The fifth generation of former state Sen. Lewis Emery’s family has taken over the helm of the company he started — Minard Run Oil Co.

On Jan. 1, Meredith M. Fesenmyer became president of the company and will serve as corporate secretary. She will oversee and direct the day-to-day business of the company and will report to the board of directors.

Her father, Frederick W. Fesenmyer, stepped down as president at the end of 2016. He will continue his role as chairman of the board of directors.

On Wednesday, the two sat down with The Era to talk about the company, its commitment to Bradford and its legacy.

“The business is in my blood,” Frederick Fesenmyer said. “We’re the oldest, largest independent oil company in, we think the world, but we’re going to say United States, family owned, still operating on the same properties for 142 years.”

And the company’s headquarters will remain in Bradford, assured both Fesenmyers.

Frederick Fesenmyer spoke with an obvious sense of pride about the company created by his family, and grown under his leadership over the last 42 years. And about his daughter, working her way up within the company and striving to learn all she can about every aspect of the business.

After living in Colorado for several years, Meredith Fesenmyer returned to Bradford with her children in 2007. She joined Minard Run Oil — but earned her place.

“I started at the bottom. I’ve learned from the best, who is sitting right here,” she said, gesturing toward her father. “Not a lot of families have that opportunity and I’m very appreciative every day.”

Her father added, “She’s taken ahold of the business from day one. I think I realized when she came back that this was the way the progression was going to continue, keeping it in the family.”

She began in the human resources department, then in 2008 was promoted to safety manager. And that was a tremendous learning experience, she explained.

“The best part of everything I’ve done here was being the safety manager and going out and witnessing a frack job, a plugging job, witnessing how they actually gauge the oil in the stock tanks, watching how an actual pump jack works,” Meredith Fesenmyer said. “Those well tenders have techniques out there that I didn’t even know existed. That was exciting for me. Encompassing it as a whole, I think I have a greater knowledge of how everything works and how it’s supposed to work.”

Her father added, “She was amongst the men and she gained the respect of the men and they gained her respect. Her being in the field gave her the opportunity to see them working. She’s not unfamiliar with the field, nor are the field personnel unfamiliar with her.”

“There’s employees here who have been here as long as my father,” Meredith Fesenmyer said. As a safety officer, “I asked questions.”

Her father injected, “Yeah, she’s good at that.”
Smiling at her father, Meredith Fesenmyer said there are workers at Minard Run who have been there for decades, and it wasn’t always the easiest thing to convince them to change the way things were done to comply with rules and regulations.

“I like to compromise with them, too,” she said. “There has to be give and take.”

Her father, too, spoke of the importance of knowing the business.

“I worked out in the field myself, when I was 15-years-old,” he said, reminiscing about digging ditches and carrying pipes and such. And when he returned from Colorado in 1976 to take over the company after his father passed away, he did a little bit of everything.

“Now we have departments. We’re a well-oiled machine,” he said. “We have an administrative, financial, HR, operations and land. There are heads in each of those departments, and those departments are responsible for the daily operations.

“And those departments report to Meredith as they did to me. We’re compartmentalized, but everyone has a responsibility,” he continued. “We have weekly meetings with what we call ‘the team.’ Decisions are made the same way — everybody contributes. No one person is at fault. As far as meeting the goals, we all pull together.”

The oil and gas industry has had its ups and downs, but through it all, Minard Run has stood strong, following a few simple rules along the way.

“No shortcuts,” Frederick Fesenmyer explained. Speaking of drilling sites, he said it makes sense — and good business sense — to be responsible stewards of the land.

“We’re the ones who are going to have to take care of it sooner or later, it’s going to come back in our lap,” he said, from a business standpoint. “The better you take care of it, the easier it’s going to be. We take pride in how we take care of our properties because in the long run you’re going to save money. No shortcuts. I don’t want to pay for anything twice.”

He continued, “There are no shortcuts and everybody knows that and we monitor that. We pass down to each level what we want and how we want to see it in the end. Governing by consensus in the end is the way to go. Everybody has some skin in the game.”

His daughter added, “Minard Run takes pride in that. We go extra miles to ensure that when we go in and drill a well we put it back to the original or even better than it was.”

And neither sees major changes on the horizon for the company, even with the change in leadership.

Meredith Fesenmyer said of taking on the role held by her father, “They are big shoes to fill. I don’t find it intimidating. I’ve learned a lot in the last nine years I’ve been here. He’s always been here to give me guidance and support. I don’t anticipate any changes. I’d like to stay here as long as some of my predecessors have, especially my dad.

“I’m looking forward to a prosperous future,” she said.

While she is taking over the role of president and the day-to-day operations, her father isn’t walking away. “My position,” he said, “is the one that I feel I’m most qualified to do. It’s to look at the big picture for Minard Run. That big picture is to add value to the company through growth through energy. It could be wind or solar, something in the energy field where we know what we’re doing.”

He continued, “We’re in a position where our piggy bank is pretty good and we’re ready and vigilant enough to take advantage of anything that comes along that may suit our footprint. We’ve always got our eyes and ears open for opportunities and prospects. Our legacy then is to continue this value and continue this growth and be sure in all of this competition with others we do it not only with the idea of helping ourselves, but the industry, too.”