StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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underage drinking,��� explains Eddie Wirt, Director of Policy, Planning, and Education. ���We are also committed to providing increased access to our products and services consumed by the licensed community and prevention groups across the state.��� A great example of how this philosophy has proven successful is the Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program (YADAPP). Established in 1985, the youth leadership organization became fully housed within the Virginia ABC in 2009. Primarily serving underage teenagers ages 13 - 20, the primary objective of the program is to prevent underage drinking. Each year, YADAPP holds a summer leadership conference attended by more than 600 students from different schools and organizations across the state. The students work in teams to develop individual Strategy to Act Now (STAN) plans to take back and implement in their own communities. Examples of different STAN plans include Red Ribbon Week campaigns, events held in conjunction with high school proms, the formation of alcohol awareness-focused clubs and student organizations, and guest speakers being invited to schools, among others. The success of YADAPP is mainly attributed to the program���s design, which encourages students to take on proactive leadership roles. ���We bring back former participants of the program to serve as leader to facilitate the conference,��� says Katie Weaks, Manager of Education and Prevention. ���The idea of peers leading peers is much more effective than us trying to implement the same program statewide.��� YADAPP is just one of the many successful responsible drinking initiatives implemented by the Virginia ABC. The Alcohol Aging and Awareness Group (AAAG) is another collaborative effort spearheaded by multiple state agencies, community coalitions, and healthcare and medical practitioners. The focus of the program is on educating elderly individuals on the dangers of mixing alcohol and medications; and to provide medical practitioners with helpful resources to aid in the identification and treatment of those individuals.This year, the AAAG is branching out to create four new regional groups across Virginia by the end of 2013. Additional initiatives include several programs geared toward college-aged individuals. Virginia���s ABC toured three state universities during College Tour 2012, encouraging students to become leaders in their communities and to create awareness of responsible drinking practices. A partnership with the Virginia College Alcohol Leadership Council (VACALC) has allowed Virginia ABC to get more colleges and students involved and encourage them to develop alcohol awareness initiatives to implement in their own schools. Virginia isn���t the only state to recognize the benefits of partnering with external organizations to spread mesStateWays I www.stateways.com I March/April 2013 Virginia has had notable success with its Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program (YADDAP) over the past few decades. sages about responsible drinking. In 2011-2012, the PLCB awarded a total of $1 million to 66 organizations as part of its annual grant program. This year, additional funding has been provided to double these efforts, resulting in a total of $2 million in grants being distributed to different groups. Each grant recipient may receive a maximum of $40,000 as part of the program. ���This increase illustrates our belief in the importance of working with people at the local level and giving them funding for their community projects through 33