Integrity and Value. Serving You With: • I N T E G R I T Y [phone] • 888-466-3700 700 West Lake Street, P.O. Box 177, Cologne • VA L U E