From our President & CEO
Dear friends,
As summer eases into fall, we remain grateful for the ability to socialize safely again, going out with friends and family and entertaining more often at home. It is the time of year when the LCBO always pays special attention to Ontario—this year more than ever, as local businesses gather momentum after the trials of the last 18 months.
A key part of the LCBO’s mandate is to have a positive impact on the province and our local producers, and this fall we are doing that in several different ways. First, I am excited to introduce our new fall campaign: For the Love of Local. This is an opportunity for all our neighbours—everyone from LCBO experts to local entrepreneurs, new Ontarians and people whose families have lived here for generations—to share their personal knowledge of the region they call home. We will be asking them to pick favourites from the array of 450 VQA wines the LCBO carries, while we also feature a different Ontario wine region each week on social media, highlighting its wineries and the great varietal wines each area produces. You can find out more, and check out our VQA product map, at LCBO.com. Meanwhile, we are continuing our partnership with the United Way with a fundraising campaign to support local communities through COVID-19. Last year, we raised over $2.5 million; this fall, thanks to your generosity, we are committed to strengthening our impact.
Another new program we are launching is the Spirit of Inclusion
Initiative, specifically designed to create opportunities for diverse women to enter, advance and thrive in the beverage alcohol industry. For our first year, we are providing scholarships and bursaries to those registered in Niagara College’s various beverage alcohol programs, offering financial support for tuition, childcare and transportation costs, as well as support through a mentorship program. At Brock University, we are establishing a research scholar position to study industry diversity in Ontario and the barriers diverse women sometimes face in their careers. We are also providing mobility bursaries to assist students who are studying wine management at Brock complete a double degree through the university’s partnership with Burgundy School of Business in France. In years to come, we will be scaling up the Spirit of Inclusion Initiative to reach students and professionals across Ontario.
All this happens because of the Good Partnerships between the LCBO and the province’s post-secondary institutions, charitable organizations and trade partners. To me, that underlines one of the lessons of the pandemic: that we are at our best when we pull together as a community and support every one of our neighbours.
Wishing you a healthy and happy fall season. George Soleas President & CEO, LCBO