Joseph Armentano, CEO of Paraco Gas Corp., releases new book “A Helluva Ride”

Joseph Armentano, CEO of Paraco Gas Corporation, releases new book

A Helluva Ride: How a Father-Son Family Business Overcame Crisis to Achieve the American Dream

Join Author/CEO Joe Armentano on December 8, 2021, from 8:00 to 10:00 am for an in-person book release event at Paraco’s Head Quarters Auditorium, at 800 Westchester Ave, Rye Brook, NY.

A Helluva Ride is a tribute to his father’s out-sized personality, his passion for life, and his remarkable ability to shake off failure and move forward. When the world served up problems, his answer was simple: just smile.

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of A Helluva Ride are going to The Boys and Girls Club of America, an organization close to Joe’s heart.

As Joe details throughout the book his father, Pat Armentano, was more than a brilliant, self-taught businessman and salesman. His warm personality and engaging style were people magnets. Pat and his oldest son Joe enjoyed a father-son relationship built on mutual admiration, respect, and love. Their bond deepened through the years as they grew their family business and met tragedies and crises together.

Pat started a company called Patsems, Inc. in 1968 as a welding supply and industrial gas business from a small garage in Mount Vernon, New York. Paraco entered the propane industry in 1979 with the purchase of a small family business in Peekskill, New York. Joe worked in the family business as a teenager and young man and entered the family business full time upon graduation from college. In 1988, Pat named Joe CEO of Paraco. As father and son, they had a special chemistry and partnership for 44 years until Pat’s death in February 2010.

Joe has created a culture at Paraco that is committed to giving back to the communities it serves. Joe is presently on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon. Over the years, he has served on many not-for-profit boards, including the American Red Cross, National Federation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), Greyston Foundation, and the Italian Business Forum. He had been recognized many times for his charitable work, recently receiving the Legacy Award from Iona College and the Leadership Award for the Boys and Girls Club.

With more than 425 employees, 28 locations, and $150 million in annual revenue, Paraco is the largest independent propane marketer in the Northeast. Over the last four decades, Joe has overseen Paraco’s tremendous growth of acquiring 53 companies primarily composed of independent propane companies, many of them family businesses. Today, Paraco services over 110,000 customers to both residential and commercial customers. The company has recently completed its 53rd year in business.

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