Associations team up for server training
It was announced in October that a coalition of businesses associations will offer comprehensive alcohol server training to members.
A group of eight business associations are collectively promoting a statewide alcohol server training schedule. The classes will be held throughout Montana over the coming months in both large and small communities.
The following associations will participate in the coalition: Montana Tavern Association, Gaming Industry Association of Montana, the Montana Convenience Store Association, Montana Restaurant Association, Montana Beer and Wine Distributors' Association, Gaming Industry Association of Montana, Montana Food Distributors Association, Montana Innkeepers Association and the Montana Retail Association.
One such class, conducted by training specialist Jeff Hainline, took place in Kalispell in late October. Hainline reported attendance "exceeded expectations." He said ideally a class should have no more than 35 students, but that in Kalispell, many walk-ins pushed the attendance figure to 45.
As of press time, two more classes were scheduled: West Yellowstone, Nov. 3 from 1-4 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce, and Deer Lodge, Nov. 10 at City Hall in the council chambers. To contact Hainline for information on future classes in your area, or to sign up staff for the coming two, call his office at 406-203-4121 or call his cell at 406-546-5306.
Neil Peterson, executive director of the Gaming Business Association of Montana, wrote his members, "A bill was brought in the recent Legislature to establish a 'Responsible Alcohol Vendor Program' that would provide incentives to licensees who proactively trained employees in the proper techniques and standards for the sale of alcohol.
"The Department of Revenue, as part of the process, agreed to negotiate an in-house program through rule making that would accomplish the same goals. The new rules should be adopted soon and will reduce the penalties to a licensee if they can verify to the department that they have trained an employee who subsequently receives a violation."
Peterson said, "The department is in fact now implementing the program in the field. The penalty schedule and new rules can be obtained by calling you association office and will be available on-line through the department's website when the final adoption notice is published.
"In short, the new rule will make it worth your while to train your employees which, of course, many were already doing."
Mark Staples, government affairs counsel for the MTA, said, "The better trained servers and sellers are, the less incidences there will be of underage purchases and over-serving. Training works, and the department recognizes that.
"This is a great effort on the retail community's part and the cooperation and encouragement of the DOR is laudatory."
A coalition news release said, "The associations are joining together in this unprecedented effort to help educate all licensees to responsibly serve alcohol and prevent underage consumption. Everyone from restaurant and tavern servers to convenience store clerks, bartenders to hotel employees and grocery store clerks plays a role in the responsible service and sale of alcohol."
The Department of Revenue is in the process of issuing new rules for those businesses with alcohol licenses. The new rules are designed to recognize employers who send their employees to an approved alcohol server training class.