2025 LP Gas Rising Leader: Reagan Bonnette

Company: Stringer Oil & LP Gas / Anderson, South Carolina

Job title: President

Years in the propane industry: 15

How did you get your start in the propane industry?

I was let go from a previous job with a magazine, and my dad approached me about coming to be his secretary. We had a very frank conversation, and I said, “OK, I will come work for you for a year while I get back on my feet.” Fifteen years later, here we are. I had no intention of being involved in the family business.

How do you help lead your company in your current role?

I had the opportunity to work with my grandfather, and obviously I’ve been working with my dad. I watched them very carefully, and I took the things that I loved and thought were great about them and their leadership roles and applied them. Whatever wasn’t working for us, I took charge to change that and make it better as best I could for the company and my guys. A big key difference is generationally. Previously it was always that class of driver, office personnel, boss. I had made very sure that my guys know that I’m in it with them all the way. To be in a small family business, it takes all of us; they’re an extension of me just as I am an extension of them. It’s not just “You do this job,” and “I do this job.” We make this all function together. I believe and have seen that that has changed their attitudes, knowing that they’re not by themselves or just representing one category for us.

What change would you like to see to the propane industry to ensure its success?

If I’m being very frank, which I generally will be, for as much as the industry has acknowledged and is struggling getting youth involved, the biggest thing that infuriates me the most: I still hear the phrase “This is the way we’ve always done it.” To a younger person, that immediately signals there’s no growth or ability to even look at alternatives. That’s just not the case anymore. We all know the world is fast paced, fast moving. So much has changed in our lives in the past four years, where something that didn’t work six months ago could work today. The industry really still needs to continue to be open to changing the avenues and how we pivot. One of the bigger things that has come to me and has been really a wonderful light in the darkness of [Hurricane] Helene is innovation. There’s some really smart people inside of this industry. We have not showcased the innovation that we can do with propane very well, which is a really exciting thing. It certainly got me excited when I saw what came about from different companies and places to help with disaster relief. We could do a lot more, but I feel there’s a lack of spotlight on that and a lack of funding. For me to be able to showcase to a younger person, “Look at what we’ve done and what we can do, and you can have a part in that,” is a really big deal in keeping the youth engaged in this industry.

What does your generation offer to the propane industry that previous generations did not?

Technology is the biggest one, but I also think some of the third generation like myself and others that I’ve had the fortune to become friends with, we are evolving and changing the industry. We have a unique perspective growing up in it. We’ve seen the things our parents and grandparents have done with a handshake or a smile. We’ve also seen how that can turn out in a bad way. We want to take parts of the old and honor that while creating our own paths and legacies. There is drive with generationally owned businesses. It’s a heavy weight of expectation to carry but is also a huge motivating factor.

What specific technologies are you using (or plan to use) to support business operations?

The biggest change we made was in 2016. I had gone to my first trade show and realized we were absolutely lacking in technology with tablets and handhelds and everything that was going on. At that time, our competitor down the street was putting a hurting on us. I realized it’s a whole lot easier for me to change a seven-, eight-[vehicle] fleet versus them changing a 200-[vehicle] fleet. I thought if we could up our technology game that we could take back some of that power, and we did. We got tablets in the trucks; it made things so much more fluid. Being able to route the guys, the backtracking of will-calls and call-ins was significantly decreased. When you’re talking about a small team, the amount of phone calls that we were dealing with in the office was so overwhelming. We definitely see a drop in that. We were able to take care of our customers better. The changing of the software and updating of the tablets was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my career, but it was the best thing that ever happened to us. I had our first website built in 2021 where you could order fuel, and the same year, we upgraded our phones. Now the goal is to focus on continuing to update those things in a timely manner and consistently.

What propane industry associations are you involved with at the state and/or the national level?

I’m involved with NPGA (National Propane Gas Association) and also with SEPA (Southeast Propane Alliance). I sit on the government and technology committees with SEPA. I’m trying to do more [on the] government side of things. There’s a lot of things that have come to light since the hurricane – rules and regulations – that we need to advocate for. I hope to get more involved.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself, your company and/or the propane industry?

It’s pretty hard for me to talk about myself. I would love to give you a list of people I could thank. Nobody builds a kingdom without the people around them. The industry has given me an enormous amount of confidence I didn’t know I had. That certainly comes from the people I’ve been fortunate to surround myself with: My late grandfather, Wilson Stringer; my dad, Smitty File; Dan Richardson with Conger LP Gas; Warner Jones with Harper Industries; Jessica Jones with Coombs Gas; Elizabeth Wilkerson with Crestwood; John Henderson/Mark Brookshire with Hilco; James Harris/Phil Farris with 3eight Energy; John Caterson with Blossman Gas; Eric Taylor with Palmetto Propane; Ray Carver with Gardner Marsh and John Jessup and Matt Leonard with SEPA. Last but not least, my guys: Billy, Jamey and Keith. Without them, there would be no Stringer but particularly my service technician, Keith Lawton, I owe a huge thank you. He has taught me everything I know about service and getting dirty. He never once has treated me like “a girl.”