The NPGA will officially kick off the Centennial Celebration in Atlanta, Georgia with a Clean Air Rally and Autogas Parade to be held in Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday, 14 April, 2012. The Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program (SPADP) – a groundbreaking alternative fuel project supported by funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program – will join these events.

The tentative schedule for the Rally and Parade on Saturday is as follows: 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. vehicle staging; 11 a.m. to noon parade; noon to 1 p.m. press conference and rally, and 1 to 3 p.m. ride and drives and demonstrations.

The Clean Air Rally will feature a parade of autogas vehicles of all types—on and off-road—and culminate in a walk down “New Technology Lane,” to the press conference, which will be held in the park’s amphitheater. Afterward, partners will offer “Ride and Drives” and product demos.

Rally organizers welcome additional propane vehicles for the Autogas Parade. The goal is to have at least 50 vehicles to contend for a Guinness World Record attempt. Currently the parade includes a number of interesting vehicles including a Hummer, a 1972 Buick GS “muscle car,” Ford, GM, and Chrysler platform vehicles, police cruisers, forklifts, and a golf cart. To submit a vehicle for inclusion in the event, please contact Rick Rubidge at Rick@SMResources.org.

The Clean Air Rally will serve as the kick-off for the industry’s centennial year celebration while also featuring new technology and the benefits of propane. The program goal is to showcase propane as a 100-year-old, proven, reliable fuel while highlighting the future of the industry and its planned contributions over the next century. Organizers emphasize that, while Autogas is being used as the media hook to kick off the celebration; it is the springboard for communication on all of propane’s uses in homes and business, and will feature new technology being introduced through the efforts of the Propane Education & Research Council. The Centennial task force has also created an industry documentary film to be premiered at the Expo, a commemorative book in partnership with BPN, and a historical museum of artifacts and photos.

In other fun Centennial news, the Propane Gas Association of New England is organizing a “convoy” of propane vehicles to drive together to the Atlanta Expo for the Clean Air Rally. Organizers are urging other states to do the same as part of a multi-state media outreach effort on propane autogas and our 100-year history. For more information on this event, or to be included in the first-ever autogas convoy, contact Joe Rose at jrose@pgane.org.

On Sunday, 15 April 2012 at 3.00 pm, a promotional raffle will be held to raise awareness of the 100th anniversary throughout the industry and fund Propane Centennial Celebration-related projects and activities. The raffle grand prize is a ROUSH CleanTech Liquid Propane Autogas 2012 Ford F-250.

For additional information on any of the Propane Centennial programs, contact Centennial project manager Rita Pecilunas at: Rita@SMResources.org.

To learn more about the history of the US propane industry and to find out more about how the industry is celebrating its 100th anniversary, please visit www.propane100.org.