MABWA President's Message

Hello MABWA Members,

May 3rd-5th, the 2007 MABWA Annual Convention was held at the South Shore Harbour Resort just outside of Houston. A nice time was had by all and a good deal of useful information was shared.

At the Board Meeting on Thursday, we welcomed Dr. Allen Leff of Primo Water Corporation to his first meeting on the Board of Directors.

The Board planned a plant-tour event to be held on-site at the Ozarka Water and Coffee Service facility in Oklahoma City on Friday August 24th, 2007.

Steve Raupe is inviting all MABWA members to come and tour their facility. He and others in the plant will be present to discuss their bottled water and coffee operations with guests. There will be no charge for the event. It's an added benefit of being a member of the oldest bottled water association in the country. The Oklahoma Redhawks, the Texas Rangers Triple A affiliate baseball team, will have games in OKC on Friday and Saturday. Plan to stay overnight and enjoy some baseball while you're in town.

Thursday's Board Meeting was adjourned in time for the golfers to make their way to the South Shore Country Club for the annual MABWA Golf Tournament.

A small but excited group traveled to NASA for a tour.

Thursday evening, a reception was held to welcome more members as they arrived at the resort. I would like to once again, thank our MABWA sponsors:

• AMAC Water Products
• CCDA Waters
• Crystal Mountain Products, Ltd.
• Crystal Springs Bottled Water Company
• Nestle Waters, N.A
• Ozarka Water and Coffee Service

Friday morning, Bob Hirst of IBWA presented an Educational Seminar concerning many issues facing the bottled water industry. He reported that IBWA representatives are staying in touch with FDA and USEPA to stay abreast of upcoming issues. A significant amount of time was spent educating our attendees about the USEPA Ground Water Rule. To help promote uniform implementation across the United States, the IBWA and its Ground Water Rule Task Force are developing a proposal to the FDA that would provide equal public health protection.

Four Workshops were held Friday afternoon.

In the first session, Laura Current of Current Technologies presented a workshop on Taste and Odor problems that can arise in the production of bottled water.

Of particular interest was the circumstance where bottles can pick up taste and odor contamination from substances without actually coming into contact with them.

An example Laura used was a shipment of bottles that arrived at the bottling plant in a trailer that also contained a pallet of broken ketchup bottles. The scent in the trailer was immediately noticeable. The bottler wisely did not accept the shipment because that scent can infiltrate the bottles and cause a foreign taste in the bottled water product. In the second workshop, the Technical Director of MABWA, Cynthia Herold of Nestle Waters enlightened attendees on Bottled Water Hygiene in bottling plants. She covered many areas including good warehouse practises, zoning, cleaning and disinfecting.

Next, John Cooke of True Integrations, demonstrated Bottle Washing techniques using a video created at True Integrations to show the effects of assorted spray nozzles and the different positioning of the nozzles and the bottles being washed. A variety of nozzles were passed around for participants to analyze.

The fourth workshop was a Sales and Marketing Roundtable Discussion, facilitated by Bob Janet, a Speaker - Consultant/Trainer - Author. There was good participation from the group. Many sales ideas were raised and examined.

At the Annual MABWA "Trade Show" Friday evening, twenty-two exhibitors were present to show their wares. The event was well attended by MABWA conventioneers.

At the Annual Banquet Friday night, prizes were awarded to the Golf Tournament winners and three $100 door prizes were given to three lucky people who attended the Trade Show and had their sheet signed by all the vendors. Tip for next year: Remember to put your name on the form before turning it in! There were at least five lucky entries drawn that didn't have the registrant's name on them.

At the Convention General Session Saturday morning, Dr. Alan Leff gave a presentation called "Private Label: Are You Missing Out". Following that, Brian Rose covered "Profit and Loss - Ways to Save $$$". Next, Joe Doss presented an IBWA update. All followed by the Keynote Address on "Sales Strategies" which was given by Mr. Bob Janet.

During the session the membership adapted amendments to MABWA Bylaws and elected the following Officers & Directors for the 2007-2009 term:

• President - Bill Parrish, All-Wet Water Company
• Vice-President - Scott Dunlap, Nestle Waters of North America
• Sec/Treasurer - Brian Rose, Water Event First
• Past President - Roy Parsons, Custom Label Water, Inc.
• Director - John Cooke, Amphion, Inc.
• Director - John Ewing, Coca-Cola North America Director - Steve Taylor, Mountain Valley Water Co.

Another value added event, a MABWA "Mid-Year Educational Seminar" will be held at Nestle Headquarters in Coppell, Tx this fall on the day of the MABWA Committee and Board of Directors Meeting. All members are invited to attend, and there will be no charge. Watch for coming details and watch for the first issue of our MABWA E-Newsletter!

Yours sincerely,

Bill Parrish
MABWA President

 

March 15, 2007

Dear MABWA Members:

I hope everyone is ready for spring and summer and looking forward to a great bottled water season. Speaking of great, we are gearing up for a great 2007 MABWA Annual Convention & Trade Show.

This year's important industry event hosted by MABWA will be held May 3-5, 2007 at the South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center, League City, TX. This is a wonderful location located just outside Houston (nearest airport is Hobby Airport) on the Bay. Thanks to our MABWA Programs & Forums Committee, we have a fantastic educational and networking program in place including a 4-hour Seminar on the newest information you need to know presented by Bob Hirst with IBWA, three workshops, a round table discussion and the General Session. Our featured keynote speaker for 2007 is noted and respected Sales and Marketing guru Bob Janet who really knows his business. He has been hailed by IBWA and SABWA alike for past performances to their groups. I really am looking forward to hearing and learning from Bob Janet! Be sure to review all the program and event details posted to the home page of this website and reserve your place at South Shore Harbour before the deadline and register with MABWA.

We are excited about the 2007 at MABWA!
The 2007 MABWA membership renewal and new members campaign has been very successful. We take this to mean that there are a lot of bottlers, distributors and suppliers within our industry that see value in our organization and want to work together under the MABWA banner to make not only their businesses better, but to strengthen the industry at large as well.

We will debut our new MABWA E-Newsletter in mid-April. The MABWA Member E- Newsletter will come to you quarterly and will be filled with industry and product information as well as member information and news. Be sure to watch for your issue and submit your news for publication. We want to cover and promote your company and products before the entire membership.

The 2007 MABWA Committees are set with their goals and objectives for the year. If you want to be involved at the grass roots level, this is a perfect place to start. The 2007 MABWA Committees include: Membership Development; Government Relations; Programs & Forums; and Technical. I encourage you to join a committee and you can do so by calling MABWA at 512.894.4106 and our staff will be glad to assist you in getting signed up.

MABWA will unveil our 2007 MABWA Technical Manual titled "Practical Hygiene" at the 2007 MABWA Annual Convention. All MABWA members will receive a copy of this important and value-added manual. Thanks Cynthia Herold and her Technical Committee for a great job.

This is just a few of the exciting things that are going on at MABWA. If you are a member, good and thank you. If you are not currently a member, but are considering MABWA membership, please review some but not all of the benefits to MABWA membership on this website by clicking on "Membership Information". Then, contact us by responding via email from our website, or calling the MABWA office at 512.894.4106. We are here to help you be the best you can be in the bottled water industry.

Thank you and see you at the South Shore Harbour Resort in League City May 3-5th!

Best regards,
Roy Parsons
MABWA President

 

 

Dear MABWA Members:

I hope all of you enjoyed the 2004 Joint SEBWA & TBWA (now MABWA or Mid-America Bottled Water Association) as much as I did. This first-time event was such a great success that I am still hearing comments about how good it was and how valuable the educational sessions were for those who attended. Having served on the MABWA Board and other similar boards within our industry over the years, I can say that this is the very outcome that we always wish for. I assure you that the leaders of MABWA work hard to put together a program that will be meaningful and value-added. Thank you again to everyone who attended and if you did not…be sure you don't miss the next one!

Speaking of the next convention, both the MABWA and the SEBWA Boards and Program and Forums Committees are working hard to finalize the dates, location, and the educational portion of the 2005 Convention and Trade Show. Both groups agreed after the last convention that they would like to once again join together in hosting the 2005 meeting, and a final decision should be made at the September 24th MABWA Board Meeting. Be sure to watch for coming bulletins and the announcements on the MABWA website.

The other important educational offering that MABWA offers its members and the industry at large each year is its Mid-Year Educational Seminars. These are scheduled to take place in Dallas at the Nestle Offices (just as they did last year) on November 3, 2004. Watch for coming details of the 2004 MABWA Educational Seminar via email and regular mail in the next two weeks. Once again, there will not be a charge for this seminar and it will be a one-day event.

As we approach 2005, we have a lot of exciting things in store for MABWA members. If you are a new or relatively new member of our organization, please let us know if you would be interested in serving on a committee. We welcome you to any one of our standing committees which include: Membership Development; Government Relations; Programs and Forums; Technical; and Supplier. We are upon exciting times underscored with our new name, which is more descriptive of the bottlers, distributors, and suppliers that we represent.

Sincerely,

Scott Dunlap
MABWA President

Wow! Was that an excellent trade show and convention or what! I have not seen that type of turn out of new members, suppliers, and interaction in over ten years. Randy Snow's keynote speech was awesome, and if you missed it, you truly missed one of the most inspirational and emotional messages that touched so many. I haven't seen a keynote speaker such as this in a long time. As I've stated in my past messages, this is an "Era of Change" and our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing industry relies on our ability to redefine ourselves. Our membership has evolved and has grown out of the singular state recognition of the TBWA – A Regional Bottled Water Association in to a true regional association. The Board of Directors is committed to the growth and longevity of our association. That is why back in November the Board voted to present to the membership a proposed name change of the association to the Mid-America Bottled Water Association, to better represent the diversity in membership and growth of the association. We want bottler members and suppliers to know the value and the benefit of belonging to an association that is committed to our industries growth, education, and regulatory endeavors. Now the membership has voted, and we are indeed the Mid American Bottled Water Association.

As President of your association, my goals and vision for the association has been to rejuvenate and sustain our organization for to the future so that we can continue to be recognized as leaders for the industry by providing creative and value-added membership benefits, services, and education. For my second year, I want to put my focus once again on education and membership benefits. Last year we hosted three powerful workshops at no charge to our membership. Just to remind you of the topics covered were, Change Management; Point of Use (POU) Sales (Introduction, Implementation, Installation, and Increasing Sales); and Adding Coffee Rental Sales to Your Bottled Line. We had an excellent turn out for these workshops, and we are planning to offer this again in 2004 as a benefit of membership. The joint convention and trade show was such a huge success for everyone that we are already planning to have another one in 2005.

In closing, I am looking forward to another productive year with many great things in store for you.

Scott Dunlap

MABWA President

As President, my concept for the next two years is all about a 'New Era of Change'. I stated in my last message that the challenge for the TBWA is going to be our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing industry. The TBWA, once the American Bottled Water Association (ABWA), is the original and oldest Bottled Water Association within our industry. The Board of Directors is committed to redefining the Association's identity to be more inclusive and representative of a regional association. We are focused on membership benefits, services and changing the way we have traditionally provided education.

In our most recent Board of Directors Meeting, the topic of a name change surfaced again. Our Board of Directors is very committed to the excellence and growth of this Association, therefore, we set our expectations high. Initially, our enthusiasm may have gotten ahead of us regarding the name change. Our goal is to settle on a name that better defines us as a regional association inclusive of the thirteen states that comprise the Association. After much deliberation the Board will propose to the membership that the name "TBWA - A Regional Bottled Water Association" be changed to "Mid-America Bottled Water Association". We feel strongly that this name will assist us in achieving our future goals as a strong regional association. The final approval must come from you, the membership, in a vote at the annual convention in 2004.

I mentioned earlier that we are focused on a two-year strategic planning process regarding membership benefits such as education. On November 6 & 7, 2003, we hosted our first educational workshop. On November 6th, we hosted a special seminar on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) new proposed bioterrorism regulations, which was presented by Patrick Donoho, director of government affairs for the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA). This was an excellent presentation covering the facility registration requirements with the FDA that MUST be completed no later than December 12, 2003. Online registration can be accomplished by going to http://www.access.fda.gov/. On November 7th, we held three free powerful workshops covering three important topics: Change Management; Point of Use (POU) Sales (Introduction, Implementation, Installation, and Increasing Sales); and Adding Coffee Rental Sales to Your Bottled Line. We had an excellent turn out for these workshops and we plan to offer more in the future as a benefit to our membership.

In closing I would also like to remind everyone to mark your calendars for the first-ever joint TBWA & SEBWA 2004 Convention and Tradeshow entitled "Building the Future with Action and Vision", April 1- 3, 2004, at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi. We have put together an excellent agenda packed with educational workshops and industry round table discussions. We have contracted an excellent keynote speaker with a valuable message not to be missed. You will not want to miss this show. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

Scott Dunlap
TBWA President
Nestle Waters of North America
1332 Crestside Drive #100
Coppell, TX 75019
972.462.3651
Email: sdunlap@perriergroup.com