E D I T O R ' S
N O T E
StateWays
®
Executive Vice President
and Group Publisher
Charles Forman
Then and Now
I
Tel: 845-426-6072
Fax: 845-426-6423
am writing this a few weeks prior to the fiftieth anniversary of
the assassination of President Kennedy, November 22, 1963,
and by the time you read this, you'll probably have viewed one
of the several special presentations on TV marking the horrific events of that day as well as
remembrances of President Kennedy's life. I can recall standing in gym class as a young
junior high school student, wondering what was going on. Our phys ed teacher (and
coach), a hard-bitten, ex-marine with a buzzcut, had been interrupted in mid-sentence by
the assistant principal, who put his arm around Coach's broad shoulders and whispered
something in his ear. Then Coach told us all to sit in place, walked slowly back to his glassenclosed office, and, in full view of his students, began sobbing into his hands.
Some observers have written that the Kennedy assassination serves as a kind a demarcation
point between a simpler, more innocent time and the beginning of when our culture began
losing its innocence. The remainder of that decade saw a cultural and social upheaval as well
as the ongoing confusion brought on by the Vietnam War. It's easy to say that everything was
different back before November 22, 1963, but that probably isn't true, though we'd like to
believe so.
But I think that recognizing the Kennedy assassination's place in our collective memory
is an important element in binding together our disparate culture, especially these days,
when the slightest of political or social differences seems to result in bitter, uncompromising
points-of-view. Looking back can certainly help remind people how much more we all have
in common.
Thinking of the early Sixties makes me wonder what the control states were like back
when cars boasted big engines and shiny fins. From everything I've heard through the
years, control state operations were primitive compared to today, with drab, unappealing
stores and rigid rules and regulations that sometimes ran counter to common sense.
Certainly nothing like today's modern operations with their state-of-the-art warehouses,
dynamic-looking stores featuring deep and wide inventories, and a range of initiatives that
prioritize promoting social responsibility efforts.
So, it's not surprising that today's control states continue to post sales and volume
gains, as our cover story (see page 8, "Control States' Fiscal Year in Review 2013) points
out. This is the 17th consecutive year that StateWays is presenting its annual review of
the financial progress being made throughout the control states, providing an overview of
the beverage alcohol business. Briefly, for Fiscal Year 2013 total gross sales in the control
states grew by 5.2%, to more than $9 billion. Overall revenue contributions to state coffers
by control jurisdictions increased by 5.3% to $2.69 billion. And distilled spirits case volume
rose 3.3% to 46.9 million cases.
Congratulations to all control state officials who have played a part in the notable
growth that has taken place recently and throughout the decades.
And happy New Year!
email:
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 November/December 2013