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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StateWays | www.stateways.com | September/October 2016 16 agency agency profile RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP The messages featured in the campaign are emotional and hard-hitting. When "Talk It Out" initially launched, the fi rst video showed four families discussing how their lives had been affected by underage drinking. Several parents are shown talking about how their children were critically injured or killed as a result of alcohol-related incidents. Gardner re- calls that he was concerned the ads might be a little too tough to share with the public, so the agency asked three parents who have lost children due to underage drinking to review the ads, share their input and help determine whether the ads were too intense. "One of the parents who reviewed the ad called me up and said, 'Let me tell you what's tough: when you get a call at 3 a.m. from someone you don't even know telling you that your son is dead. That's too tough. You run these ads.' And we did," Gardner says. Steve Sciascia, Mayor of the town of Harrisburg, North Car- olina, participated in a "Talk it Out" video campaign by sharing the story of his son, Joseph, who was killed in an underage drink- ing-related accident in 2011. "Losing a child to something as preventable as underage drinking is more than any family should have to endure," Sciascia says. "The 'Talk it Out' initiative provides parents the tools nec- essary to start the conversation and hopefully prevent tragedy in their families. I won't get a second chance to start the conversa- tion with my son, and I hope parents take my second chance to utilize the resources available on www.talkitoutNC.org." Gardner is committed to running the "Talk It Out" campaign until not a single life is lost in North Carolina due to underage drinking: to him, that is the only sign of success. "We lose about one life per week in North Carolina due to underage drinking," he says. "We really need to stay the course with this campaign. If we continue to do what we're doing, we can ultimately have a major impact." As a grandfather of nine, Gardner says he has nine big reasons for ensuring that "Talk It Out" is successful. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE What's next for the ABC Commission, which has seen so much success in recent years? Gardner says that his plan is to con- tinue building upon the foundation that the agency already has in place, especially as it relates to underage drinking. "We are going to keep our eye on the ball and keep talking to parents," he says. "We want to truly change the culture here." Seeing as how North Carolina's "Talk It Out" program has been so successful, does Gardner have any advice for other states interested in improving their underage drinking prevention pro- grams? The key, he says, is to make it a top priority. "Every state in this country has the same problem we do in regards to underage drinking," Gardner says. "We made the de- cision that we had a responsibility as a state to address it, and we knew we needed to substantially fund it in order to make a real difference," he says. "I think it's the best decision we ever made, and I hope and pray we can continue to maintain this." • MELISSA NIKSIC is a freelance writer and marketing communications strategist from Chicago, IL. Her work has appeared in Chicago's Daily Herald newspaper, Time Out Chicago, Suburban Life newspapers, and various magazines. She is also the author of several children's books. Follow her @MelissaNiksic. "EVERY STATE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS THE SAME PROBLEM WE DO IN REGARDS TO UNDERAGE DRINKING... I THINK IT'S THE BEST DECISION WE EVER MADE, AND I HOPE AND PRAY WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THIS." Gardner plans to continue building upon the foundation already in place, ESPECIALLY WITH UNDERAGE DRINKING.