"From sea to shining sea." Not only lyrics to the song, America the Beautiful, but also the name of a cross-country road rally to showcase the benefits of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

While there are more than 1,600 CNG refueling stations across the country, Greenville Utilities' station was one of the lucky 13 selected to host a media event along the route from Long Beach, CA to Washington, DC. Greenville was the only local stop on this national tour.

The rally's mission was to inform and educate the public on the benefits of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and natural gas fueling infrastructure. It was sponsored by the American Public Gas Association, NGVAmerica, and the American Gas Association.The 3,144-mile trip started on May 30th in California and ended on June 10th in Washington, DC.

Pat Riley, the rally organizer who is also General Manager of the Gibson County Utility District in Tennessee, brought life to the event as he gave a very heartfelt and informative opening speech.

"A rally is a revival," Riley said. "So I've been preaching across the country. It's something to get excited about. It's something to stay excited about. We started this rally on Memorial Day and we celebrate American fuel. That is what it's all about."

Mr. Riley said the Tahoe and Impala that made the trip have eight gallon tanks and refueled every 220-240 miles, and his F-150 could go 400 miles between fuelings.

GUC General Manager/CEO Tony Cannon, along with Riley and APGA Board of Directors Chair & Rocky Mount Energy Resources Director Rich Worsinger, spoke during the momentous occasion. "This draws national attention to the future of natural gas," said Cannon. "It's a clean, abundant supply of energy, and we're providing that here with our partners in Pitt County."

Also during the event, Cannon recognized two of our customers that are leading the use of CNG vehicles in our area by presenting them with the inaugural Clean Future Award. Waste Industries was GUC's first commercial CNG customer and uses the facility to fuel many of its vehicles. East Carolina University was the other recipient because they have committed to purchasing two CNG-fueled buses this year.

GUC opened the facility, located at 290 Easy Street, in August 2015 and was the first in Eastern North Carolina to build a public CNG station.