E D I T O R ' S
N O T E
StateWays
®
Executive Vice President
A Small State with
Big Ideas
and Group Publisher
W
email:
Charles Forman
Tel: 845-426-6072
Fax: 845-426-6423
ith approximately 626,000 inhabitants, Vermont is
the 49th-ranked state in terms of population in the
U.S.; in terms of annual revenue generated by the Vermont Department of
Liquor Control (VDLC), it is the smallest control jurisdiction in the U.S., totaling just over
$65.4 million in its latest full fiscal year (2012). While modest by other state's standards,
that amount represents a 6.4% increase from the previous year. In fact, the VDLC's
revenues have more than doubled over the past 15 years, progressing in a fairly straight
line, from the bottom left to the top right, as financial managers like to say. Indeed,
another record-breaking year is projected for 2013.
In this issue's control state profile, we learn just how this small state continues to make
big strides: generating healthy revenues for the state while at the same time focusing on
strengthening control functions to lessen the abuse and misuse of beverage alcohol products.
"The department is operated like a business," explains Stephanie O'Brien, Commission
Chairperson. "It's a real luxury to have Michael [Hogan] basically acting as a CEO of this
for-profit organization. We're very proud of this continuity in leadership within the
department."
As our writer Melissa Niksic notes in the story (turn to page 8), "the agency is
constantly re-evaluating its processes and policies in order to consistently maintain and
improve operations, and to better serve the Vermont community."
"We've streamlined many of the investigators' administrative duties so they can focus
more on the enforcement role," says Bill Goggins, Director of Education, Licensing, and
Enforcement. "It's really freed them up and allowed them to work on other important
things, with a focus on public safety."
Among its many ongoing efforts, all licensees are required to complete an education
program every two years: if they fail to comply, their license is not renewed. "In 2012,
the department began offering online state certification programs as an alternative to
attending in-person seminars," the story states.
In addition, the department has launched a successful "branding campaign" to overhaul
its marketing efforts. Called 802 Spirits (referring to Vermont's 802 area code), it includes
a new Web site, in-store promotional materials, a hotline number, a Twitter account, and a
revamped price guide magazine.
The VDLC is also overhauling its information technology (IT) systems. "The two-year
project, known as the Enterprise Resource Planning/Point of Sale project, is anticipated to
begin this summer. It will initially focus on the implementation of new systems for the central
office staff before eventually moving on to the state's agency stores," the story points out.
The story shows that the VDLC certainly has plenty to be proud of, but nobody there
seems to be thumping their chests. They prefer to roll up their sleeves and move on to
solving whatever challenges lie before them.
cforman@specialtyim.com
Editor- in-Chief
Richard Brandes
Tel: 212-353-3832
rbrandes@specialtyim.com
Art Director
Adam Lane
Contributing Editor
Melissa Niksic
Vice President of Sales,
Associate Publisher
Anthony Bongiovanni
tbongiovanni@specialtyim.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Mark Marcon
mmarcon@specialtyim.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Debbie Rittenberg
drittenberg@specialtyim.com
Senior Research Analyst
Adam Rogers
List Rental Manager
Cheryl Naughton
cnaughton@specialtyim.com
StateWays is published by
The Beverage Information Group,
a division of Specialty Information
Media
Editorial and executive offices are
at 17 High St., 2nd Fl.,
Norwalk, CT 06851
Telephone: (203) 855-8499
Fax: (203) 855-9446
e-mail:
Richard Brandes, Editor-in-Chief
4
rbrandes@specialtyim.com
StateWays I www.stateways.com I July/August 2013
