July 19, 2013 — The National Low Income Energy Consortium (NLIEC) honored Cindy Datig with its 2013 Achievement Award during the National Energy and Utility Affordability Conference held last month in San Diego. A longtime advocate for low-income families, Datig is the chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh-based Dollar Energy Fund and has served as NLIEC's chair.
While presenting the award, NLIEC Vice-Chair Skip Arnold said Datig deserved the recognition for "her tireless devotion to helping low-income customers and unswerving support of NLIEC through service as its chairperson and as a member of its Board of Directors." Arnold added that her passion for energy assistance made her "a living example of dedication to community service."
In addition to her tenure with both Dollar Energy and NLIEC, Datig also served as one of the first chairs of the National Fuel Funds Network, a coalition of over 300 non-profits, government agencies, and utilities.
In her remarks after receiving the Achievement Award, Datig announced she will be retiring from Dollar Energy Fund at the end of January 2014. She will also resign as NLIEC chair in August 2013, after serving in that role for six years. Skip Arnold will take over as NLIEC chair.
The NLIEC Achievement Award isn't the first time Datig has been recognized for her work. In 2010, the Pittsburgh Business Times named her the "Non-Profit CEO of the Year" for her efforts with the Dollar Energy Fund.
Datig has been with the Dollar Energy Fund since 1986. Founded in 1983 in Western Pennsylvania by a coalition of concerned community and business leaders, the fund is the largest fuel fund in the state and one of the largest in the country. Over the years, Dollar Energy expanded into Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Its utility partners in these states match every donation to the fund dollar-for-dollar, and that money remains in the state to provide energy assistance. The fund also works with more than 300 community-based organizations.
Sources: NLIEC News, Dollar Energy Fund
