ILMA Compoundings - January 2020 - 17

Meet ILMA's New President
Chuck Decker

A

t 18 years old and fresh out of
high school, Chuck Decker
got his first real job as a
bartender at a famous New Jersey bar,
Donovan's Reef in Sea Bright on the
Jersey Shore. He was thrown to the
wolves, serving a packed house.
"I would have to say that for sure
prepared me for life and the need for a
strong work ethic," said Decker, who
today serves as president of American Oil
and Supply International and is taking
the helm of ILMA's Board as president.
"Talk about learning on the job and
learning how to deal with all types of
personalities in a crazy, fast-paced setting."
Decker spent 11 years working at
Donovan's, through college and after
graduation while he was interning
on Wall Street at Paine Webber
Investment Bank. "I was hired after
my internship in New York City
and became an investment advisor,
working on what was called a draw,"
he said, adding that he received a tiny
paycheck that barely covered his commuting expenses. "Donovan's was the
majority of my income at the time."
Decker was ready to step away from
the finance world, and his former
high school football coach suggested
he substitute teach and coach. He followed the advice and started coaching
football in the fall and teaching while
still bartending at Donovan's. He
went on to earn a master's degree at
Monmouth University.
"After about eight years of substitute teaching, full-time teaching,
bartending and having children, an
opportunity at American Oil presented itself," Decker said.

GETTING INVOLVED FROM
THE START
American Oil was in Decker's wife's
family, and his father-in-law, Stan
Ziemski, served as chairman of American Oil as well as president of ILMA
when Decker entered the business.
"Entering the business when I did
made sense for my family and me at
the time," Decker said. "It gave us some
flexibility with two young children at
home and one more on the way."
After joining the company, Decker
jumped in with ILMA right out of the
gate. He said Ziemski preached the
benefits of the Association from the
start. "He was a proponent of getting
involved in your industry and not just
for the networking, but really getting
involved," he said.
"Our company long has seen the
value of being active in ILMA,"
Decker noted. "Tim Driscoll, our
former COO who was active with the
company until he passed away last
month, and a past employee, Don
Donahue, were on the ILMA Board
before my father-in-law and me."
Decker said he sees ILMA as a
family. "ILMA is essentially where I
grew up," he said, adding that he has
been a part of many committees, taken
part in the industry fly-ins to advocate
on Capitol Hill and has been active
in strategic planning sessions and the
financial task force. "I have learned a
lot over the years, and ILMA's past and
future mean the world to me."
Barbara Kudis, president of Allegheny Petroleum Products Co. and
ILMA's immediate past president,
said Decker is passionate about the

mission of ILMA and the people and
companies that are part of the organization. She and Decker have known
each other since 2007, served together
on the ILMA Board for the past seven
years and worked together on several
committees. "I know he will be a great
leader of the organization and represent
ILMA with all of his heart," Kudis said.

I know he will be a
great leader of the
organization and represent
ILMA with all of his heart."
Barbara Kudis, ILMA's immediate
past president, Allegheny
Petroleum Products
Frank Hamilton III, president of
South Atlantic Services Inc., said Decker's enthusiasm makes him an excellent
representative of ILMA and the industry. Hamilton has known Decker for
about 10 years and served on the Board
with him for about seven. "Chuck has
a lot of energy and thinks freely, which
means he is not constrained by past
practices and history," Hamilton said.
"Chuck is also a team player. When
the Board makes a decision on an item,
Chuck will be all-in on that decision,
regardless of what he thought during
the discussion."
Decker also goes all-in with events
and committees, Kudis said. "He
founded the Young Executive Committee, which has evolved into the
Innovative Business Council," she said.

17
ILMA Compoundings - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - January 2020
