Article

Sheldon Gas Co.

Longtime teacher’s ‘homework’ provides foundation for family business

Jill Hopkins left a life of teaching English students for a life in the family propane business – her grandfather started Sheldon Gas Co. in 1922 by first supplying oil to California farmers for smudge pots – but the education was just beginning.

Her mother “had her hands full” when the business was passed along, and high turnover in management created an opening for Hopkins and her sister, Joan Towner.

“We asked the family for an opportunity as an experiment to see what we could do,” Hopkins says. “We didn’t know what we were getting into, but sometimes that’s not a bad thing.”

Hopkins immediately sought the Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) for resources, reading material, attending meetings and asking questions. “It speaks to the culture of the propane industry that I got a lot of help in regards to the learning curve,” she says.

That was in 1996. Just four years later, Hopkins initiated the construction of a rail terminal, Sheldon United Terminal in Fairfield, Calif., which has been a supply boon for the company and the industry.

Today, Hopkins, Towner and their two brothers, John and Jeff Hopkins, own the company, which is located between Sacramento and San Francisco. Hopkins not only teams with her siblings and President Gene Cravea to lead Sheldon Gas, but she’s also the former chairman (2006-07) of the WPGA – at the time only the fourth woman in the association’s 60-year history.

“Our association and the California propane industry are a bit different than many other places in the United States because we have had several women lead the association and have several women running propane companies,” says Lesley Garland, president/CEO of the WPGA.

Hopkins adds, “In the old days, a son always took over. Well, it’s a brave, new world. Sometimes the person or people best suited are the daughters of the last generation. Then our daughters see us in those roles successful, reasonably happy, professional, making the right moves. So that success breeds more success.”

That trend is continuing at Sheldon Gas, as Hopkins’ daughter, Stephanie Stell, and niece, Jackie Hopkins, also work for the company. Hopkins and the family also recently welcomed a granddaughter, Mackenzie, into the world.

“We have all of the stuff that other families have; we just have the business too,” says Hopkins, whose husband (Michael Stell), son (Justin Stell) and brother-in-law (Arron Towner) also work for the company. “Item No. 1 on everybody’s list has to be the business. Some families can do that, and some families cannot.”

TEAM: Owners Joan Towner; John, Jill and Jeff Hopkins; President Gene Cravea (pictured above)
LOCATIONS: Retail branches in Suisun and Walnut Grove, Calif.; rail terminal in Fairfield, Calif.
FOUNDED: 1922
EMPLOYEES: 22
CUSTOMERS: 3,000
PROPANE SOLD: About 3 million gallons annually
ONLINE: www.sheldongas.com