For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 26, 2015
The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control (DLC) has termed its most recent free Alcohol Law Education and Regulatory Training (ALERT) class for Latino business owners who serve or sell alcohol a “huge success.” The class, held on February 23 at the Silver Spring Civic Building was designed to help curb sales of alcohol to those under 21 years of age.
“Local liquor control has served Montgomery County well and programs like this are a perfect example,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett. “Local liquor control provides an annual $30 million profit to the County. That keeps our money working here in the County to support our schools, public safety, and transportation – and to keep taxes down.
“Our system makes it harder for underage individuals to purchase alcohol and provides more education for the public and for servers,” Leggett said. “The federal Centers for Disease Control have concluded that local liquor control jurisdictions such as ours are the very best way to protect public health.
“Congratulations to DLC staff for another highly successful effort to educate business owners in the County in an effort to curb sales of alcohol to minors.”
“We are excited to see so many businesses attending the latest ALERT class,” said DLC Division Chief Kathie Durbin. “Acting as a resource to our small, minority-owned businesses is a priority for us at Liquor Control.”
The ALERT program was developed in 2006 by the DLC and since then has become a national model. Designed to educate servers, sellers, managers and owners of licensed County businesses in alcohol beverage regulatory compliance, the training program is offered to current County businesses or potential licensees. Participants learn how to develop responsible alcohol policies and review issues identified by County and State enforcement agencies. Last year, more than 850 County license holders and their staffs were trained by DLC’s Licensure, Regulation and Education Division.
For more information, or to register for the upcoming spring Spanish ALERT class, call Adela Kline, 240-777-1987 or email dlc@montgomeryountymd.gov.
Release ID: 15-083