council for leadership development visits ohio department of public

W H O L E S A L E B E E R A N D W I N E A S S O C I AT I O N O F O H I O
UPDATE ON LIQUOR CONTROL
COMMISSION’S RULE REVIEW
PROCESS FOR 2013
The Liquor Control Commission is
reviewing Rules 5, 11, 16, 44, 61, 65,
68 and 73 in 2013. Of these rules, the
most important to wholesalers are Rule
44 on advertising, Rule 68 on B-1 sales
reports and Rule 73 on differential pricing
restrictions.
Your Rules Review Committee (Mike
Tramonte, Chairman, John Dickerson,
John Fleming, Brooke Hice, Gregg Hipp
and Greg Maurer) met early this year to
discuss possible changes to these rules
and concluded that we should seek their
re-adoption in their current form.
After three public hearings at the
Commission, at which our input was
submitted, the Commission has readopted Rules 68 and 73.
On Rule 44, MillerCoors testified that
this rule should be changed to allow the
off-premise advertising by manufacturers
and wholesalers of the trade tasting
activities authorized under Rule 33. They
also proposed that Rule 33 be expanded to
allow such activities in grocery stores and
carryouts with C-1, C-2 and D-8 permits.
WBWAO testified in opposition as
these changes would violate the letter
and spirit of the current rules. A decision
by the Commission is expected later this
summer on Rules 33 and 44.
If you have any questions or
comments on the rule review process
this year, please contact Tim Bechtold,
Dave Raber, or any member of the Rules
Review Committee.
COLUMBUS | JUNE 2013
WBWAO
PAC VISITS
THIS
SUMMER
Please find time this summer for
a presentation to your employees
by Andy Herf on the WBWAO PAC.
When Andy explains the Association’s
mission of educating and supporting
elected officials and/or candidates
who support our industry, almost all
employees understand the impact of
their contributions.
Andy can attend meetings any time
of the day or early evening: Warehouse,
drivers, sales, administration or
managers.
Of course, we recommend
“payroll PAC” so that the employee’s
contribution can be spread out
throughout the year.
COUNCIL FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
VISITS OHIO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Your Council for Leadership
Development (CLD) conducted an
educational seminar on March 21 at the
Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Members of the Department’s
Investigative Unit explained the recent
focus on “Trace- backs.” If there is a DUI
offense which results in injuries or death,
during an investigation the Department
traces back where the alleged violator
received alcohol.
What does this mean to retailers
and distributors? We should all be
more vigilant about checking IDs and
monitoring alcohol consumption.
(You may even be selling draft beer to
someone who is already intoxicated –
and the trace-back can lead to your front
door.)
During the seminar we asked if
there is a way to work together with
the Department, and everyone agreed
that WBWAO members could use sign
equipment to produce banners or other
signage to get the word out to retailers
and consumers about safe alcohol
consumption.
“I really believe our trip to ODPS had
a positive impact,” said CLD Chair Matt
Litter. “We think there is a new door open
with regard to how we will work and
communicate together in the future. It
was time well spent!”
The day was capped off with the
Legislative Staff party at Brazenhead,
which was well-attended by both
WBWAO members and legislative
staffers. Several legislators and agency
officials attended as well.
If you missed this outstanding
opportunity, please continue to watch
your email for future events from the
CLD to improve your knowledge about
the industry and to make some new
friends.
BILLION DOLLAR
PAYOUT: WILL YOU
BE ELIGIBLE?
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
(BWC) recently announced a proposal to
pay a dividend in the amount of $1 billion
back to private employers and public-taxing
districts. Under the dividend, more than
210,000 private employers and publictaxing districts would receive approximately
56% of their annual premium payment
made in the 2011 policy year which ran
from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.
The next step is for this potential dividend
to be presented to the BWC board of
directors in the near future.
In addition, the BWC is asking the
legislature to change the way premiums
are collected by moving from a
retrospective program to a prospective
program. This will be discussed in the
legislature and has been targeted for
implementation in mid-2014.
Important Eligibility Items:
• Private employers and public taxingdistricts that pay premium into the State
Insurance Fund and have active, upto-date policies will be eligible for the
dividend.
• Employers that have an outstanding
BWC balance will have their dividend
payment reduced by the amount of
premium owed to the BWC. If the amount
owed is greater than the dividend the
employers account will be reduced by the
amount of the dividend.
If you have any questions on the BWC
announcements or your status please
contact Jason Bainum with CareWorks
Consultants at (614) 526-7114 or via email
at jason.bainum@ccitpa.com.
VISITING HEIDELBERG CINCINNATI LAST MONTH
WERE (LEFT TO RIGHT) DIVISION OF LIQUOR
CONTROL SUPERINTENDENT BRUCE STEVENSON;
HEIDELBERG CO-CHAIRMAN/PRESIDENT AL VONTZ III;
CHIEF OF INVESTIGATIONS AND COMPLIANCE GARY
JONES; AND ASSISTANT CHIEF FOR THE BEER & WINE
SECTION ELAINE MOORE
AVION ENERGY GROUP HELPS WBWAO
MEMBERS REDUCE ENERGY EXPENSES
As an Allied Member of WBWAO, Avion Energy is your commercial energy
broker. “We help you find best pricing for your electricity and natural gas usage,”
says Avion Energy Region Director Martin O’Keeffe. “Our services are provided free
to all WBWAO members as an Association benefit.” WBWAO members benefit from
Avion’s presence in all energy-deregulated states. “What we do”, says O’Keeffe, “is
answer the question: How Do You Know Which Energy Supplier Has the Best Deal?”
A few things make Avion special: We represent WBWAO member distributors, the
business energy users, not the energy suppliers; we gather competitive bids for your
electricity & natural gas usage from multiple energy suppliers that are authorized to
do business in your area; we then summarize and present their bids to you in a onepage document so you can see who wants your business the most!
It’s EASY! As a WBWAO member, just go to the WBWAO website & find us under
member benefits. Select the Get Started button and we’ll get your free energy rate
survey back to you in about a week.
We do this every day in all 26 deregulated-energy-states across the USA, so we
get better prices for your electricity & natural gas usage than you can get on your
own. The energy suppliers know that when we contact them on your behalf, their
pricing is going to be presented to you right next to their competitors…on the same
sheet of paper.
Also, most of you have told us that you’d prefer not to have all the sales reps
from the various energy suppliers constantly contacting you anyway, so Avion
Energy adds the convenience of having one point of contact for best energy pricing.
While many members are under pre-existing agreements for their electricity
or gas, some have already lowered their cost using Avion. Last October, Muxie
Distributing used Avion to lower its electricity cost; here are their results:
Number of electricity suppliers bidding…...….6
Difference between low vs. high bid………...11%
Savings vs. prior rate………………………...35%
“Another thing Members should realize”, says O’Keeffe, “is that over time, as
more and more Members use Avion Energy, we have increasing leverage with the
energy suppliers to get even better pricing because we can negotiate on your behalf
as a group.” Also, a portion of the broker fee generated from each transaction comes
back to WBWAO to support its membership goals.
“We look forward to providing many years of energy savings for WBWAO
Members!” says O’Keeffe. For more information contact Martin O’Keeffe, Avion
Energy Region Director, (404) 992-6284 or martin@avionenergy.com.
JUNE IS OHIO WINE MONTH
“Love at First Sip”
By Casey Forbes,
Wine Advisory Council
It’s time to promote Ohio wines! The
rich history of wines in our state dates
back to 1950 and continues today, with
wineries dotting nearly every corner
of Ohio. And the wines are considered
among the best in the world!
IRA data for the 52 weeks ending
December 31, 2012 shows wine sales
in Ohio:
California – 65.1% share
Italy – 6.6%
Australia – 5.2%
United States – 5.2%
Ohio – 2.9%
Washington – 2.7%
Argentina – 1.7%
Chile – 1.7%
Germany – 1.3%
France – 1.1%
So as you can see, Ohio wines are
well-received by our consumers and are
important to our trade. We need to brag
about this and make sure that our trading
partners understand the importance of
our locally-produced products.
As part of the official kickoff to Ohio
Wine Month on May 24, Ohio Agricultural
Director David Daniels honored three
Ohio Quality Wineries as Director’s
Choice recipients at a presentation in
the Statehouse. The wineries included
Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Geneva;
Terra Cotta Vineyards, New Concord; and
Debonne Vineyards, Madison. Wines were
selected by a panel of judges.
Ohio Wine Summit: To facilitate the
connection between wineries and our
retail trade, the Ohio Wine Summit was
held on April 12 in Columbus, bringing
together 17 winery owners with an
assortment of retail buyers from around
the state. It was a great opportunity
for one-on-one meetings and tastings
between wineries and retailers.
“License to Steal Conference”: This
annual marketing conference is produced
by Donnie Winchell of the Ohio Wine
Producers Assn. Held in the spring each
year, the conference is for winery owners
(usually from the Midwest and Eastern
U.S.), wine-related organizations and
tourism communities. Speakers in 2013
included national experts on social media,
the restaurant and hotel industry, the wine
industry. POS, labeling and more. Look
for this event next year on the website
222.nationalwinemarketing.com.
Ohio Wines VIP: A new Visitor
Incentive Program recently has launched
to engage more visitors to Ohio wineries.
Simply by visiting Ohio wineries, visitors
may accumulate VIP points that are
redeemable for non-wine merchandise.
The more visitors we get to Ohio wineries,
the stronger our entire industry becomes!
Other websites to use and review:
www.tasteohiowines.com
www.ohiowinesonthego.com
www.ohiowines.org
www.OhioWinesVIP.com
You also can find this year’s PDFs of
the Ohio Wine Month banner, poster and
shelf-talker at www.WBWAO.org in the
Member section “News & Info.”
Enjoy a glass of Ohio wine today!
MEMBERS HARD AT WORK IN WASHINGTON D.C. AT THE RECENT NBWA LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE
(LEFT TO RIGHT); JIM LAROSE, VAIL MILLER JR., FRANK LAROSE, LEE OBERLAG, GREG MAURER,
ALBERT VONTZ IV AND DAVE RABER
COALITION
FOR SAFE &
RESPONSIBLE OHIO
WBWAO is part of a state-wide
Coalition made up of some 16
organizations and agencies which
all have an interest in monitoring
and working together on underage
drinking, abusive drinking and other
alcohol-related issues. Meetings are
organized and chaired by former
Speaker of the House Jo Ann
Davidson.
At the most recent meeting, Ohio
Department of Public Safety Tom
Charles and Ohio State Highway
Patrol Superintendent John Born
spoke to the group about Ohio’s new
Trace Back program. Although it had
previously existed, there is now a
more focused effort to prevent injuries
and deaths caused by drunk drivers.
There can be civil or criminal charges
in over-serving or serving alcohol to
under-age consumers.
Senator Larry Obhof (Medina)
addressed the Coalition about his
proposed legislation to simplify the
Ohio Revised Code sections dealing
with OVI laws. Current complexities
make it difficult for interpreting the
law for prosecutors, judges and law
enforcement officers.
Marcie Seidel and Tony Coder of
Drug Free Action Alliance (a Coalition
member organization) also updated
the group on two initiatives to legalize
marijuana in the State of Ohio. Groups
are working to place two different
issues on the November ballot. ANDRE PORTER, NEW DIRECTOR OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, ADDRESSED WBWAO
BEFORE THE MAY 14 LEGISLATIVE LUNCHEON.
2013 WBWAO Legislative Luncheon
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
 John Matesich, President of WBWAO in 2003-2004, officially retired from the
Newark family business Matesich Distributing Company in January. John also was
NBWA Chairman in 1996-97 and is considered one of the beer industry’s national
leaders. Matesich Distributing is now led by President and CEO Jim Matesich,
WBWAO’s most recent past President.
 Former WBWAO member and owner of Robins Beverage Group Stan Robins
died January 8 unexpectedly while vacationing in New Zealand. He was 73. We
extend our deepest sympathy to family members and friends of Stan.
 Frank LaRose’s son, Ohio Senator Frank LaRose Jr., was featured in a Canton
Repository newspaper article in February describing his military service as a Green
Beret in Iraq.
 Dave Robinson, the Akron NFL linebacker who played for the Green Bay
Packers and Washington Redskins in the 1960s and 1970s, was voted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame earlier this year. He will be inducted in a ceremony on August
3 in Canton. The 72-year-old worked for the Schlitz Brewery and Superior Beverage
and was co-owner of MARS Distributing in Akron.
 Congratulations to Gregg Hipp, VP/GM at Treu House of Munch and member
of the WBWAO rules committee, on his May 31st wedding to Diane Roe. Diane is a
partner at Knight Insurance Agency in Toledo.
AIM Leasing Co.
Closest to the pin front 9
Bickers Consulting Group
Cocktail Reception
CareWorks Consultants
Hole #18
Chase – Longest drive front 9
Michelob Ultra – Hole #9
Ohio Council of Retail Merchants
Lunch
OMAC Beverage Advisors
Beverage Cart back 9
JIM MATESICH WELCOMES OHIO STATE
REPRESENTATIVE JAY HOTTINGER TO HIS
WAREHOUSE DURING A VISIT IN APRIL.
 Division of Liquor Control
appointments: Elaine Moore recently was
promoted to Assistant Chief for the Beer and Wine Section, assisting Chief of
Investigations and Compliance Gary Jones.
Dominic Panzera was selected to be the
Division’s Chief Legal Counsel, replacing
Peter Patitsas who retired at the end of 2012.
GREG MAURER WAS APPOINTED BY
THE GOVERNOR AND INDUCTED INTO
THE EXECUTIVE ORDER OF THE OHIO
COMMODORES, AN ORGANIZATION
RECOGNIZING GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION
AND BUSINESS LEADERS.
Many thanks to our sponsors, who
made the 2013 Spring Meeting and Golf
Outing possible, and Vail Miller Sr. and Vail
Miller Jr. for hosting the event at Moraine
Country Club.
John Gelach & Co.
Longest putt front 9
 Thanks to WBWAO members who
are contributing their time and talent to
NBWA: Jim Matesich represents our
membership as Ohio Director; John
Dickerson continues to serve as Chair of the
Legal Review Committee; and Vail Miller
Sr. has been appointed to the Center for
Alcohol Policy. The Center’s purpose is to
educate policymakers, regulators and the
public about alcohol, its uniqueness and it
regulation. Vail’s colleagues on the council
include leaders from government, business,
law enforcement, health and public policy.
2013 SPRING
MEETING &
GOLF OUTING
 Governor John Kasich appointed
former State Senator James Carnes of St.
Clairsville (Belmont County) to the Ohio
Liquor Control Commission. His term runs
through February, 2019. Carnes served
in the Ohio Senate 1995-2004 and was
Deputy Director at the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources 2004-2006. He replaces
Commissioner Michael Shaheen whose term
expired in February.
R & K Technologies, Inc.
Beverage Cart front 9
Shumaker Advisors LLC
Longest drive back 9
Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP
Hole #1
Wells Fargo Bank – Dinner
WINNING TEAM IN THE 2013 SPRING GOLF OUTING
WITH A SCORE OF 63 INCLUDE TONY PAWLAK, RICK
NIEHAUS, MATT BORER AND GREGG HIPP.
We represent you!
2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Vail Miller Jr.
President
Mike Tramonte
Vice President
Kris Klepper
Secretary
Curt McCamon
Treasurer
Gary Guagenti
Jim Matesich
Andy Phillips
Joe Schetz
WBWAO Committees
Wine Advisory Council
Greg Maurer, Chair
David Clark
Casey Forbes
Mark Maher
Greg Michalec
John Roberts
Council for Leadership Development
Matt Litter, Chair
Michael Conway
Jason Edwards
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Please thank the following companies who have recently joined WBWAO:
New Wholesaler Member
 Greystoke – WASSAV, LLC
Northfield, OH
 Pere Jacques Wine Imports, LLC
330-807-2961
30685 Solon Industrial Pkwy, Unit C
Van Washburn
Solon, OH 44139
vwashburn@greystokeclub.com
440-248-9190
Richard Irr
 Hogan Truck Leasing
perejacques@me.com
Columbus, OH
614-529-1515
New Allied Members
Michael Steele
msteele@hogan1.com
 Benesch Friedlander Coplan
& Aronoff LLP
 Kenworth of Columbus
Columbus, OH
Hilliard, OH
614-223-9345
614-876-9491
Roger Schantz
Mike Nitz
rschantz@beneschlaw.com
mnitz@columbuskw.com
 ComDoc
 R and K Technologies
Girard, OH
North Ridgeville, OH
330-539-4822
440-327-1530
Karen Colapietro
Tim Rollins
kcolapietro@gmail.com
timrollins@randktechnologies.com
 Cummins Allison Corporation
 Shumaker Advisors LLC
Middleburg Heights, OH
Columbus, OH
440-824-5050
614-629-4416
Joshua Jameyson
Andy Herf
jameysonj@cumminsallison.com
aherf@slk-advisors.com
Erik Jenkins
CALENDAR DATES
Michael Miller
2013
Austin Phillips
July 22
August 26
Sept. 25
Sept. 26-27 Sept.29-Oct. 2
Nov. 18
Dec. 2
Rachael Tramonte Yash
Rules Review Committee
Mike Tramonte, Chair
John Dickerson
John Fleming
Brooke Hice
Gregg Hipp
2014
Greg Maurer
WBWAO TEAM
J. Richard Lumpe,
General Counsel
David Raber,
Counsel for Legal Affairs
Timothy J. Bechtold,
Counsel for Regulatory Affairs
Andrew Herf,
Consultant for
Legislative Affairs
Sue Remy,
Director of Administration
WBWAO
37 W. Broad St., Suite 710
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 224-3500
Ohio WATS Line: 1-800-282-7639
FAX: (614) 224-1348
E-Mail: info@wbwao.org
WEBSITE: www.wbwao.org
Feb. 18-23 March 23-26
April 28-May 1
Sept. 22-24
Sept. 28-Oct. 1
2015
April 26-29
Oct. 11-14
Board Meeting, Columbus
Board Meeting, TBA
Board Meeting, Columbus
WBWAO Fall Convention,
Columbus
NBWA Convention,
Las Vegas
Board Meeting, Cincinnati
Board Meeting, Columbus
WBWAO Winter Meeting,
Napa Valley
NBWA Legislative
Conference, Washington D.C.
WSWA Convention,
Orlando
WBWAO Fall Convention,
Columbus
NBWA Convention,
New Orleans
NBWA Legislative
Conference, Washington D.C.
NBWA Convention &
Trade Show, Las Vegas