July 2019 | Biz Buzz

Biz Buzz

Buzz from Corporate

→ Every Friday we salute an Associate who demonstrates our core values by posting his or her photo and background on Heidelberg’s social media channels Facebook and Twitter. Congratulations to these Associates who were featured in June:
June 7: Matt Fetters, Columbus – Operations
June 14: Jill Kinzel, Cleveland – Sales Professional
June 21: Steve Gelhot, Corporate/Ohio Valley – Supply Chain Beer & Wine
June 28: Brian Sierra, Youngstown – Driver

→ Welcome to the IT department Daniel Fry, who recently joined the company as a technical analyst in Toledo.

→ The pricing department welcomes Lori Johnson, who is transitioning from the Dayton admin team to chain pricing specialist, and Austin Gamel, who joins the team July 1 as pricing and item coordinator.

→ PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE e-blasts in June celebrated beer, wine and spirits produced in Ohio, in conjunction with Ohio Wine Month. The July products will be “Spirited Summer Cocktails.”

GREG MAURER REPRESENTED HEIDELBERG AT THE WINE & SPIRITS WHOLESALERS OF AMERICA (WSWA) “FLY-IN” IN JUNE, WHERE HE AND STAFF MEMBERS FROM WBWAO VISITED 12 CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES IN WASHINGTON D.C. HERE HE IS WITH DAVE RABER (WBWAO), FIRST-TERM OHIO CONGRESSMAN ANTHONY GONZALEZ AND JACOB EVANS, WBWAO. CONGRESSMAN GONZALEZ’S GRANDPARENTS FLED CUBA IN 1960 UNDER THREAT OF EXECUTION FROM THE CASTRO REGIME. HE REPRESENTS CONSTITUENTS IN ROCKY RIVER IN NORTHEAST OHIO.

Buzz From Lorain

→ Wine Sales Professional of the month for May: First place was Matt Webb with a 25% increase; and runner up was Jenna Kreger with 21% increase.

→ Lorain’s Friday night “Rockin on the River” music series kicked off on May 24 on the banks of the Black River. Popular “tribute bands” will play through September 6 with Heidelberg beers front and center! A special “Disco Inferno” tribute is August 9, when Lorain’s Admin team gets together and dances the night away. If you’re headed to the Lorain area, check out the music lineup at www.rockinontheriver.com.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF MAY “MEET AND GREET” WITH BAND SPAZMATICS (FAR LEFT) TYLER KEITH, BEER EVENT SPECIALIST; (THIRD FROM LEFT) JOHN OSWALT, BEER DISTRICT MANAGER AND (FAR RIGHT) IAN HUSK, BEER GSM.

TEAM LORAIN ATTENDED A QUALITY CONTROL MEETING AT GREAT LAKES BREWING IN CLEVELAND IN JUNE.

SANDUSKY’S ANNUAL BIKE WEEK MAY 24-JUNE 2 WAS ANOTHER HUGE SUCCESS WITH THOUSANDS OF RIDERS COMING FROM NEAR AND FAR TO PARTY AND ENJOY MUSIC, FOOD AND DRINK! LEFT-TO-RIGHT: ON PREMISE BEER SALES SUPPORT CHELSEA SIMON; BEER SALES SUPPORT ZACHARY TWIGG; SALES PROFESSIONAL ERIC BLANCHETTE; WINE DISTRICT MANAGER TY REER; AND SALES PROFESSIONAL PAM ASHLEY.

Buzz From Ohio Valley

OHIO VALLEY ASSOCIATES ENJOYED THEIR ANNUAL CELEBRATION ON JUNE 12.

Buzz From Cleveland

→ Over 250 attendees enjoyed a wine tasting on June 1 at the Holden Arboretum, the second largest Arboretum in the country. Teresa Budinsky from Treasury kicked off the event with a Terroir Seminar for Beringer Vineyard. The event featured all Heidelberg wines. Kudos to event organizers Director of Customer Trade Development Ken Aquila; district sales manager Erich Stalzer; on premise manager Steve Tyree; and customer development manager John Karuk Jr.

→ Martini Flight Night: Customer development manager/Spirits Dan Kaszar and sales professional Anna Weigel recently hosted a Martini Flight Night at JoJo Carloni’s serving up some hand crafted cocktails. They also featured several items from our spirits portfolio including Western Reserve, Uncle Val’s, Tres Agaves and George Remus.

→ Great American Rosé Road Trip with Charles Bieler: 20 years ago, Charles Bieler bought a 1966 Cadillac DeVille convertible, painted it pink and drove it across the country to sell Rosé. In honor of the 20^th Anniversary Tour, Charles hopped in his Cadillac DeVille and stopped in Northeast Ohio. On June 1, Hienen’s Chagrin Falls hosted a meet and greet with Mr. Bieler. Shortly after his stop in Northeast Ohio, Mr. Bieler’s Cadillac caught fire while driving around in Detroit (no one was hurt); however, our photo is the last group picture with the famous Caddy before the fire.

FRONT ROW LEFT-TO-RIGHT: ON PREMISE MANAGER STEVE TYREE; VP SALES & MARKETING KEVIN MCNAMARA; AND WINEMAKER CHARLES BIELER. BACK ROW LEFT-TO-RIGHT: CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT MANAGER/SPIRITS AMBASSADOR DAN KASZAR; DISTRICT MANAGER RICHARD KAISER: DISTRICT MANAGER JOHN WILLIAMS JR.; FIELD SALES MANAGER SCOTT TURMAN; ON PREMISE MANAGER ERIC VAN SANT; CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT MANAGER MIKE MCKENNEY; FINE WINE SPECIALIST AMY CONGROVE; CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JOHN KANUK JR.; AND GENERAL SALES MANAGER RONALD UTTERBACK.

Buzz From Kentucky

TEAM KENTUCKY GATHERS AT THEIR 2019 CELEBRATION ON JUNE 7

Buzz From Wine Trends

→ Wine Trends recently began representing the Niven Family wines including brands Tangent, True Myth and Baileyana. The Nivens are pioneers of California’s Edna Valley AVA.

→ Wine Trends recently was recognized nationally for achieving a six-month sales objective with Sonoma winery Gundlach Bundschu. Dan Rapata, Director of Marketing and Sales, will attend a celebration with the Bundschu family and other winners from around the country.

→ Wine Trends has acquired a new brand out of Napa Valley called ACCENDO CELLARS. The owners are Bart and Daphne Araujo, who owned the famous estate once known as Araujo ‘Eisele Vineyard’ before selling it to Chateau Latour. They are true icons in Napa Valley and we are thrilled to represent their new project in Ohio!

Buzz From Cincinnati

→ The Cincinnati Chapter of Victor’s Pride hosted a festive Spirit Week during the first week of June. Dress-up themes included Heidelberg Day, Decades Day, Party in the USA Day, Sports Game Day and Beach Party Day. Games, prizes and raffles made the week an interactive time for Associates to get to know one another. The week of fun concluded with a Dip-Off Cooking contest! Nineteen Associates brought in hot, cold and dessert dips to compete for First, Second and Third place. The Victor’s Pride team thanks the enthusiastic participation of Cincinnati leadership Al Vontz III and Albert Vontz IV. Click here to view all of the photos from Spirit Week!

BEACH PARTY DAY BROUGHT SUNSHINE TO THE CINCINNATI OFFICE! LEFT-TO-RIGHT, FRONT ROW: KELLY FINE, JAZZ MCMULLEN, ANNA FLORKEY, BARBARA STINDT, NICOLE DONAHUE, ANDY THOMAS, JENNIFER WALLACE, PATRICIA ROBISCH AND MARY BETH BRACKMANN. SECOND ROW: JOEY MILAZZO, RAGENE DURBIN, DIANE ELLISON, KIM UNGERBUEHLER, ELAINE PICKERAL, DENNIS COOK AND VONDA KELLUM. THIRD ROW: NANCY KORDENBROCK AND TOM MCNALLY.

FIRST PLACE WINNER IN OUR DIP CONTEST WAS CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE JAZZ MCMULLEN, WHO WON THE CONTEST WITH HIS “HANKY POLLO” DIP. SECOND PLACE BELONGS TO FIELD SALES MANAGER SCOTT ZEBICK, WHO MADE “NEW MEXICO QUESO” DIP. THIRD PLACE WAS AWARDED TO CHAIN PRICING LEAD JENNIFER WALLACE, WHO WON WITH HER FAMILY’S FAMOUS “TACO DIP” RECIPE!