E D I T O R ' S
N O T E
StateWays
®
Executive Vice President
and Group Publisher
Progressive Control
T
Charles Forman
Tel: 845-426-6072
Fax: 845-426-6423
he National Alcohol Beverage Control Association
(NABCA) is about to mark its 76th Annual Conference,
in Phoenix, May 15-18, and this year the organization
and its member jurisdictions are focusing on the theme of "Progressive Control." In fact,
many of the control states have been practicing "progressive control" for some time in
their approaches to overseeing their state's beverage alcohol business. As NABCA
Chairman of the Board J. Neal Insley, of Virginia, notes in his recent "Letter from the
Chairman": The control systems have implemented "Progressive Control" practices over
the years and they continue to modernize their regulatory and marketing operations. In
an era of downsizing, control systems have outpaced private retailers in sales increases
and revenue generation and at the same time, have been able to ameliorate the harms of
alcohol abuse according to most peer-reviewed, scientific studies."
He added that "In this era of dynamic change [within the beverage alcohol industry], the
control systems and industry must be flexible and adaptable to new market and regulatory
environments."
This issue's cover story describes the overarching objectives of the NABCA, as well as
Chairman Insley's interest in progressive control, both for the NABCA and his home state
of Virginia, where he is Commission Chairman of the Virginia Department Alcohol
Beverage Control. "This is a topic that I feel very strongly about," Insley told our writer
Melissa Niksic. "We always need to be working to improve things and make them better,
and that's what progressive control is all about."
NABCA President and CEO Jim Sgueo notes that "One of the biggest challenges NABCA is
facing right now concerns the discussions and debates on liberalizing the alcohol beverage laws
and regulations in the control jurisdictions. It appears that policymakers are trying to better
understand the specific control state models that they are dealing with and determining if
deregulation or modernization will improve customer satisfaction, maintain state revenues and
continue to positively impact the safety and public health of their communities."
That sense of balancing the need for revenues with fostering social responsibility is
paramount to Insley. While moving forward with marketplace modernization, he wants
to ensure that states never lose sight of being socially responsible. "In a control state, we're
responsible for generating revenue, but our focus isn't just on the bottom line," Insley
says. "We are primarily focused on serving our customers, and our customers are all of
our constituents. You have to remember that about 50% of all people don't drink at all,
or they maybe have one or two drinks per year. Those people are still our customers even
if they aren't regular consumers of alcohol, and it's important that we make sure that we
protect those people as well."
Insley adds, "Many police departments use the motto, 'To serve and protect.' I liken our
motto at NABCA to be the reverse: 'To protect and serve.' You'll definitely see a large focus
on health and wellness over the course of the next year."
email:
cforman@specialtyim.com
Editor- in-Chief
Richard Brandes
Tel: 212-353-3832
rbrandes@specialtyim.com
Managing Editor
Jeremy Nedelka
email:
jnedelka@specialtyim.com
Art Director
Adam Lane
Contributing Editor
Cheryl Ursin
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
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Richard Brandes, Editor-in-Chief
6
e-mail:
rbrandes@specialtyim.com
StateWays I www.stateways.com I May/June 2013
