It’s officially 2012 — and it’s that time of year for new resolutions, a fresh outlook on the world, and the energy and optimism to attack each day with renewed resolve.  This year, we’re doing the same thing here at MurphyUSA — we’re refreshing our look, dropping some weight, eating better, and even going to learn a new language this year.  (We’re also bringing in new folks, new ideas, and new ways of doing things to refuel our commitment to you, our customers — more about this in the coming weeks.)  Read more at The Smarter Driver...

In preparation for the December release of Missions Impossible 4, starring Tom Cruise, Murphy USA and Coca-Cola have teamed up to offer a series of prizes that you can earn by completing your own secret missions with SCVNGR, a location-based social app, available for Android and iPhone.

Missions you receive from SCVNGR at Murphy USA and Murphy Express stations across America will ask to you complete a series of tasks, from taking a photo, to watching exclusive video previews from the movie.  You will earn rewards based on your actions in these missions, and get a chance to go to the red carpet premiere of Missions Impossible 4!

To play, visit a Murphy USA or Murphy Express station during the month of November and look for the signs pictured in this post.  You’ll need the SCVNGR app to play (although you can still enter for the grand prize via text message). 

Good luck with your missions, and thanks for playing with Murphy USA and Coca-Cola!

I know you’ve all been waiting patiently to see who the winner of the Jacked Up Camaro or Dinero Sweepstakes is going to be . . . and I’m pleased to announce we do have a confirmed winner.

David Scott of Lakeworth, Florida is our lucky winner!  Soon, we’ll have photos up as he is awarded his cash prize of $20,000 (he chose the Dinero)!  Congratulations David!  Thanks to everyone who entered.  We hope you enjoyed this great contest!

We are very excited to announce the continuation of our Walmart 10 Cent Off Promotion through December 24, 2011.  When we launched this great deal with Walmart in June, the first thing that many of you began asking was for us to continue it past the end of the September.  We’re excited to be able to continue offering this great money-saving promotion, available on Walmart Gift Cards, MoneyCards, and Credit Cards.

The promotion will continue to work the same way, simply use your Walmart Gift Card, MoneyCard, or Credit Card at any participating Murphy USA location, and you’ll receive 10 cents per gallon off the price of gas.  Looking to find if the location near you is participating?  Check out this list from Walmart, or visit our Walmart Gift Card page to find out more! 

On Saturday, Septeber 24, Murphy USA unveiled its first Electric Vehicle Charing station at Murphy Express, in Chattanooga, TN.  This DC-3 Charger from Eaton Corp. can charge an electric vehicle to 80% in under 30 minutes, a fraction of the time of at-home charging.

John Wirtz, manager of Eaton's electrical transportation infrastructure business unit said that this unit will help deal with so-called "range anxiety" that drivers face because of limited availability of charging stations.  

While this is only a pilot test, Murphy USA plans to incorporate these units in other stations in the future.  "We sell the fuels our customers want," said Tom McKinlay, Murphy Oil USA president, who was at the store. "We'll be listening to our customers."

Hear from Tom McKinlay directly about this opportunity:

Here are more photos from the event:

Exclusively at Murphy USA and Murphy Express locations, enter for your chance to win a $1,000 college scholarship!  Simply text "TUITIONMURPHY" to 737737.  Be sure to stop by Murphy USA to try out the new Dr. Pepper TEN - with only ten calories!

There are a ton of great ways to connect with Murphy USA.  One of the most useful ways is via text message.  Beginning earlier this year, we introduced Text-Assist, allowing you to send a text message to our in-house (read: not outsourced overseas) Customer Service Department and get help with any problems you have, or to just send us a note and let us know what you thought about your visit.  Here’s how you can use Text-Assist to chat with our Customer Service Department 24-7:

Text Keyword Feedback with your message to 687749 (it spells MURPHY on your keypad).  It looks like this:

I hope you had a chance  to catch last week’s post introducing homeless advocate, Mark Horvath, and the amazing work he is doing with InvisiblePeople.TV.  At this point, many of you might be wondering why Mark's story is appearing on the CheapGasBlog and how MurphyUSA got involved in supporting Mark’s RoadTrip 2011.

This story evolves with a touch of timing,  a bit of luck and a dash of serendipity among a very small group of people who were willing to say "yes" to the idea that they could make a difference,  just like Mark, one person and one day at a time.  Then, when you combine all these elements over a relatively short period of time and you'll get "The Miracle on Michigan Avenue" which took place in Chicago on April 29th this year as part of Liz Strauss and Terry St. Marie's SOBCon11 Conference.

But I am getting ahead of myself...the story actually starts almost three years ago when I was introduced to Mark by a mutual friend who thought we’d have something in common.  And we did.  Our careers were both in television production and we both had been recently laid off from our respective positions.  Our friend thought that since I, like Mark, was looking for my next career opportunity, we could help each other in some way. What Mark was doing affected me greatly as he had already begun shooting his stories for InvisiblePeople.TV.  He was about to take off on his first RoadTrip 2009, so our paths did not cross for awhile but I never forgot about him nor his work.

In the meantime, my journey was still unfolding and it led me to Jeff Pulver's 140Conf in New York City where I met, Liz Strauss, who is  among many other amazing things, the co-founder of SOBCon.  At that first meeting, Liz became my source of inspiration, trusted mentor/advisor and ultimate co-conspirator in the unofficial Mark Support Group. I had shared Mark's story with Liz as an example of the kind of work I wanted to do going forward.

Needless to say, Liz was taken with Mark's journey and wanted to meet him and hear more about what he was doing. A modern day connection was made via Twitter and they were finally able to meet a few months later in Chicago.

The story continues in Liz’s own words:

I knew this was a man who was changing the world one person at a time. The following year, 2010, I invited Mark to be part of our Non-Profit Give-Back Challenge at our yearly SOBCon event.

About 18 months ago, I introduced Mark to an amazing woman, Connie Burke of GMC. She and I have been sharing his stories ever since. So when time came to work out the details of a GMC SOBCon sponsorship this year, when I'd finished the offer by saying I value this at ... and the friends and family discount price is ... I left two blank lines and wrote one sentence.

And we could get a car for Mark Horvath.

Making that happen was the hugest secret I've ever kept.

But as destiny and serendipity comes together, we had asked that same Divine Miss Marla Schulman -- an award-winning producer once with the Fox Television-- to video our event. So Connie and I let her in on our secret -- Code name: "Wowee Wow Wow!!" -- to get wheels for Mark...

Now, I knew nothing of Liz and Connie's "conspiracy" to get Mark a car nor did Liz (nor Connie who I had yet to meet) know was that I had met MurphyUSA’s Internet Business Strategist, Casey Petersen, the month  before at the South by Southwest Conference.  Ironically, Casey and I had spoken about me assisting them with some projects, but we had no set plan of what was to come.  Little did we know...serendipity was raising its little hand!

A few hours after Liz’s call about me coming to SOBCon11 and why and the "Wowee Wow Wow!!" the lightbulb went off bigtime!

OMG!!! OMG!!! GMC's giving Mark a car, my new "friends" at MurphyUSA are going give him the gasoline!!!

Well, that thought might have been premature as my pal at MurphyUSA didn't know anything about this yet, but I was shaking with excitement at the possibility.  Then, without revealing the secret, I contacted Casey and ask that he speak with Connie Burke from GMC.  I asked him to trust that MurphyUSA had the chance to do something really good for an amazing man - if they just said "yes" and just because it was the right thing to do!

From his reaction, I knew that MurphyUSA was probably in but it wasn't until later in the day, after his conversation with Connie and checking in with his higher-ups that it became official. Needless to say, we were all so thrilled that MurphyUSA was on board to provide Mark with gasoline and because MurphyUSA is currently only in 24 states, they've agreed to pay for gas whether it's at a MurphyUSA station or not. How cool is that?

But the hardest part of this whole plot was actually trying to keep this secret under wraps.  I know when I first saw Mark at SOBCon, I kept my distance for fear that somehow I would slip and ruin it all.  But none of us did and on April 29, 2011, the "Miracle on Michigan Avenue" when Mark was presented with his GMC Terrain "mobile office" and free gasoline for a year went down without a hitch. More importantly, it was a demonstration of  how a handful of people with an idea to do good and a willingness to say yes can move mountains -  exactly was Mark does every day of his life.

And now MurphyUSA wants you to know what Mark is doing, where he is going and hopefully inspire you to help him. Currently, he is vying for a matching grant from the Pierce Family Foundation so let's help him reach his goal by making a donation of any size here.

Lastly, I was able to capture all the key players on video the day before the presentation as we gathered to hear how GMC's Connie Burke planned to have it all to go down.  It's quite remarkable how it all came together seamlessly in a very emotional ceremony.

In my next post, we get to hear from Mark himself on what this all means to him!

This post was written by Marla Schulman, the mastermind that brought Murphy USA, GM, and SOBCon together.  Marla is a senior media professional with more than twenty-five years experience in production, marketing, PR and social media.  Currently, Marla is the Founder & Chief Brand and Creative Concierge of Dvin/Ideas, an agency dedicated to brand marketing, social media engagement and public relations. You can also find in front of the camera on the red carpet interviewing celebrities and newsmakers for MingleMediaTV,Zennie62.com, SFGate as well as at conventions and conferences like CES, Blog World Expo, and NAB interviewing CEO's, entrepreneurs and geeks! Marla truly loves what she does for a living which converges with her LifeAfterKids.TV blog and personal brand as an empty-nester evangelist and does a weekly live lifestyle talk show on MingleMediaTV aptly titled: LifeAfterKids .

Back in April, we teamed up with GMC, and other companies, to sponsor Mark Horvath’s mission to tell the stories of homeless people, and raise awareness about the problems homeless people face in America. 

GMC provided him with a beautiful Terrain SUV, and we are providing the gas for his trip – regardless of where it takes him. 

Throughout the rest of the year, we will be telling the story of his trip, as he crosses across Canada and the US, on CheapGasBlog.com.  Click here to learn more about him, his amazing work, and his story.

Click the image at right, or here, to read the first article in a series following his current road trip across North America.

While the Jacked Up Camaro or Dinero Contest is rocking and rolling, let’s not forget about the Jacked Up Photo Contest.  The rules are laid out at FuelingFun.com.

We’re giving away $1,000 in Cash, and Year’s Supply of Jacked Up (that’s a lot of energy!) to the winner – determined by popular vote.  So submit your photo, then get all your friends to vote, and you can walk away the winner!

A few of the current entries are below.  Think you can do better?  Submit your photo and you could go home $1,000 richer, courtesy of Murphy USA and Jacked Up!