Southern Wine & Spirits of America Proudly Announces Michael Kuhn and Beth Bollnow Achieving ASTD “Master Trainer” Designation

MIAMI--()--Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern), the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor with operations in 35 states, announced today that two of its regional trainers within the company’s Organizational Development and Training Department achieved the coveted designation as Master Trainers from the prestigious American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), according to Executive Vice President, General Manager Brad Vassar.

Vassar announced, “Southern’s Michael Kuhn, Southeast Regional Training Manager based in South Carolina, and Beth Bollnow, Midwest Regional Training Manager based in Kentucky, each received the coveted ‘Master Trainer’ designation in a recent ceremony held in New York by ASTD.” He added, “This accomplishment is of strategic importance to our talent management priority since it will help us to continue to enhance our marketplace execution for suppliers and customers alike.”

Mary Barranco, Southern’s Vice President, National Director of Training, noted, “On behalf of the entire Organizational Development and Training Department, we are extremely proud of Beth and Michael. Their achievement—as well as our broader corporate goal of advancing all our Training Managers to achieve this level of ASTD Master Trainer excellence—is reflective of Southern’s continuing drive to foster, enhance and deepen employee development and core education for all of the over 14,000 team members at Southern.” Barranco also relayed, “Other Southern trainers are actively pursuing and will complete this program as well.”

In congratulating the two regional training managers, Andrew Harman, Senior Vice President, Organizational Development, added, “We are very proud to recognize Beth and Michael. This increased level of professional accomplishment in training and development is a central strategic priority for Southern, and provides a clear pathway for other Southern trainers and managers to follow. This ASTD training will also continue to enhance the educational excellence and outreach for Southern’s core sales managers and teams—as it also reinforces our leadership development efforts and curriculum within and beyond Southern Wine & Spirits University for all our employees.”

The ASTD Master Trainer course covers the entire process of delivering training—including assessing training needs, preparing training curricula and materials, creating a positive learning environment, facilitating training courses and sessions, and evaluating learning. Founded in theory and focused on practice and application, the ASTD program develops the trainers’ professional capacity to deliver exceptional training, while supporting Southern Wine & Spirits corporate vision of employee development through education.

About Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor and broker with operations in 35 markets. The multi-state distributor currently operates in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. In addition, Southern operates in Minnesota through a joint venture with J.J. Taylor Distributing Company. Southern also holds operating licenses and permits in Nebraska and Texas. On a national basis, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. employs over 14,000 team members. Southern urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve and enjoy its products responsibly. For more information about Southern and its responsible consumption program, see: http://www.southernwine.com.

Contacts

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.
Lee Schrager, 305-625-4171 x 1040
Vice President, Corporate Communications

Contacts

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.
Lee Schrager, 305-625-4171 x 1040
Vice President, Corporate Communications