Message from the Chairman

Chairman Steve LytleWhat a great honor it was to stand before America’s beer distributors at our 2011 Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas as the incoming Chairman of the Board! As I said at the time, I’m looking forward to being part of a team that will continue to focus our attention on why, how and what the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) does on behalf of the beer industry and America’s beer distributors.

Twenty-one years ago, I walked through the doors of our family's distributorship and started my career in the beer business. Before coming in full time I had worked summers and weekends in the business and already had a sense of the great, hard work that our teammates did every day. It wasn’t long, however, before I came to see that the real work for me was rooted in being a good steward of the legacy that was created long before I ever set foot in the warehouse.

While beer distributors work hard to run the day-to-day affairs of their businesses in every market across the country, it’s also vital for us to communicate the significant social and commercial value that we provide. That’s why a key goal for our Association in the coming year is to better explain and communicate the social AND commercial value that beer distributors and the three-tier system provide to our partners, customers and communities. The 98,000 men and women who make up the beer distribution industry need NBWA to make clear and compelling statements about the economic value of the system and the brand building, value-adding distributors that support it.

NBWA will continue to address the many challenges facing the three-tier system and despite those challenges, I am confident that our industry’s ongoing evolution, transition and growth will continue.

Again, I look forward to being part of a great team of people including volunteers, professional staff and the engaged members of NBWA, who are 100 percent dedicated to ensuring that all of us -- an industry made up of three distinct tiers -- can look forward to a bright future in this fantastic American beer business.

Sincerely,

Steve Lytle

Chair, NBWA Board of Directors