Members of the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association meet with House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) at the 2024 VBWA Day on the Hill on Feb. 8.

Virginia’s beer wholesalers descended on Richmond this week for their annual Day on the Hill. Most years, distributors advocate for or express their opposition to beer and beverage-related bills, but this time around, with no critical Alcoholic Beverage Control legislation under consideration, the day was about building relationships with lawmakers — and many of them freshmen.

Dozens of meetings included face-time with the newly elected House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), who affectionately called the 2024 General Assembly session “boring and efficient” — referencing a year where many of the bills aren’t as controversial as years’ past.

Instead, the feeling at the State Capitol is one of finding common ground, settling into a brand new General Assembly building, and getting to know 35 new delegates and 17 new senators. For distributors, that means education around the Three Tier System.

Hillary Pugh Kent talks to wholesalers at VBWA’s 2024 Day on the Hill.

Wholesalers began their morning at the nearby Hilton Richmond Downtown, where they heard remarks from their own Hillary Pugh Kent (R-Warsaw), the newly elected Northern Neck lawmaker who serves as vice president of her family’s beer distributorship, Al Pugh Distributing.

In her remarks, Pugh Kent drew seven comparisons between being a wholesaler to that of a legislator.

  1. It takes a team. Successful distributors require everyone — the receptionist, the accountant, the warehouse team, the sales team, and leadership. And “a delegate does not pass a bill alone,” said Pugh Kent, who serves in the minority Republican caucus. “I need lobbyists, I need constituents, I need delegates on both sides of the aisle to get things done.”
  2. If the tap you just got sold overnight, put the same beer back on tap. “Listen to the people. Listen to constituents. There’s something to be said for what’s working and what they’re saying,” she said.
  3. Understand your community. “We are all stewards of our industry. We’re all stewards of our community. It’s good to be a steward of your community, because they’re the ones that always get us to where we need to be.”
  4. Business is made up of inches and pennies. “Treat your safe and your money like your business depends on it, because it does,” said the lawmaker, who noted she serves on the House Finance committee.
  5. Make friends with everyone. “One day, the store clerk becomes the manager. One day, the delegate becomes the Speaker of the House,” she said, referencing Speaker Del. Scott, a VBWA friend who last year was a minority Democratic delegate and last month became the first Black Speaker of the House. “It’s important to make friends with everyone.”
  6. Be a salesman. “We have to sell our issues, we have to sell our brands, we have to sell our beliefs, we have to sell our goals, we have to sell our bills.”
  7. Know when to compete and when to come together and find common ground. “There are certain things where we are stronger together than we are singularly. If we can learn that in the General Assembly, then we can get some things done.”

Pugh Kent also noted that she gets hundreds of emails a day, saying it is impossible to know who the messages are from. Emails are merely tallied for support or opposition to a bill. “But I can tell you who was in my office yesterday. I can tell you who I shook hands with, I can tell you their name and what their issue was,” she said, reaffirming the importance of showing up in person to meet with lawmakers. ”

And with that, VBWA members visited the new General Assembly Building for four hours and visited more than 80 legislative offices, meeting with lawmakers, their aides, or dropping off a leave-behind with information about the wholesaler industry. Pugh Kent also introduced VBWA members in the House chamber during its noon session (see video).

And while distributors discussed the Three Tier System, the hottest topic of the morning was how much legislators loved — and even wanted for their own — members’ metal VBWA lapel pins, featuring a mug of foamy beer.

Wholesalers in attendance included:

  • Al Pugh Distributing Co.
  • Blue Ridge Beverage
  • Brown Distributing
  • Danville Distributing Co.
  • Hoffman Beverage Co.
  • Lawrence Distributing Co.
  • M. Price Distributing
  • P.A. Short Distributing Co.
  • Premium Distributors of Virginia
  • Specialty Beverage
  • Virginia Eagle Distributing
  • Virginia Imports
  • Wendell Distributing Co.

Photos from VBWA’s 2024 Day on the Hill

(Click on the photo to increase size)

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Del. Will Davis (R-Franklin) with Blue Ridge Beverage and Virginia Eagle.

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Del. Joseph McNamara (R-Roanoke) with P.A. Short Distributing Co. and Blue Ridge Beverage.

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Del. Israel O'Quinn (R-Bristol) with Blue Ridge Beverage.

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Del. Jed Arnold (R-Grayson) with Blue Ridge Beverage.

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Del. Jason Ballard (R-Radford) with Blue Ridge Beverage.

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Del. Michael Jones (D-Richmond) with members of Premium Distributors of Virginia.

IMG_3559 Joe White Large

Del. Chad Green (R-York) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and M. Price Distributing Co.

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Del. Danny Diggs (R-Yorktown) with M. Price Distributing Co and Premium Distributors of Virginia.

IMG_1289 Al Christian Large

Del. Scott Wyatt (R-Hanover) with Brown Distributing and Premium Distributors of Virginia.

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Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) with Brown Distributing and Premium Distributors of Virginia.

IMG_1296 Al Christian Large

Del. Delores Oates (R-Warren) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

IMG_1300 Al Christian (1) Large

Del. Paul Krizek (D-Alexandria) with Premium Distributors of Virginia, Virginia Imports, and Virginia Eagle.

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Del. Destiny Bolling (D-Richmond) with Brown Distributing.

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Del. Kathy K.L. Tran (D-Springfield) Premium Virginia, Virginia Imports, and Virginia Eagle.

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Del. Amanda Batten (R-Norge) with Brown Distributing and M. Price Distributing Co.

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Del. Bill DeSteph (R-Virginia Beach) with Hoffman Beverage Co. and Wendell Distributing Co.

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Del. Jay Leftwich (R-Chesapeake) with Hoffman Beverage Co. and Premium Distributors of Virginia/Chesbay.

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Del. Chris Obenshain (R-Montgomery) with P.A. Short Distributing, Blue Ridge Beverage, and Virginia Eagle.

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Sen. Chris Head (R-Roanoke) with P.A. Short Distributing, Blue Ridge Beverage, and Virginia Eagle.

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Del. Hillary Pugh Kent (R-Warsaw) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

Del. Bill Wiley (R-Winchester) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

Del. Chris Runion (R-Bridgewater) with Virginia Eagle and Blue Ridge Beverage.

Del. Adele McClure (D-Arlington) with Premium Distributors of Virginia, Virginia Eagle, and Virginia Imports.

Del. Terry Austin (R-Buchanan) with Blue Ridge Beverage, P.A. Short Distributing Co., and Virginia Eagle.

Sen. Tara Durant (R-Fredericksburg) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

Del. Josh Thomas (D-Prince William) with with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

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Sen. Timmy French (R-Woodstock) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

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Del. Michael Webert (R-Warrenton) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

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Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) with Blue Ridge Beverage and Virginia Eagle Distributing.

Amy Laufer (D)

Virginia Eagle Distributing and Blue Ridge Beverage with Del. Amy Laufer (D-Albemarle).

Barry Knight

Hoffman Beverage Co., Wendell Distributing Co., and Premium Distributors of Virginia with Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach).

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Danville Distributing, Blue Ridge Beverage, and Lawrence Distributing with Del. Eric Phillips (R-Henry) and Del. Danny Marshall (R-Danville), at left.

Tom Garrett

Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle with Del. Tom Garrett (R-Goochland).

Aaron Rouse

Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach) with Hoffman Beverage Co.

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Lawrence Distributing, Blue Ridge Beverage, and Danville Distributing with Sen. Tammy Mulchi (R-Mecklenberg).

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Hillary Pugh Kent (R-Warsaw), whose family operates Al Pugh Distributing, talks to wholesalers at VBWA's 2024 Day on the Hill.

Pugh Kent

Hillary Pugh Kent talks to wholesalers at VBWA's 2024 Day on the Hill.

Don Scott with VBWA

Members of the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association meet with House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) at the 2024 VBWA Day on the Hill on Feb. 8.

Sen. Christie New Craig (R-Virginia Beach) with Premium Distributors of Virginia/ChesBay and Hoffman Beverage Co.

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Members of the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association meet with House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) at the 2024 VBWA Day on the Hill on Feb. 8.

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Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock) with Blue Ridge Beverage, Virginia Eagle and Premium Distributors of Virginia.

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Del. Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church) with Premium Distributors of Virginia and Virginia Eagle.

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David Bulova (D-Fairfax) with Virginia Imports, Virginia Eagle, and Premium Distributors of Virginia.

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