Georgia Natural Gas Signs Mid-South Independent School Business Officers to Innovative Natural Gas Partnership

Consortium represents 75 private schools throughout Georgia

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Aug 12, 2010, 09:00 ET

ATLANTA, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Natural Gas (GNG), Georgia's leading natural gas provider, announced today that it has entered into a new natural gas supply agreement with Mid-South Independent School Business Officers (MISBO), a consortium representing 75 private schools throughout Georgia.

MISBO is a professional organization of independent school business officers that provides collective purchasing, professional development and information sharing for more than 285 schools with more than 178,000 students, while promoting the highest standards and best practices in the management of independent schools.

"GNG is proud to provide natural gas to MISBO, an organization that understands the need for high standards and great customer services," said GNG CEO Mike Braswell. "We are excited about this new partnership and look forward to a long future with not only MISBO, but their member schools. And we want to work closely with faculty and families to ensure that these outstanding schools take full advantage of GNG's TrueBlue Schools™ fundraising program."

"MISBO has always added value to its member schools by helping negotiate favorable contract terms and obtain competitive pricing," said MISBO Executive Director Roger Hedges. "However," added Purchasing Director, Martha Perry, "by partnering with GNG, we got competitive pricing and great customer service, plus TrueBlue Schools™ and Recycled Natural Gas^®, which complements our Smart Green Schools^® initiative. In addition their regional footprint beyond Georgia allows us to explore savings in other markets. No other marketer had the ability to match their comprehensive offer."

About MISBO

MISBO Purchasing originated in 1981 with Business Officers negotiating contracts for a limited number of commodities. These initial commodities included milk, bread, copy paper, office supplies, school supplies, and janitorial paper products. In 1986, the growth in membership and purchasing volume warranted hiring a part-time employee to negotiate contracts. When purchasing volume reached 1.5 million dollars and 32 member schools, a full-time position was created. Since 1991, the number of members has increased to over 295 schools with a purchasing volume in excess of 20 million dollars and a current staff of seven (7) full-time employees. For more information, see www.misbo.com.

About Georgia Natural Gas

Georgia Natural Gas a division of SouthStar Energy Services, a preeminent retail natural gas marketing company operating in seven states. Based in Atlanta, SouthStar is a joint venture between AGL Resources, Inc., and Piedmont Natural Gas Co. In addition to operating in Georgia as Georgia Natural Gas, SouthStar also does business in the Carolinas as Piedmont Energy Company, in Ohio as Ohio Natural Gas, in Florida as Florida Natural Gas, and in other parts of the Southeast as SouthStar Energy Services. For more information: www.onlygng.com.

SOURCE Georgia Natural Gas