Brown-Forman Recognized for Social Responsibility in LCBO 2016 Elsie Awards

LCBO honoured its suppliers and their agents for innovation, creativity and commitment to customer service and social responsibility at the Elsie Awards held in Toronto on June 15th. The Elsies, a play on LCBO, is an annual industry awards program.

“This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the Elsie Awards, providing the LCBO the opportunity to honour its trade partners for their innovation, focus on customer service and support,” said Carolyn O’Grady Gold, LCBO Director of Wines and Co-Chair of the Elsie Awards. “While all of LCBO’s trade partners contribute to our success, the Elsie Awards give us the opportunity to recognize those who have set themselves apart by going above and beyond to deliver excellence.”

Twenty-eight awards were handed out, including agents/suppliers of the year, best new product launches, best gift item, best special event, excellence in marketing of Ontario VQA wines and best FOOD & DRINK ad. Excellence in social responsibility and environmental commitment were also singled out for recognition. For a complete list of award recipients, see below.

Three Agents/Suppliers of the Year Awards were handed out to recognize the success of large (Imperial), medium (Double Magnum) and small (Magnum) companies. These coveted awards went to Labatt Breweries of Canada (Imperial), Canada Dry Mott’s Inc. (Double Magnum), and Connexion Oenophilia (Magnum).

“We are pleased to present Connexion Oenophilia with the Agent/Supplier of the Year (Magnum) Award,” said LCBO president & CEO George Soleas. “Featuring a wide assortment of products from smaller independent producers, Connexion Oenophilia enables the LCBO to provide unique and special products to our customers.”

The 2016 Social Responsibility Award went to Brown-Forman Corporation, recognizing the company’s long-standing commitment to promotion of responsible consumption, giving back to the community, and involvement in a broad range of local and global environmental sustainability programs.

The prestigious Special Recognition award was presented to wine reviewer Gord Stimmell. Throughout his 35 years of writing he travelled extensively across the globe interviewing winemakers and producers.  His columns contributed to the expansion of the public knowledge of wines and earned a faithful following of readers from around the world.

Original Article available here: http://www.lcbo.com/content/lcbo/en/corporate-pages/about/media-centre/news/2016-06-16.html