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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EDITOR'S NOTE StateWays I Defending Control Systems recently attended the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association's (NABCA) 75th Annual Conference in Marco Island, FL. And, as I note in my NABCA Conference Roundup (page 28), the NABCA used the forum of its conference to underline the importance of the benefits that beverage alcohol control systems bring to its member states and the millions of citizens that they serve, especially in the face of the dismantling of the Washington State control system and ongoing threats of privatization cropping up in several other states. In his "Chairman's Welcome," NABCA Chairman of the Board Patrick "P.J." Stapleton, wrote that "at no other time in our history has it been more important to tell the story of the value and benefits of control systems in meeting the interests of our citizens. We can boast being important revenue generators and can scientifically prove our positive impact on the public health and safety." Sr. Vice President and Group Publisher Charles Forman Tel: 845-426-6072 Fax: 845-426-6423 email: cforman@m2media360.com Editor- in-Chief Richard Brandes Tel: 212-353-3832 rbrandes@m2media360.com Managing Editor Jeremy Nedelka email: jnedelka@m2media360.com Art Director Adam Lane Contributing Editor Cheryl Ursin Indeed, a series of speakers touched on the issues of deregulation, privatization and the unfortunate perception a large segment of the population has regarding government service (specifically, the inefficiencies of any government enterprise), while at the same time, discussing the overall state of the beverage alcohol industry, relative to the control states. For example, in his presentation before conference attendees, Rob Sands, president and ceo of Constellation Brands, declared, "The control systems bring meaningful benefits, including outstanding social responsibility programs and the ability of smaller suppliers to build their brands." He added, "You don't need privatization to create a great consumer experience. It's in your power [control state executives] to create a more compelling environment." Mark Brown, president and ceo of Sazerac, also addressed the privatization issue head on. "I think that all control states are vulnerable, just as Washington was. In this economy, money is more important than anything else." Brown stated that "you cannot privatize a control state system and not have consumer prices go up, while holding state revenue constant. The best defense against privatization efforts," he continued, "is for control state businesses to be run efficiently, and also for the control states to emphasize their part in social responsibility efforts." These are just a few examples of the overall support for the control systems shown throughout the conference. But that was only a part of the four-day event, which offered a wide variety of topics. For me, one of the more entertaining presentations was made by Peter Ricchiuti, a professor at Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business, who, in his session titled, "Economics 101," pointed out that the economy, while not great, is actually doing a lot better than people give it credit for. For example, he said, while our recession in the U.S. ended in July 2009, 75% of Americans believe we're still in a recession. He added that our gross domestic product has grown for 12 consecutive quarters and that private sector hirings, while again not great, have been averaging 150,000 a month, compared to the loss of 6.5 million jobs during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. And, he noted, the stock market has doubled since March 2009. Vice President of Sales, Associate Publisher Anthony Bongiovanni tbongiovanni@m2media360.com Senior Regional Sales Manager Mark Marcon mmarcon@m2media360.com Senior Regional Sales Manager Debbie Rittenberg drittenberg@m2media360.com Senior Vice President, Audience Development Joanne Juda-Prainito Senior Research Analyst Adam Rogers List Rental Manager Cheryl Naughton cnaughton@m2media360.com M2MEDIA360 President/CEO Marion Minor Vice President, Finance & Operations Gerald Winkel Vice President, Operations and Human Resources Mary Jo Tomei Richard Brandes, Editor-in-Chief 6 StateWaysis published by The Beverage Information Group, a division of M2MEDIA360 Editorial and executive offices are at 17 High St., 2nd Fl., Norwalk, CT 06851 Telephone: (203) 855-8499 Fax: (203) 855-9446 e-mail: jnedelka@m2media360.com StateWays www.stateways.com July/August 2012 ®