Where We Stand
June 19, 2020
Written By Jon Ihler
By MFA Oil President and CEO Jon Ihler
What an interesting spring it’s been. While the coronavirus outbreak shut down large portions of the country and the economy, MFA Oil remained open as an essential business so that we could continue to meet your needs.
We took action in the early stages of the pandemic to introduce safety precautions that were in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect the health and well-being of both our employees and our customers. This included providing personal protective equipment to our frontline staff, incorporating social distancing, increased sanitation of our work areas and much more. We made sure to communicate regularly with our employees to keep everyone up-to-speed and to ensure our service to you did not falter as we were dealing with so much change. I am proud of the way our employees were able to adapt to these unforeseen challenges so quickly and can’t say thank you enough to all of our staff for their continued dedication to our cooperative.
You have probably heard of many companies that have been forced to furlough or lay off their employees because of the COVID-19 crisis. I am pleased to report we have managed through the situation without having to go that route. MFA Oil remains financially secure, and we are well-positioned to continue serving you. We know the downturn in the economy has affected many people, so we decided to waive interest charges and late fees on our bulk fuel, propane, Petro-Card 24 and Preferred Card accounts through May 1. Our Big O Tires stores also relaxed finance charges on purchases during that timeframe. These are just a couple of ways we sought to be helpful to those who needed it during this period of uncertainty.
As we emerge from the stay-at-home orders and our communities reopen, I want to assure you that your cooperative will continue to be there for you. We are all in this together. I believe the adage “tough times don’t last, tough people do” is not only true but fitting for the situation in which we all find ourselves. We can’t change the past or how COVID-19 may have affected our communities, but we can learn from it and work together toward building a brighter future. We remain just as committed to serving you and our communities as we have ever been. You can count on that.
– Published in the Summer 2020 issue of Momentum magazine