Although Richard juggles different businesses, it is the petrol stations that are an important part of his portfolio because of his deep rooted family connections. Richard's parents owned a petrol station with an attached workshop in High Wycombe when he was growing up, where he first became exposed to the fuel and automotive business. Elite Garages now has three generations of the family working together including Richard's daughter Sophie and another daughter Kelsie and son Jack who have both recently completed business degrees and are looking to get involved in the service station and tyre side of the business.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, “I'm delighted that Richard continues to see Valero as the fuel supplier of choice for all nine of the Elite Garage service stations. It's great to hear that our support has been of such great value to Richard over the years. We have a long history with the company and I'm sure we will keep the strong relationship going for years to come."
Shift workers in Operations at Valero Pembroke refinery have donated £25,000 to PATCH to help those in need who are struggling during this difficult time. Pembrokeshire Action to Combat Hardship – PATCH – has been giving free food parcels, clothing and household items to those in financial need in Pembrokeshire since 2008.
The workers are employed by the refinery to keep it operating in shifts, night and day. They canvassed opinion among themselves and decided together to make the large donation to PATCH.
This act of generosity will help provide local families in Pembrokeshire with the necessities that they need while the lockdown continues and beyond.
PATCH is struggling to deal with the safety requirements of working safely together and dealing with the public. It has temporarily closed two of its sites to concentrate its volunteers and food in three of its bases.
Tracy Olin (pictured, in pink top), PATCH Manager, said, “When Valero called I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We have never received such a large donation, and it's almost half of our total income for last year.
“This will help so much as we've seen such an increase in clients and we've had to change some of the way we do things to make sure all that need to can access our donations. This has all put a financial strain on our work. We cannot thank the staff enough for their continued support."
Stephen Thornton, Manager Public Affairs said, “The shift workers from the Valero Operations Department at Pembroke refinery are delighted to be able to make this donation. PATCH is at the front line in delivering provisions and the Ops team have collectively decided to donate towards helping families who are disadvantaged in our local community. We are all in this together and everyone is keen to help. The health and safety of our communities come first for us and we stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder with everyone."
As a company that is committed to supporting the communities in which it works, Valero will be helping a number of frontline charities during this difficult time. Valero will be providing financial assistance including an amount of free Texaco fuel to FareShare, Age UK, The Trussell Trust and the East End Emergency Fund. Valero's Pembroke refinery are also giving funding to support activities in their local community, including PPE to local clinics.
FareShare is a UK-wide network of charitable food re-distributors, made up of 17 independent organisations. Together they take good quality surplus food from across the food industry and distribute it to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups.
Age UK is the country's leading charity for older people, providing vital services for those who have no one to turn to. We exist to help older people when they need us the most. We are in urgent need of funding to keep our vital national and local services open during this – a time when the most vulnerable older people need us more than ever.
The Trussell Trust supports over 1,200 food bank centres in the UK and Northern Ireland to provide emergency food and practical support to people in , while campaigning for a UK without the need for food banks.
The East End Emergency Fund has been set up by The East End Community Foundation (EECF). Valero has worked with the EECF for many years and the Emergency Fund will be used to support the most needy and vulnerable in London's poorest borough.
Valero, who market fuel in the UK under the Texaco brand, will also support these charities through Texaco's loyalty programme Star Rewards. Star Rewards members will be able to donate their loyalty Points to any of these charities, and all donations will be matched by Valero. For example, a member can donate 250 Points and Valero will double the donation, increasing it to 500 Points which is worth £5. Similarly, a 500 Point donation will be doubled to 1,000 Points and be worth £10 and a 1,000 Point donation will be increased to 2,000 Points / £20.
Valero is a manufacturer and fuel wholesaler that does not own or operate any Texaco service stations, however we are continually looking at ways we can support our retailers and local communities at this difficult time. We continue to encourage respect for the health and wellbeing of others and that government advice on social distancing and sanitisation is followed at all times.
Please continue to stay safe and help those who may need support during this .
Despite the ever-changing situation regarding the response, be assured that Texaco branded service stations in the UK and Ireland remain well supplied and we do not anticipate any impact to fuel supplies.
Our dedicated employees have plans in place to maintain business continuity should impact any of our terminal, pipeline and supply operations. We also have prepared a wider contingency plan that will be actioned as appropriate, should the situation change or if certain government emergency plans are enacted. We continue to maintain regular contact with our contractors and key vendors to closely coordinate commercial operations and ensure the proper resiliency throughout our supply chain.
Petrol near meWe continue to follow government advice and are taking all measures to ensure the health of our employees and contractors working in our supply operations.
We are confident that we can continue to satisfy our customers’ needs in these unprecedented circumstances, and as the situation evolves we will keep you updated.
Our sincere best wishes to everyone during this difficult time.
Now is the perfect time to give your car a spring clean after the recent winter months. From muddy puddles to road salt, winter isn't kind to our cars so read our checklist on how to get your car looking back to its best.
Give the exterior of your car a good wash to remove the mud, road salt residue and general grime accumulated over the winter. Or alternatively, save yourself the effort and take it to your local car wash. Don't forget, you can redeem your Star Rewards Points for Texaco vouchers which can be used at Texaco service stations as payment for the car wash as well as for fuel and shop products.
Treat the inside to some TLC. Get rid of all those old receipts, car park tickets and coffee cups accumulated over recent months, put all those loose CDs back in their cases and wipe over the dashboard area to remove any dust.
Give the carpets, including the car mats and underneath them, a good vacuum to remove the multitude of crumbs and dirt likely to be lurking, and if you have children, who knows what you may find hiding, undiscovered for months!
Don't forget to vacuum the car seats too. If you have a dog, they may be your best friend but others might not feel the same when faced with a car seat covered in pet hair.
Whilst the vacuum is out, don't forget to clean the boot as any muddy wellies or football boots are sure to have left a trail of destruction behind them. Swap out any 'winter' items in your boot for optimistic summer necessities like a picnic blanket.
Clean the windows – both inside and out - to get rid of unwanted grime and finger prints from backseat condensation artists.