Blue Ridge Energies Opens Hickory 
Operations/Business Development Office 

Shown (left to right) in front of the new Hickory office is: Charles Beck, vice president of operations for Blue Ridge Energies; Glenda Christian, business development manager for Blue Ridge Energies; and Robert Kraay, Ph.D, executive officer of the Hickory-Catawba Valley Home Builders Association. 

For Immediate Release 

Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383, Pager 800-471-1323, or E-mail:  Renee Whitener


Hickory, North Carolina (July 10, 2001) – Blue Ridge Energies, a provider of propane, heating fuels and commercial gasoline serving northwestern North Carolina, has announced the opening of a Hickory operations and business development office.

The office is located at 3145 Tate Bvld. in Suite A of the Hickory-Catawba Valley Homebuilders Association’s office building and serves as an operations base for Blue Ridge Energies’ drivers and technical staff serving propane customers in the Catawba County area. Glenda Christian, Catawba County business development manager, will also be based in Blue Ridge Energies’ Hickory office. 

“Having served customers in the Catawba County area for well over a year, we’re very pleased to now have a local office that will enable us to give the most efficient and timely customer service,” said Charles Beck, Blue Ridge Energies’ vice president of operations. “Blue Ridge Energies has been putting plans in place to have a broader presence in Catawba County since last year, when we constructed a 30,000-gallon propane bulk facility in Conover,” he added.

“We’re excited to be in the excellent facilities of the Hickory- Catawba Valley Home Builders Association (HBA),” said Christian, who will be working with businesses and commercial industries located in the Catawba County area. “As an active member of the HBA and as a provider serving residential as well as commercial customers, Blue Ridge Energies is committed to helping our customers achieve energy efficiency and maximum value in their heating systems and other fuel needs,” said Christian. 

Blue Ridge Energies, which has additional offices in Lenoir, Boone, West Jefferson and Sparta, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, a cooperative electric utility serving over 63,000 customers in northwest North Carolina. 

For more information or to contact Blue Ridge Energies, visit www.BlueRidgeEnergies.com or call (828) 267—9944.

Back to Top