ERVING — As Erving resident Scott Nicholas moves into the role of vice president of the national Oil and Energy Service Professionals organization, the 37-year-old aspires to get a younger generation involved in the field.

“If you look at the oil and energy industry, we’re definitely on the older side,” Nicholas said, noting that he’s one of the younger people involved. “Part of me, coming on as national VP, is trying to get that younger generation to come in and help lead the way and show all the things we’re doing as an industry to stay green, as that’s a big focus everyone has right now.”

The energy industry may not seem like an obvious career path. Although Nicholas ultimately co-founded Greenfield’s chapter of Oil and Energy Service Professionals and has been working in the field since the mid-2000s, he didn’t anticipate this career in the first place after he graduated from Greenfield High School in 2005. He was originally attending Greenfield Community College to pursue law enforcement.

“I got about a year into GCC and just realized that maybe that’s not for me,” Nicholas recalled.

Then, when the heat went out while he was studying in his parents’ home, Nicholas had a change of heart.

“I remember thinking it would be nice, that I could study if it was warm, and I could help out my parents to get heat that night,” he said. “Within a couple months, I was enrolled at Porter and Chester [Institute] in Chicopee for heating and cooling.”

From there, Nicholas began his career in the energy industry under different titles in technical support, sales, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. He previously held positions at Rice Oil and Propane in Greenfield and Surner Heating Co. in Amherst. Today, he is a regional manager for a North Carolina-based company called Thermo Products, where he has worked for nine years. The region he is responsible for includes New England and upstate New York.

Before entering this vice president position at the national level of Oil and Energy Service Professionals, Nicholas helped co-found the New England Tri-State Chapter. He was president of the chapter when it started in 2021 and has since become vice president. He plans to stay in this position while serving in the national role.

“We had some great mentors that came in and helped us and got us on our feet,” Nicholas said of starting a Greenfield chapter.

Today, the New England Tri-State Chapter has 21 members working in a variety of energy professions. Members meet monthly.

Oil and Energy Service Professionals was founded in the 1950s as a national trade organization for people in managerial positions in the oil and gas industry. Over the years it has expanded to focus on the advancement of all energy service professionals.

“We have technicians, we have service managers, we have manufacturer reps,” Nicholas noted.

As part of this expansion outside of the managerial demographic and into new areas of the energy industry, “We’re trying to show that we’re more involved with all the different aspects of energy, rather than just oil,” Nicholas said.

As part of his effort to continue outreach to the next generation of energy industry professionals, Nicholas explained his day-to-day responsibilities as national vice president include networking.

“I’m just helping different chapters try to figure out how to maintain membership, how to bring new people on board, and to show that we’re more than just a trade organization,” he said. “We’re more of a family, and it really shows when we all get together at our board meetings.”

Nicholas said he is excited for his new role as national vice president.

“I’m looking forward to just continuing to work with all the great people in OESP to keep the organization thriving,” Nicholas said, “and keeping the oil and energy industry alive for years to come.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.