MTA board reports
When the Montana Tavern Association Executive Board convened in Jorgenson's ballroom June 8, long-time board member Dave Clarke of the First and Last Chance Bar in Eureka was honored with a hearty round of applause from his peers in recognition of his being selected Montana's nominee for the Brown Forman American Beverage Licensees Retailer of the Year (see page one feature in June Montana Tavern Times).
It was the MTA's Nominating Committee comprised of the organization's past presidents that made the selection. Though Clarke was unable to attend, he was honored at the ABL national convention in Louisville, Ky. June 13-15.
Then MTA President Bruce Enott began calling on various committee chairs to give their reports, starting with Mary Jane Heisler of Great Falls who heads the Budget and Membership Committee.
Budget and Membership
Heisler said income and expenses were tracking according to expectations, and that recent membership renewal notices had gone out so the income stream should receive a new jolt. She also said membership was down from one year ago, but efforts were underway to reach non-renewed members and recruit new ones.
She also said the committee is dissatisfied with MTA's current endorsed credit card processor and will be seeking proposals from other vendors.
Heisler then called on Steve Morris of Helena to explain a proposed new MTA fundraiser called "Charity Mania."
Morris said it was a "sweepstakes" based on the National Football League in which MTA members could sell 4,800 sweepstakes cards at $20 each in hopes of raising up to $72,000. There would be six winners each week during the season, he said.
Morris said a few concerns would need to be ironed out before gaining assurance from Gambling Control Division (GCD) that the sweepstakes was legal. He said the Wisconsin Tavern League raises $210,000 annually running the same sweepstakes.
The board approved Morris' request to pursue the idea and get GCD's blessing.
Public Relations
Bobby Lincoln of Lakeside gave the Public Relations Committee report, noting members who had been selling the "Dinner/No Dinner" raffle tickets had encountered some complaining from prospect taverns regarding the Oct. 1, 2009 implementation of the smoking ban. He said a lot of misinformation exists that has some withholding support and resisting ticket purchases.
He said the public relations committee would be polling members who have not renewed and would report to the executive board at its September meeting in Havre. "We need to do a better job of communicating our accomplishments," Lincoln said his committee decided.
He said some discussion of the "Gold Star" membership status also occurred, noting a few reports had come back that several resented the couple of minor privileges the Gold Star status carried.
Lincoln also told the full board the Shriners had once again approached MTA to sell the small football placards in their businesses, then send those dollars in to support the annual East-West Shrine Football game which now rotates between Great Falls, Butte and Billings. In the past, MTA had raised $10,000 for the event in this way, Lincoln said. The board voted its approval of the committee's recommendation to proceed with the fundraiser.
Legislative and Gambling
Bozeman's Ralph Ferraro, who heads the Legislative and Gambling Committee, noted the committee had only worked through half its agenda during a two hour meeting that morning. He asked MTA Government Affairs Counsel Mark Staples to give the committee report.
First, Staples gave the board a rundown on which races the MTA was observing and where it had lent support. (The primary elections were underway as the board met.) He noted the MTA Political Action Committee has typically backed candidates supportive of small business aims, and said this time was no different. He did warn of an increasingly difficult political landscape due to terms limits and more reformist groups.
He gave the group a historical primer on past legislative struggles, especially the smoking ban passed in 2005 which allowed licensees four years to get ready for compliance, a compromise that ended up being the envy of hospitality business groups around the nation, as they were ultimately steamrolled one by one with no time to transition.
He said the four-year moratorium, once the historical landscape was clearly understood, should be viewed as a significant victory that was never achieved in any other jurisdiction, rather than as some kind of defeat.
"Outcomes in other states – even those where bans were fought with millions of dollars – were all the same: they lost and got their bans overnight. If you're being fair, those outcomes have proven both the necessity and the 'better of two evils' nature of MTA's choice."
Yet, he said, some never recognize the major accomplishments of MTA, such as working with the state to preserve Montana's alcohol control laws which includes limiting alcohol outlets based on populations; getting legislation to allow our small-stakes wagering and small-scale casinos; keeping the gaming tax at a reasonable and sustainable 15 percent of gross revenues; getting license "stacking" stopped; preventing runaway abuses of special licenses for entities such as resorts and much more.
Staples said those fixated on the past may find themselves standing alone when a new onslaught of legislation is faced by licensees involving new mandates and restrictions and ever tougher DUI laws.
"We've all got to be involved," Staples said. "Most of the public, regulators, legislators and law enforcement are at this point in concert with our message over the years: first time DUI offenders only rarely repeat; it is the multiple and high-blood alcohol content (BAC) offender that is the social danger – the real problem – and that's where our social, cultural and legal emphases needs to be placed."
Ironically, Staples said, just as society is moving to reduce irresponsible drinking and serving and underage drinking, so are some interests working to tear down state regulation that restricts access while opening up alcohol retailing to anyone with a business license.
Retailing giant Costco attempted, through the courts, to break Washington state's control of liquor retailing, Staples said, but lost. "Now they're investing close to a half million dollars to dismantle, via the ballot, state control," he said, "and folks, if they win there, it will be coming here, too. You could still owe the bank for it, but have a worthless license."
Bills to loosen regulations on other businesses serving alcohol, which some would like to see become de facto bars, Staples said, will be coming in the next Legislature, as will efforts to mandate server training, stiffer penalties for server violations and much more.
"If licensed business owners want to look back, they should look at all that has been accomplished and preserved,” he said. "But our focus really needs to be on the future; what's coming. We will need the strength of numbers and our unity."
Staples then provided a capsule of the morning's discussion of issues related to gaming, noting the Legislative and Gambling Committee voted to oppose "three-way splits" of video gaming machine income though vendors leasing to vendors. He said the committee did not oppose outright sales of video equipment between the manufacture, vendor and location tiers.
The committee also came out opposed to allowing further automation of player rewards systems by integrating them with Tier I machine play data to the state ("dial-up") and recommended MTA oppose a little understood proposal to change the way bonus wins are calculated, which could allow "machine-marked spots" as opposed to player-marked spots to trigger keno bonus play.
Staples said the committee emphasized again and again that what operators needed most are machines that retained a decent profit margin. The MTA board discussion echoed that position.
He said that many members had asked for an item-by-item vote by the board on these gaming issues. After much discussion, the board did just that and voted that MTA opposes "lease-to-lease"/three-way splits, Tier I player tracking and changes in bonus win calculations.
National Report
Harry Klock of Harlowton, one MTA's representative to the American Beverage Licensees (ABL), the MTA affiliate that works on the national level, said the ABL board had not met since the last MTA meeting, but it remained focused on Draconian proposals to make interlock devices standard equipment on cars at a cost to consumers of at least $500 million.
MTA's other representative to ABL, Morris, also noted ABL had worked with allied business associations to successfully insert in the banking reform bill language that would prohibit unfair and hidden merchant fees in credit card transactions.
Executive Director
MTA Executive Director Bob Anderson said, "The formal and informal aspects of these meetings are very informative. (Anderson had hosted a colloquial barbecue social at his home the previous evening.) I'm hoping I can sit in on the discussions of all committees, but that is difficult when meetings are conducted simultaneously (Legislative and Gambling occurs at the same time as Budget and Membership)."
He said he is getting good feedback on the new electronic newsletter now being distributed to members, and said he is anxious to assist Staples with candidate forums that will be commencing in the fall. (To conduct a forum centered on the licensed hospitality business in your area, contact Staples at the Staples Law Firm in Helena by calling 406-443-4345.)
Anderson also addressed planning for the 2010 convention scheduled Sept. 13-16 in Havre. He said prospective trade show participants had been mailed registration packets and national and state dignitaries invited.
Anderson said MTA has been engaged in promoting and providing responsible server training. He urged members to watch the Tavern Times and other sources for the times and places when training is scheduled around the state.
Old Business
President Enott noted two heart-felt cards of thanks were received by MTA, one from long-time Poplar board member Mert Marotek who lost her husband, Frank, in March, and one from Mark staples, whose brother's passing this spring was also noted and honored by MTA.
New Business
President Enott then called for new business, and asked Montana Tavern Times publisher Cole Boehler of Butte to approach the podium. Boehler then announced the sale of the 15-year-old trade newspaper to Paul Tash and Tash Communications of Butte, effective July 2.
Boehler said the past 15 years had been great ones, but that the publication would benefit from a new infusion of energy and ideas.
He touched on Tash's qualifications, including a journalism degree from the University of Montana, 11 years in a daily newspaper newsroom, 15 years operating his own small communications company in Butte, but especially the public relations work Tash has performed for the MTA and the Gaming Industry Association, and the research and advertising services he rendered for the industry-supported Montana Gaming Research and Education Fund.
"Paul knows publishing inside and out," Boehler said, "but better yet, he knows the fundamental issues affecting the licensed hospitality business. Paul was raised in Dillon so he knows our small town, rural culture and knows what a handshake still means here.
"I'm asking all of you to transfer the trust and goodwill we have built up to Paul Tash. He will prove he deserves it. He will do a fine job with your trade newspaper."
Tash then addressed the board, asking them to communicate with him, offer helpful suggestions, and constructive criticism. "The Tavern Times is you. It is all about you and belongs to you. Help me make it work for you,” he said.
Staples, who has been instrumental in guiding the newspaper from its inception, told the board, "It's been a real pleasure working with Cole all these years. He really developed finely tuned antennae when it came to communicating our issues and deliberations. He's done yeoman's work for us and the industry and deserves a prosperous future.
"And I've worked with Paul on other licensed business matters. He's a quick study and I'm confident he'll be up to speed shortly. He'll be covering a complex business but he'll gain a handle on the intricacies. I, and I believe the entire MTA, wants Paul to succeed and we have his back. We'll help out however and whenever we can."