From Visit St. Mary’s Maryland, Press Release

LEONARDTOWN, Maryland – Visit St. Mary’s Maryland (VSMMD) is launching the St. Mary’s Craft Beverage Trail, a celebration of the entrepreneurs, artisans, and collaborators that make up the local craft beverage community and the quality products and experiences they create.

VSMMD will officially launch the trail at the St. Mary’s Craft Beverage Festival, Saturday, August 19th to Sunday, August 20th, 2023. The festival begins with a Saturday Showcase at the St. Mary’s Regional Airport Terminal at Aeropark followed by Sunday on the Trail at tasting rooms and venues throughout the county.

The Saturday Showcase brings together local craft beverage producers to offer tastings, product launches, direct purchases, raffles, and behind-the-scenes info sessions. Ticketholders will also receive a festival-exclusive bottle bag and tasting glass. Attendees can choose from two timed-entry sessions, 12pm-2pm or 2:30pm-4:30pm. Tickets for the showcase are $30, and all ticketholders must be aged 21+.

On Sunday, tasting rooms and venues throughout the county will host music, activities, and vendors, welcoming the public to experience the St. Mary’s Craft Beverage Trail. Ticketholders from the Saturday Showcase can look forward to a VIP experience at each location.

Participating craft beverage producers include Corteau Vineyards, Southern Trail Distillery, Xella Winery, Tobacco Barn Distillery, Port of Leonardtown Winery, Jubilee Farm Fermentations, Free State Ciders, LAD Farms Brewing, and Everyday Saint Brewhouse.

For tickets and more details about the event visit: www.visitstmarysmd.com/craft-beverage-trail/

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Gina Holman, Kelly Woodcock, and Jessica Lemmon Elected President, Vice President, & Secretary/Treasurer, Board of Directors, Along with New Board Appointments

WASHINGTON, DC (March 30, 2023) – The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) today announces the election of Gina Holman of J. Carver Distillery (MN) as the President of the Board of Directors. She has served as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors since 2020, and as Vice President since 2022. Kelly Woodcock of Westward Whiskey (OR) has also been elected as the organization’s Vice President and Jessica J. Lemmon of Cart/Horse Distilling (PA) has been re-elected as Secretary/Treasurer. Together, Holman, Woodcock, Lemmon and the current and newly-appointed Board of Directors will work with CEO Margie A.S. Lehrman to address the key issues facing the craft distilling industry, including the organization’s continued push for direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping. The elections will usher in the second consecutive year during which an all-women-identifying-led board will steer a national trade association. Additionally, women currently make up more than half of the elected Board members. ACSA is also proud to announce the results of its national election for Board of Director members, adding four new members with one returning.

“It is a tremendous honor to be leading the ACSA Board of Directors as president, and it is a responsibility that I do not take lightly,” said Gina Holman, Founding Partner at J. Carver Distillery (MN) and President, ACSA. “As we usher in ACSA’s second decade as a leading industry trade association, I look forward to serving our growing craft spirits community and building on the organization’s remarkable accomplishments thus far. We’ve certainly got our work cut out for us, but I’m excited to be working alongside such an esteemed group of fellow Board members to make great things happen for our vibrant industry.” 

Margie A.S. Lehrman, CEO, ACSA, added, “As a woman in drinks, particularly at a trade association level, I’m thrilled to announce that for a second year, our women-led Board will steer our organization to support our growing community of craft distillers. Though ACSA remains focused on critical industry issues such as postal shipping reform, trade, fair competition, and direct-to-consumer shipping, we continue to pour our hearts and efforts into the STEPUP Foundation, the 501(c)3 non-profit immersive internship program we helped create two years ago. Through STEPUP, our work is narrowly focused on an important mission: to change the face of the drinks industry, one intern at a time. While we still have so much work to do—particularly within the communities that have been most marginalized historically—we are beginning to see a shift in drinks. Our 2023 Board of Directors is proof that our industry continues to move in the right direction.”

Following these elections, the ACSA Board of Directors will also be appointing leadership to its governing committees. Those committees include Membership, Ethics, Convention, Education, Elections,  Safety, ACSA PAC, Mentorship, Judging, Government Affairs, State Guilds, Technology, Finance, DtC and Development.

The 2023 Board of Directors, representing the craft spirits industry nationwide, is comprised of the following individuals:

EAST
Becky Harris, Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. (VA) *re-elected 
Jessica J. Lemmon, Cart/Horse Distilling (PA)
Tom Potter, New York Distilling Co. (NY)
Colin Spoelman, Kings County Distillery (NY) *newly elected
Jaime Windon, Windon Distilling Co. (MD) *newly elected

CENTRAL & MOUNTAIN
Alex Castle, Old Dominick Distillery (TN) *newly elected
Gina Holman, J.Carver Distillery (MN)
Colin Keegan, Santa Fe Spirits (NM) 
Amber Pollock, Backwards Distilling Co. (WY)
Mark A. Vierthaler, Whiskey Del Bac (AZ) 
Thomas Williams, Delta Dirt Distillery (AR) *newly elected

PACIFIC
Lucy Farber, St. George Spirits (CA)
Jake Holshue, Spirit Works Distillery (CA)
Jeff Kanof, Copperworks Distilling Co. (WA)
Kelly Woodcock, Westward Whiskey (OR)

EX OFFICIO 
Thomas Jensen, New Liberty Distillery (PA)

The national digital election was administered over the past month with the help of the Election’s Chair, Renee Bemis, Driftless Glen Distillery (WI) and Jeff Wuslich, Cardinal Spirits (IN).  

About ACSA

The American Craft Spirits Association is the only national registered nonprofit trade association representing the U.S. craft spirits industry. Its mission is to elevate and advocate for the community of craft spirits producers, and membership in ACSA is open to anyone.  

ACSA is governed by a Board of Directors elected by the eligible voting members of the Association. Voting members must be independent licensed distillers (DSPs) annually removing fewer than 750,000 proof gallons from bond (the amount on which a Federal Excise Tax is paid.)  For information about ACSA, call 202-669-3661.

KEVIN ATTICKS TRANSITIONS TO ROLE AS MARYLAND’S SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kevin Atticks Transitions To Role As Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture

(ANNAPOLIS, MD) – Grow & Fortify founder & CEO, Kevin Atticks, has announced his departure from the company to accept a new role as Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture. Appointed by Governor-elect Wes Moore, Atticks joins an administration aiming to create a more competitive Maryland, cure child poverty, and accelerate our green economy and protect our environment.

“With a competitive agricultural industry, we can support every aspect of the new administration’s mission,” says Atticks, who believes the increasingly diverse industry plays an integral role in the Moore-Miller administration’s priorities. “We need to expand our agricultural base, provide farmers with new opportunities to grow profit, and educate our citizens about the incredible products grown and produced locally.”

For more than two decades, Atticks has worked on behalf of local wineries and grape growers while promoting and advocating for Maryland’s wine industry. In 2015, Atticks founded Grow & Fortify to strengthen the state’s broader craft alcohol industry and support burgeoning value-added agriculture businesses.

In his role as the Executive Director of the Brewers Association of Maryland, the Maryland Distillers Guild and the Maryland Wineries Association, Atticks successfully advocated for legislation that changed the business landscape of Maryland’s alcohol industry. Examples of these successes include wine sales at wineries, self-distribution and direct shipping at local wineries, the legalization of on-premise sale and consumption of beer at local breweries, and the ability for a local distillery to prepare and sell cocktails in their retail spaces. Additionally, in 2018, Atticks led the effort that modernized Maryland’s beer franchise laws and helped to balance the rights of local breweries committed to in-state wholesale agreements.

“Kevin has served the Brewers Association of Maryland effectively,” said Brett Snyder, president of the Brewers Association of Maryland and co-founder of Waredaca Brewing Co. “He oversaw tremendous growth in all aspects of the brewing scene in the state. We sincerely thank him for his commitment and offer our best wishes on joining the Governor’s cabinet.”

“Kevin saw the benefits distilleries could bring to Maryland through tourism and agriculture, long before anyone else. Since then, he has provided outstanding leadership and guidance to our distiller’s community through his dedication and voice of reason,” says Brian Treacy, president of Sagamore Spirit and the Maryland Distillers Guild.

Grow & Fortify published the first assessment of the state’s value-added agricultural industry, illustrating the expansive impact generated by this previously unheralded sector. Wineries, creameries, meat processing, agritourism, equine and dozens of other industry segments yield 74,000 jobs and bring a total economic impact of over $20.6 billion annually to the state’s economy. This level of economic activity, in turn, adds nearly $875 million to the State’s fiscal resources.

Originally from Bowie, Atticks graduated with a journalism degree from Loyola University Maryland. Shortly thereafter, Atticks received a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. Atticks later earned his doctorate in communications design from University of Baltimore. He holds a faculty position at Loyola University Maryland where he teaches book publishing.

Grow & Fortify will carry on managing the state’s three craft alcohol trade associations. Effective immediately, Janna Howley assumes the role of acting CEO at Grow & Fortify. The responsibilities of outreach and role of the Executive Director for the Brewers Association of Maryland, the Maryland Distillers Guild and the Maryland Wineries Association will be carried out by Kelly Dudeck. 

“I am honored and humbled to step into this role,” says Howley. “My goal is to provide a solid bridge between the important work that Kevin has done to date and the many opportunities we see on the horizon for craft alcohol and value-added agriculture. It’s a bright future and I feel privileged to lead such a strong team.”

For more information about Grow & Fortify and the work it does in the craft alcohol and value-added agriculture industries, please visit the Grow & Fortify website.

ABOUT GROW & FORTIFY

Grow & Fortify is built to support value-added agricultural organizations and the businesses they represent. We’ve gathered a team of professionals to support agricultural startups and ensure the financial viability of our land, and ultimately, our community.

Grow & Fortify is retained to represent and manage the Brewers Association of Maryland, the Maryland Distillers Guild, and the Maryland Wineries Association.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER IS THE FIFTH-ANNUAL OBSERVANCE OF MARYLAND SPIRITS MONTH

Celebrating local distilleries and their products all month long.

(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) – Shaken or stirred, every great cocktail starts with an exceptional spirit. Rums, gins and rye whiskeys are just a few examples of locally distilled spirits being produced by distilleries in Maryland. This November marks the fifth annual celebration of Maryland Spirits Month and recognizes the growth and impact of the state’s modern distilling industry.

“This year’s Maryland Spirits Month is a milestone – five years,” says Maryland Distillers Guild’s executive director, Kevin Atticks. “This industry is forging a new legacy for spirits produced in the state. There is a lot to acknowledge and celebrate.”

Residents and tourists are encouraged to take part in Maryland Spirits Month celebrations throughout the month. Distilleries and spirits retailers are hosting events and offering promotions focused on growing consumer engagement. From in-store tastings of local products to unique educational activities, this month features great opportunities to experience Maryland-made spirits.

“Recognizing November as Maryland Spirits Month provides Marylanders with an opportunity to support this great industry and the small business community responsible for the resurgence of crafting delicious spirits in the Free State,” said Jim Bauckman, director of communications at the Maryland Distillers Guild.

Distilling in Maryland has historically significant roots, dating back to the early days of America’s colonies. While the state’s distilleries were historically known for producing rye whiskey, Maryland’s modern distilleries craft dozens of varieties of spirits and liqueurs. Rye whiskey remains a popular offering and local producers are gaining attention for a growing number of award-winning products, including bourbons, gins, rums, and vodkas. 

Today, more than 40 operating and in-planning distilleries represent an industry responsible for nearly $200 million in economic impact for the state. The Maryland Craft Beverages app includes an up-to-date directory and a passport that consumers can use to track their visits to these establishments. For the 2022 celebration of Maryland Spirits Month, app users will be able to collect a unique digital badge for visiting and stamping their passports at 10 locations.

A full list of distilleries, a calendar of Maryland Spirits Month activities, and details about the Spirits of Collaboration project can be found by visiting the details page located at marylandspirits.org. The Maryland Craft Beverages app is available for Android and iOS devices and includes a directory of the state’s distilleries.

About the Maryland Distillers Guild

Members of the Maryland Distillers Guild are a community of craft producers, dedicated to developing quality spirits and delivering a dynamic experience for visitors. We invite you to tour our distilleries, learn about our distilling processes, and sample locally-crafted spirits. Cheers to a rich heritage and spirited future!

The Maryland Distillers Guild can be followed on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Information about the Maryland Distillers Guild is updated at marylandspirits.org.

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