Grease Appreciation Night
About twenty biodiesel enthusiasts met tonight for dinner and beers at Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro.
That’s about the same number that met up last month at Tyler’s Tap Room in Apex. And about the same number that connected at Mez in Durham.
The idea behind Grease Appreciation Night is for us to reward those restaurants that sign up for our Partners in Sustainability program, and that provide us with the feedstocks we need to make our fuel.
Tonight, in the afterglow of another successful evening, I have several thoughts about this endeavor. Firstly, it is wonderful to connect drivers (and eaters) with the stuff their fuel comes from.
Secondly, it is great to connect face to face with those folks who are running around on our fuel. Ward came dinner at Mez, came down to the plant to renew his membership, and while he was at it he arranged for the sale of a Mercedes to Spencer so that Spencer could leave the world of gasoline in the dust. His new roommate, Jeremy, made it jokingly clear tonight that he could not abide a gasoline powered vehicle in the mix.
Don came out tonight. He’s an old timer from Sanford who has contributed mightily to our project. Many of us were delighted to see him again.
Tonight we provided Carolina Brewery with a framed certificate for them to hang in their waiting area. We can thank Shaine and company for that one. We sort of stole the idea from Blue Ridge Biofuels in Asheville, who has long been bestowing plaques on their restaurant partners.
Finally, there is another aspect to Grease Appreciation Night that should be noted. It’s not just that the restaurant gets a crowd. And it’s not just connecting with old and new biodiesel users. It is all of that, and it is also just “us.”
Tonight I watched Leif and Rick talk across the table. Leif designed our plant and oversaw its construction, and Rick is our trickster welder from our Design-Build group. In their workaday lives they might say hello in the parking lot, but they would rarely have a chance to get down to it with one another.
They got along like a house on fire. Perhaps it was the award winning beers. Or it could have been the onion rings. But more likely it was the simple chance to sit across the table from one another and cut loose.
Earlier this month Moya had been discouraged by “Grease Appreciation Dinner” turnout. She wanted growth. I pointed out that it was different faces each time and that it was one of the few occasions that I had a chance to talk to Spencer in earnest.
Tonight she came down to my end of the table and agreed. We are a big project. We seldom get a chance to relax with one another, and “Grease Appreciation Night” is a rare and wonderful time to be together.
