December 31, 2008

Dear Friends:

It's New Year's Eve, the perennial time of reflection and goal setting for the upcoming year.

Our resolutions are to provide excellent customer service, expedite the licensing process, remove burdensome regulation, and streamline our processes. We’ve created a team dedicated to streamlining processes, and it is our goal to complete this project by next year.

Some of our goals include building on our past successes and raising the bar even higher. We are committed to combating unlicensed activity; deterring underage drinking by encouraging vendor responsibility and enforcing state laws; working with the Legislature to provide the best support possible to Florida’s businessmen and women; and continuing one-on-one meetings with licensees to gain feedback and insight into how we're doing.

We are committed to forming partnerships with government organizations, civic groups, industry associations and those we serve. Next week, I will be attending a press conference with football legend Joe Theismann to discuss "Tailgating Urging Responsibility and Fun," or "TURF." This partnership demonstrates how by working with industry members, Charmer Sunbelt, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, and The Brown-Forman Company, we can achieve a common mission to keep alcohol out of the hands of the underage and promote responsible alcohol consumption.

In addition to outreach efforts and customer service, much of our work relies on the infrastructure in place. DBPR is taking over the operation of our licensing system, and it is now being run and managed internally. We will ensure that our technology continues to function properly so we can support our licensees.

Finally, our alcoholic beverage licensees play a pivotal role in protecting our underage youth from alcohol consumption. I would like to ask alcoholic beverage retailers throughout the state to check and carefully scrutinize IDs this New Year's Eve and join the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in their mission to keep our youth safe.

I wish you all a very happy and safe New Year and a prosperous year ahead.

Sincerely,

Charles W. Drago
Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395
www.MyFloridaLicense.com