CITGO and Local Marketer PAPCO Partner With Neptune Festival for 40th Annual Boardwalk Weekend Grand Finale Event

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Oct. 28, 2013 /3BL Media /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation and Local CITGO Marketer PAPCO Inc. sponsored the 40th Annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival, which took place Sept. 27 - 29. Also participating on behalf of CITGO were Bess the Book Bus, Miss Virginia and Miss Virginia Outstanding Teen, who brought books and music to the event.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131028/PH05209 )

"Every year, the turnout for the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival blows me away. Our partnership with CITGO has allowed us to not only build great working relationships with local marketers and retailers in the mid-Atlantic region, but more importantly has afforded us the opportunity to give back to the communities in which we live and work through events like this one," said Frank Daniels, PAPCO director of marketing.

This year's Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend Grand Finale featured more than 30 blocks of stages along the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The festival showcased approximately 300 artisans and included a fireworks show over the ocean, 5k and 8k runs, the Grand Parade and Neptune's International Sandsculpting Championship.

"CITGO makes a significant effort to have an impact in local areas. You don't see that from many other large corporations," said Steve Leisten, PAPCO director, branded fuels. "We have loved working with CITGO as a business partner and from a more grassroots perspective. The Neptune Festival has been a part of the Virginia Beach community since 1974, and we've been here since 1976. Partnering with CITGO to benefit the community that has opened its arms to us for almost four decades is truly a privilege."

Miss Virginia 2013, Desiree Williams, and Miss Virginia Outstanding Teen, Cassie Donegan, also signed autographs and handed out books for children and played along with Giving Tree Music. CITGO has partnered with the Miss America Organization to provide an avenue to reach out to younger children on issues including education and anti-bullying. In their roles, Williams visits schools throughout the commonwealth to bring awareness to childhood obesity in America and to encourage young children to stay active and make healthy choices, while Donegan founded a high school scholarship fund to help graduating seniors pursue their education in performing and visual arts.

During the weekend's events, each visitor who filled out an application for the CITGO Rewards Card™ received a $5 CITGO gas card. The Neptune Festival, a private non-profit 501(c)3 organization with more than 1,200 volunteers, is dedicated to giving back to the City of Virginia Beach and is funded by its corporate sponsorships, admission tickets, merchandise sales and site revenues. The average estimated attendance of the fall Virginia Beach Neptune Festival over the past few years is more than 500,000, and the event has been recognized as one of the top 100 festivals in the nation by the American Bus Association.

PAPCO is a leading energy solutions supplier in the Eastern United States and markets refined fuels, lubricants, risk management products and fuel card fleet management programs to a broad customer base which includes industrial, retail, marine, commercial transportation companies (trucking, transit, railroad, marine) and federal, state and municipal government end users in the eastern United States. PAPCO backs its value-added services with its secure fuel supply capabilities through proprietary fuel storage locations and supply agreements with an established network of refiners, pipelines, terminals and transportation providers that have been expanding since 1976. PAPCO leverages more than 30 years of experience in petroleum hedging and product trading to offer innovative price risk management solutions, allowing fuel users to better manage operating budgets and fuel cost.

CITGO is committed to giving back to the local communities it serves through its network of locally owned CITGO locations. Local CITGO Marketers own and operate more than 275 CITGO locations in Virginia and are proud to support local organizations, including the Neptune Festival. For more information on the positive impact of the locally owned CITGO stations, visit www.fuelinggood.com.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information about CITGO, visit www.CITGO.com.