1st PROPANE FRANCHISING WELCOMES FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, MARKETING COORDINATOR

    /24-7PressRelease/ - RANCHO MURIETA, CA, February 11, 2007 - 1st Propane Franchising, Inc., is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its national franchise support team.

Rick Gilpatrick will be taking on the role of Franchise Development Manager. In his role, Gilpatrick will be in charge of recruiting and securing new 1st Propane franchisees. Prior to joining 1st Propane, Gilpatrick spent over 25 years in the pool and spa industry specializing in sales, marketing and product development. As National Sales Manager for a top industry manufacturer, Gilpatrick was responsible for expanding the company's national dealer network from 35 to 300+ dealers. His duties included nationwide customer development and recruiting as well as sales staff training and support of the dealer network with promotional events and business expansion. Gilpatrick is a graduate of Sacramento State University.

1st Propane also hired Lorena Jordan as their new Marketing Coordinator. Jordan brings over 12 years of marketing, advertising and public relations experience to the 1st Propane team. She will be responsible for providing strategic marketing support to all franchise locations, producing customer communication materials and developing campaigns to entice potential new franchise owners. Prior to joining 1st Propane, she spent several years overseeing tradeshows and advertising efforts for a division of a major automotive retailer. Jordan holds a B.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism from Fresno State University.

The addition of these positions is part of 1st Propane's major franchise expansion plan aimed at adding 16 new franchise locations during 2007. Speaking of the plans, Bill Thacher, founder and CEO, says, "We have created a strong, tested system of training and support that enables our franchises to prosper by providing excellent customer service in their respective communities. We plan to utilize this system to expand into several areas of the country by the end of the year."


About 1st Propane Franchising Inc.
Established in 1997, 1st Propane Franchising offers franchises to individuals who want to live in rural or suburban areas and serve their friends and neighbors with high quality bulk propane service. All franchises are locally owned and operated, and supplied with marketing and business support from its national headquarters office. 1st Propane currently has franchises in seven locations throughout the U.S., including Arizona, New Jersey, Texas, California, Montana and Washington. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit www.1st-propane.com.

# # #