RRForum 7th National Conference

April 21-22, 2009. Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA

The 7th RRForum was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 21-22, 2009 at the Hotel Monteleone, located on the world famous Royal Street at the gateway to the French Quarter and New Orleans, just a block from the sights and sounds of Bourbon Street and world famous Canal Street. The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control served as host and sponsor for the national meeting.

The 7th national RRForum meeting focus upon three issues:

• Best Practices for Alcohol Beverage Establishments. A report on effective RR practices for off-premise licensees, developed by RRForum for the Federal Trade Commission‘s WEDONTSERVETEENS web site, is currently being expanded by RRForum and the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association to address the specific challenges of on-premise serving establishments. The meeting will present  practices and policies for RR identified in a national survey of retailers, regulators and 3rd party training providers and will begin a discussion of how retailers, regulators and law enforcement can employ these Best Practices.
• RR Systems Project. A new model of RR, based upon assisting licensees to identify and implement practices for checking IDs and refusing unlawful sales, has shown significant improvement over an enforcement-only approach. The meeting will present the findings and lessons from recent community pilot projects and examine potential strategies to examine system-level implementation and effectiveness in partnership with state alcohol regulators.
• Changing Retailer Environment.  With a transition in some market segments from corporate-owned and operated stores to franchisees, the meeting will address how can national chains can monitor and sustain RR conduct by their distributors and franchises.