About TFCA

---

Originally charted as Tennessee Oilmen's Association in 1929, then the Tennessee Oil Marketers Association. Ultimately, in 2008 to expand the organization's scope, the name was changed to The Tennessee Fuel & Convenience Store Association. The association wanted better to reflect the full scope of its mission and membership. TFCA represents every aspect of the fuel industry, from the refinery to the neighborhood retailers. The association's members are an important part of Tennessee's economy. They provide jobs and opportunities for thousands of employees throughout the state. Many of its members are multi-generational family-owned businesses that put their employees first while providing safe essential goods and services to their customers.
 
Over the past number of years, TFCA has become the driving force behind several public safety campaigns, such as universal carding for carry-out beer purchases, which has greatly reduced teen drinking in Tennessee. TFCA also has been at the forefront of environmental efforts to clean up leaking petroleum storage tanks and properly dispose of used oil and tires.

---

2023 Board of Directors 

---

President
​Hershel Basham
Parman Energy

Immediate Past President 
Mark Freshour
Greeneville Oil & Petroleum

Sr. Vice President/
EMA Director
Tommy Hunt
Calloway Oil Company

Vice President

Will Dean
Dean Oil Company

Vice President

Dustin McBride
Cox Oil Company

Vice President
Randy Byers
Pioneer Petroleum

Treasurer
William Kimbro 
Tri Star Energy, LLC

Assistant Treasurer
Bill Beach
Beach Oil Company

Next Generation Chair
Sally Edwards Darnell
Edwards Oil Company

Directors

Bert Kaiser
JAT Energy

Billy Harless
Rogers Petroleum

Brooklyn Kimbro Vizard
Kimbro Oil Company

David Stone
C & S Canopy

---

MEET THE STAFF

Emily LeRoy
Executive Director
eleroy@tfca.info

Emily began working for TFCA as Associate Director on January 2, 1996 and was appointed Executive Director in 2009. Over the course of the past 20 years she has worked on a wide variety of regulation and legislation.  She claims to be the only person who has ever visited every bulk plant in the state.

Emily is a native Nashvillian, a graduate of McGavock High School and Middle Tennessee State University. Her background includes working for Congressmen Ed Jones and John Tanner and the FDIC division of liquidation.

She is a member of Tennessee Society of Association Executives, Tennessee Lobbyists Association, and has held elected positions in both state and national associations. Emily is a member of St. Philips Episcopal Church.

Laura Hunt Nix
Assistant Director
lhunt@tfca.info

Laura joined TFCA as the Assistant Director in April 2022. A registered lobbyist, she serves our members through legislative and regulatory work at the federal and state level, event planning for TFCA’s membership events and visiting the membership and sponsors across the state. She also works on the weekly TFCA newsletters to keep members informed, the TFCA website, and the membership directory.

A lifelong native of Tennessee, Laura is the fourth generation of an oil company in Maryville, Tenn. Her grandfather, Hugh Martin Calloway, served as TFCA President in 1969. She feels fortunate to be able to work at an organization that has served her family’s business since for seven decades.

She attended the University of Tennessee, earning a degree in public relations and minoring in business and English. Laura served in state government as an assistant to former Governor Bill Haslam and in DC as an intern for Congressman John Duncan of Knoxville. She has previously worked in communications for a local public relations firm, the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church and as a lobbyist for a statewide education organization. She has prior association management experience where she worked for the Tennessee Society of CPAs in membership, communications and serving the next generation. 

In her spare time, Laura enjoys trying new restaurants, going to concerts and attending sporting events in the booming city of Nashville. When she is not at work, you can find her spending time with her husband, family, and friends, playing with her dogs Lucy and Toby, traveling, or watching the Tennessee Vols play. 

---