About Us

The story of Tri County Energy Systems began at a Xerox Company Christmas party in the late 70s where Rona and Dale Kelley first met. Our highly regarded proprietors had worked at Xerox since graduating high school but soon the spark of entrepreneurship glowed brightly within this young couple. Inspired by an ad in Mother Earth magazine, Dale went to Black Magic Chimney Sweep School in Stowe, Vermont to become Maryland's 1st Certified Chimney Sweep. In 1981 they made a great leap and purchased the Buck Stove store, an established wood stove retailer. With a limited 200 sq. ft. warehouse, they broadened the business by offering other lines of stoves. Despite seven competitors in the area, they prospered. When a local competitor went out of business a year later, the Kelley's moved into this 800 sq ft space and added more fireplaces and more consumable items such as gaskets, stove paint, tool sets and kettles. The five years the Kelley's spent in the new building were not easy. As they grew, they were forced to rent a separate warehouse facility.

Keeping their dreams ever in front of them, the Kelley's purchased some land on the same five-mile stretch of road to build their own new retail store. With space at a premium the Kelley's, in 1994, moved into their current location at 2475 Old Washington Road, a whopping 9,000 sq ft. of showroom with an open floor plan and 2nd floor balconies. As the distribution channel of the business grew, the existing warehouse space available at Tri County Hearth & Patio center was inadequate.

In 2003, a quarter mile down the same road, Seasonal Distributors made the leap into its own brand new 20,000 sqft warehouse facility. Today, Seasonal Distributors is proud to stand alone and serve your wholesale green heating and outdoor living products needs. Each day we bring that same spirit of service, energy independence, and getting the job done that Dale started with over 30 years ago.