Family, desire to succeed fuel Anchor’s Fagan

WELL-OILED MACHINE: Roberta J. Fagan, operations manager of Anchor Fuel Inc., also leads the Oil Heat Institute. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO
WELL-OILED MACHINE: Roberta J. Fagan, operations manager of Anchor Fuel Inc., also leads the Oil Heat Institute. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

Roberta J. Fagan says people are sometimes surprised to see her, a woman, jump out of an Anchor Fuel Inc. truck when she’s out on a delivery on Aquidneck Island.

But raised eyebrows and trade stereotypes have never deterred her from wanting to excel in the male-dominated oil-heat industry. Indeed, within just a decade of entering the trade, Fagan has become Anchor Fuel’s operating manager and executive director of the nonprofit trade association Oil Heat Institute of Rhode Island.

“I hope more women see this as a field they can break into,” Fagan said. “There is a shortage of commercial drivers in the U.S.”

Fagan in 2004 was working full time at a funeral home when she was approached by a former colleague, Dennis Dougherty, who had just launched the residential oil-heating-delivery company Anchor Fuel in Middletown. Dougherty at the time needed a part-time administrative assistant who could help him stay on top of deliveries and bookkeeping, so he asked if Fagan could come onboard.

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Dougherty said he quickly found her skills to be “indispensable” and offered her a full-time position. By 2007 she was appointed operations manager.

“The phone was ringing off the hook,” Fagan said, remembering back to the beginning of her career with Anchor Fuel. “I would say that within the first two years we saw close to 50 percent growth.”

The residential fuel-delivery industry is largely seasonal, with the majority of orders coming during winter months. Anchor Fuel – in a move to diversify – began offering marine diesel delivery for recreational vessels in the offseason of 2006. The increased volume of deliveries created a need for more drivers, so Fagan secured a commercial driver’s license along with the necessary endorsements.

Shortly after incorporating, Anchor Fuel became a member of the Oil Heat Institute, which comprises more than 45 members throughout Rhode Island. Subsequently, Fagan began attending association meetings and just a few years ago the former executive director, Julie A. Gill, another well-known woman in the business – appointed Fagan to the association’s executive team.

Gill decided to retire this past year after 17 years with the association and after a search committee came up short in finding a suitable replacement, Fagan offered her services. The committee unanimously approved of Fagan and she was appointed executive director in May.

“I believe I can … bring some new energy to our membership and [to] becoming a bigger part of the energy sector here in Rhode Island,” Fagan said.

She takes on the leadership role in a time when societal and competitive pressures are pushing the oil industry to become cleaner and more efficient, which Fagan, a mother of two, says has already begun in Rhode Island.

When she’s not running operations at Anchor Fuel or heading the advocacy arm of her industry, Fagan can be found moonlighting as a waitress at Chopmist Charlie’s in Jamestown, which she said is “more of a social outlet,” but doubles as a way to save for her son’s college tuition.

Her son will be a freshman at Rhode Island College this fall and her daughter will be a sophomore in high school. Fagan said she feels “extremely fortunate” to be given the career and professional-advancement opportunities she’s had, especially in a state that has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. But if nothing else, she hopes that she’s been a good role model to her children.

“As a parent I hope that I have taught them the importance of being a loyal employee with a strong work ethic,” Fagan said. •

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