Association deals with full agenda
When the Montana Tavern Association conducted its 54th annual convention and trade show in Missoula Sept. 21-24, at least five hours of the packed agenda was dedicated to the serious business of the licensed beverage industry, as well as the business of running a potent industry trade association.
The closed MTA Budget and Membership Committee convenes early and remains in continuous session practically throughout the convention, able to then consider budget items that may originate in other committee meetings.
The Public Relations Committee met at 9:30 a.m. Tues., Sept. 22 for an hour, followed by the Legislative and Gambling Committee meeting the next day also at 9:30, running until about 11 a.m. Later that day, the MTA conducted its "general session" where local dignitaries as well as the state's top elected and appointed industry regulators addressed the full MTA membership.
Finally, on the closing day of the convention, the membership met in the "business session" to hear and consider committee reports, and take appropriate actions regarding committee recommendations. The group also considered any new business, then moved on to an election of officers and choosing the 2011 convention host city.
It seems that during legislative interims, these meetings are more brief and discussion concise, as most complex legislative matters and threats are temporarily shelved. And so it was at the 2009 convention. The meetings are reported below in the order in which they occurred.
Public relations
The main order of business for the MTA Public Relations Committee was the annual raffle fund raiser it is responsible for. Sometimes called the "No Dinner/Dinner" raffle, MTA strives to sell 1,000 tickets at $100 each, then gives away $50,000 in cash prizes.
The first year the raffle was run, just over 900 tickets were sold; the second year over 800 were sold and this year, when the committee met, it was reported that 541 tickets had been sold. (Remarkably, by the time of the drawing the next night, almost 200 more sold tickets were accounted for.)
Committee chair Tanya Harper said a concerted effort to better publicize the raffle had been mounted, resulting in at least six articles in the Montana Tavern Times as well as distribution of 4,500 posters courtesy of Town Pump, Anheuser-Busch distributors and the Tavern Times.
Harper requested committee members consider the raffle concept in its entirety and be ready to bring new ideas to the next board meeting in November to either revitalize the raffle or find a whole new approach to raising the needed funds.
It was noted a poor economy meant ticket buyers were strapped for extra "discretionary" cash, but it was also reported some members may have been more reluctant to approach customers to buy tickets.
One committee member said it seems pressure on bars to fulfill monetary requests for other charitable endeavors had also multiplied and that the ability to respond to these requests had been fully tapped.
Much of the raffle proceeds help MTA pay for its share of the 24-hour problem gambler help hotline, as well as its share of industry funding for the Montana Council on Problem Gambling, which provides group therapy treatment for compulsive gamblers.
Harper told the group MTA had received a thank you letter form the Montana High School Business Challenge, to which MTA last spring committed a $1,500 donation in three installments over three years.
The committee discussed the need to promote more server training and noted new rules being drafted would allow for a reduction in penalties for serving a minor for establishments that had fulfilled server training requirements. A variety of qualified local programs are available including the MTA's own on-line TIPS server training course, and through local tavern association chapters, beer distributors, local health departments, DUI Task Forces and other advocacy groups.
In the same vein, members were encouraged to continue to develop their "home safe" and designated driver type programs.
Legislative and Gambling
Committee chairman Pat Kelly took care of one minor piece of business – reaffirming Sandy Jones as the MTA liaison to the Gaming Advisory Council Subcommittee on live poker, which is again deliberating changes to poker rules to improve the game. The subcommittee did accomplish some changes to tournament rules in the last legislative go-round.
With that, MTA Government Affairs Counsel Mark Staples took the podium to amplify the need for MTA members to step up to the technological bar by getting on-line and becoming proficient at e-mail communication.
MTA, under the guidance of new Executive Director Bob Anderson, is launching an initiative to improve intra-organization communications for both the benefits of speed and improved confidentiality.
Staples said there are increasing instances when very rapid communications among members is required, such as when U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' Senate Finance Committee was reportedly considering funding health care reform with alcohol taxes. Staples said Montana retailers needed to weigh in with the Senator quickly and in volume to make an impression.
He also cited the need for some kinds of sensitive communications to retain a degree of privacy, especially those that may describe certain strategies or tactics, and said e-mail could enhance these efforts.
Staples did note that the Montana Tavern Times coverage, while thorough and valuable, is often after-the-fact and, with its monthly frequency, sometimes couldn't get the word out with the required speed. He also pointed out the Times reaches an audience that extends well outside the folds of the MTA, including the media, the government and the public, so was unsuitable for sensitive communications that need to remain strictly internal.
He also said he understands why some of the general membership may be frustrated at what they sometimes perceive to be MTA's lack of action, when in fact it is acting vigorously every day, but quietly and effectively. The more sensitive aspects of the organization's lobbying efforts simply cannot be widely disseminated, he said. Members could become more privy to these quiet moves if they subscribed to e-mail services, he said, and may then gain more of an appreciation for what their association is in fact regularly achieving on their behalf.
Thus he pleaded with committee members and regular members in attendance to get on-line, establish e-mail communications, and get their e-mail addresses to MTA headquarters.
MTA has been working quite publicly and effectively, too, Staples said. He told the group the proposed rule to allow smoking related complaints to be filed anonymously had been rescinded because of effective and coordinated testimony offered by business groups during the public hearing process.
Regarding the smoking ban, now fully implemented, Staples said state health department officials have said repeatedly the statute gives them authority to regulate indoor smoking only, and that they have no jurisdiction when it comes to accommodating smokers outdoors.
He did reiterate that court rulings have determined that established city and county governments have the authority to impose more stringent standards and that licensees need to be vigilant to efforts at the local government level to implement draconian measures to prohibit smoking practically anywhere outdoors.
He said he thought a lot of what will happen will depend on "common courtesy, by smokers to non-smokers. If smokers don't blow smoke into other people's faces, I don't think most folks are going to bother smokers outside. They haven't so far and we've got hundreds of places where people can only smoke outside and there have been no problems.
"My feeling is," Staples said, "the people of Montana are satisfied with the reach of the state ban; that it goes far enough. They've removed smoking from indoor public places and from exposing employees. That's what the polls overwhelmingly said the public wanted. I don't think there's much public support to further harass smokers."
Staples told the group it was not too early to start thinking about the next round of elections, since the primaries are only about nine months away. He said members need to identify and encourage potential candidates who will be fair to small business, and should also report to the MTA offices any local election related developments.
He said he will mount a more concerted effort, along with local tavern chapters, to organize candidate forums, which are helpful for the candidates, business owners and the public.
National Report
Darrell Keck, the MTA's representative to the national affiliate American Beverage Licensees, reported that while health care reform is on the front burner, all other legislation, including the national highway transportation bill, was simmering on the back burner.
He said the Senate version of the bill contains no DUI penalty increases, but the House version did have an amendment to include ignition interlock devices for all first-time DUI offenders. Currently in Montana, interlocks are left to a judge's discretion for second and subsequent offenders.
"ABL wants us to start working on it," Keck said.
Staples added that Montana Atty. Gen. Steve Bullock has said he will be proposing a DUI initiative and is interested in MTA's positions. Staples said he has told Bullock MTA's chief concern lies with repeat and high-blood-alcohol-content (BAC) offenders.
Regulatory Panel
Once again the state's top regulators made time in their busy schedules to address the MTA convention during its "general session" Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 23.
They were: Atty: Gen. Steve Bullock who oversees the justice department and its Gambling Control Division which is responsible for gambling enforcement and licensing investigations, and the Gaming Advisory Council; Department of Revenue Director Dan Bucks whose responsibilities include liquor licensure and spirits distribution; Gambling Control Division Administrator Rick Ask, who reports to Bullock, and Liquor Division Administrator Shauna Helfert, who answers to Bucks.
But first MTA members were treated to a highly humorous welcome from Missoula Mayor John Engen, then introductory remarks from MTA Government Affairs Counsel Mark Staples, wherein he praised Montana government officials for their accessibility and consistent fairness.
Dan Bucks
Director Bucks took the podium first, noting how closely and efficiently his department works with the justice department when it comes to license and other investigations. He also thanked licensees for "the professional and cooperative way you run your businesses" and thanked Staples "for the open lines of communication" to the on-premise retail community.
He also took note of MTA Executive Director Diana Koon's Sept. 30 retirement, thanking her "for the wonderful job you did for MTA." He recounted that Koon worked at DOR in liquor licensing for many years before joining MTA. He joked he "used to drive Diana bonkers" when she worked for DOR which evidently prepared her well for her job heading a retail alcohol organization.
Bucks also welcomed Bob Anderson, who assumed MTA executive director duties Oct. 1. "I look forward to working with you," he said to Anderson.
Bucks named several of his liquor division staffers who were on hand and said they all "work hard to listen and respond. We must respect the dignity of every human being we work with."
He said that since the end of Prohibition, Montana's policy has been to conduct retail liquor sales "within four walls by professionals in a way that is best for society. It is still the right way."
He noted he has been working with the Department of Justice and Gaming Advisory Council to develop a streamlined process for amending liquor licenses, such as in the case of a party merely leaving a license perhaps due to death or divorce. He said those working on the project have whittled what was 20 pages of forms down to about two.
Bucks also said there is rising public concern about under-aged access to alcohol, but said perhaps some of the focus has been misdirected, and more concern ought to be placed on "social hosts" – adults who allow under age drinking on their property or adults who otherwise furnish alcohol to youth.
"A lot of the problem occurs outside your four walls. We are broadening the debate and that's a positive thing that can be constructive," he said.
While liquor sales volumes are increasing in the state, Bucks said the cost of administering those sales is not.
"The cost per unit handled is going down," he said, "and it's going to go down further," citing efforts to renovate the state liquor warehouse for a 20 percent energy savings while improving internal business processes to gain efficiencies.
In conclusion, Bucks said, "I'm proud to be able to serve you."
In response to a question from Staples, Bucks said property valuations, including commercial real estate, had gone up considerably, driven by immigrants to the state who are bidding up property values. Those higher valuations won't necessarily translate into higher property taxes, though there will certainly be exceptions where that will be the case. In general, he said, there shouldn't be any exceptional or substantial impact.
Bucks said most of the commercial property appreciation occurred in the state's larger commercial centers, and coincided with the rise of large mega-retailer property purchases.
Steve Bullock
Next up was Atty. Gen. Bullock, who characterized the licensee/regulator association as "a close working relationship with an open dialogue.”
He said his first 10 months in office "have been a wild ride." He said while he talked about his agenda for months before his election, still a lot of unexpected issues will crop up, such as the NCAA threatening to prohibit college playoff games in Montana, due to Montana's gambling laws. That was resolved when Atty. Gen. Bullock sent NCAA a letter explaining why Montana's sports-based gaming did not violate NCAA policy regarding betting on the outcome of sporting events.
Also on his agenda was streamlining the amended license process, as Bucks had alluded to earlier. He noted Montanans want strict regulation but no one would object if it can be made smoother and simpler. "We need to look at processes that don't make sense."
Bullock said his agenda would also include an initiative to strengthen drunk driving laws and deterrents. There are too many examples where the system is not working, Bullock said, especially when people are being charged with high-multiple DUIs.
Bullock also lamented the loss of three highway patrol officers in highway wrecks in the last year, two involving drunk drivers. "I don't want to go to another trooper's funeral," he said. "My focus is going to be on multiple offenders. We should all be working on this. I'm going to count on you and your leadership for help."
Fielding a question from Staples, Bullock elaborated, saying that while his drunk driving initiative is still in its formative stage, one aspect may call for prohibiting drinking by anyone charged with second or multiple DUIs, continuing until the sentence is served. Enforcement could be achieved utilizing daily testing, he said.
While progress has been made reducing the scourge of methamphetamine abuse, Bullock said new focus needs to be brought to bear on abuse of prescription drugs. He said approximately 10 times more people in Montana died last year – over 300 – from prescription drug abuse than from meth, with Montana now having the third worst record per capita in the U.S.
Bullock said everyone needs to be smart operators in this economy, noting gaming revenues have declined during the last year while foreclosures, unemployment and other negative economic indicators are also up.
Shauna Helfert
With that, he handed the microphone to Liquor Division Administrator Shauna Helfert, who told the MTA she had no prepared remarks but was thankful she and her staff had been invited to the convention and provided a space at the trade show.
She also noted she had been nominated by the MTA for the Top Shelf Award, which is presented by the MTA's national affiliate American Beverage Licensees, and is the national retail community's highest award. "It is really my staff that deserves the credit," she said.
She told members that she will always maintain an open door and phone line to licensees.
Rick Ask
Gambling Control chief Rick Ask then took the podium, introducing and crediting GCD staff that were present.
Ask, keeping his remarks brief, too, said as the Division works through the conversion to electronic reporting for video gaming machines, that 16,300 devices – well over 90 percent – are now reporting on-line, and that it appears when the process is complete only 10 locations in the entire state will opt to stay with manual reporting and single-game machines, as opposed to the multi-game platforms allowed to those using automated reporting.
Finally, the MTA heard a presentation by Gail Gustafson who is heading up an outfit called Grateful Nation that is raising money to provide college educations for kids of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Business meeting
After partaking of a leisurely traditional breakfast buffet Thursday morning, Sept. 24, the MTA membership assembled once more for the convention's final business meeting.
President Dennis White banged the gavel and called the meeting to order. He launched straight into the organization's election procedure, then conducted the balance of business while a ballot count was taking place.
Squaring off for the president's post was Bozeman's Joe Domanski and Great Falls' Bruce Enott. Enott, an MTA veteran and director, got the nod over relative newcomer Domanski.
Then it was Helena's Steve Morris vying with Cut Bank's Tippy Bertsch for national director, with Morris edging Bertsch for the post.
Bob Lincoln of Somers was elected first vice president and Cal McOmber of Corvallis was chosen second vice president. Marty Jane Heisler of Great Falls was tapped as secretary-treasurer while Ron Morris of Helena was elected sergeant at arms.
White then called for committee reports and Budget Committee chair Heisler told the assembly the organization's finances had just been audited and scored high marks. "It was clean and we were told it was first class."
She noted that membership numbers were significantly ahead of last year, but also noted 149 businesses that were members last year had not renewed this year. She said raffle ticket sales lagged about $12,00 behind last year as well.
Public Relations chair Tanya Harper then addressed the group, noting Enott had sold more than 250 tickets himself, which she said illustrated the true potential of a concerted effort.
She said she wanted ideas on how to revitalize the effort at the next board meeting, or ideas for new ways entirely to raise funds.
She thanked Sandy Jones and the Missoula County Tavern Owners for putting on a great convention, then thanked Diana Koon, retiring MTA executive director, for her nearly one decade of service to the organization. The she welcomed new MTA executive director Bob Anderson.
Mark Staples was then called upon to report for the legislative and Gambling Committee. He once again cited examples where quick, private communications were needed amongst the membership to achieve certain organization goals, and said that can be accomplished with better e-mail communications which are instant and relatively secure.
He pleaded that everyone send their e-mail address to MTA headquarters and include the addresses of other members from their contact books. Staples assured the group the address list would not be disseminated and would be kept private.
Darrell Keck gave the national report, updating members on highway funding authorization bills where Congress often links money for states with mandates from the federal government, in this caser potential interlock devices for first-offense DUI convictions.
He said the MTA national affiliate, American Beverage Licensees (ABL) will conduct its national convention in Louisville, Ky, June 13-15.
Diana Koon gave her last executive director's report, stating 308 were registered for the convention but about 335 were in attendance. She announced Enott had earned a $500 prize for selling the most raffle tickets, then said, with some irony, that the person who sold the ticket that won the $15,000 grand prize was KC LaFlesch and so he earned a $500 bonus for that. It was also LaFlesch of Missoula's Marvin's Bar who won the $15,000!
Koon thanked Jones again for chairing the convention and poker tournament, thanked the MTA staff that did a lot of the convention leg work, then thanked all the members for "the best 10 years of my working life."
Finally, it remained to choose the convention site for 2011 (the 2010 convention will take place in Havre and was awarded last year). Both Bozeman (Gallatin County Tavern Association) and Red Lodge (Carbon-Stillwater Tavern Association) tendered an offer to host in 2011. When the hands were counted, Red Lodge was the site chosen.