Posted April 27, 2010

Little Rock, Ark.-based biodiesel consulting group Lee Enterprises recently announced the addition of Lisa Screeton of Hilton Head, S.C., to lead the Grants and Government Relations division of the firm.

“I am really pleased to have Lisa on board for several reasons,” said Wayne Lee, owner of Lee Enterprises. “Not only does she have a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, she has a proven track record in securing large grants from federal, private and institutional sources. She also has government experience through her time with the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., and that knowledge and those contacts are immeasurable.”

Screeton said, “With the superb communications technologies currently available, we now live in a global community, and consequently we need to think on a global scale. Gone are the days of insular approaches to natural resources without regard to the future or effects on others. Sustainable alternative fuels for transportation of goods and services across the state, nation and world must be encouraged. Biodiesel development is just good business.”

Lee added that he recently read that once oil hits $125 a barrel, one half of the world’s wealth would be held by the OPEC nations. “Once we realize what this means, we will realize the urgency of the situation,” Lee said.

Both Lee and Screeton agree that the benefits of owning a biodiesel business are many. “The combination of the economy and partisan politics has made for a difficult couple of years,” Lee said. “But it does appear that the industry is now headed up in a big way.”

“The more governments and citizens realize that the world’s oil supply is limited, the more the economic advantages of biodiesel fuel become apparent,” Screeton said. “The future of successful international commerce depends on alternative fuels, and alternative fuels projects often depend on the ability to find available government funding.”

Lee also noted that Screeton gives the firm a national balance, with consultants on both the East and West coasts, and in the central United States. He notes that the firm’s fluency in multiple languages also is of vital importance in dealing with international customers.

Last year, Lee Enterprises was selected by APInnovations to market its line of biodiesel products and services. APInnovations of Stuttgart, Ark., is a nationally recognized biodiesel design and engineering company. “With clients on six continents, APInnovations really expands our industry sphere,” Lee said. “The list of services we can provide is really quite extensive, and between our group and our strategic relationships, there really is not much in the biodiesel industry that we cannot do.”

SOURCE: LEE ENTERPRISES