“We want to send a heartfelt congratulations to Tom Cole, Republic National Distributors Company, on his appointment as chairman of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America. Despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic, our industry has worked hard to continue progress and innovation. Tom has been and will continue to be a big part of that growth. DISCUS shares his goals of promoting a consumer-centric marketplace, opposing tariffs on spirits products and supporting our critically important retail partners.
“We have worked in close concert with WSWA to support a vibrant and well-regulated three-tier system and look forward to continuing that work with Tom. As the marketplace continues to evolve, our work together will be instrumental in modernizing and strengthening the three-tier system. From our joint efforts on responsibility and working to end underage drinking and impaired driving, to collaborating on key issues facing the industry, there is so much we can accomplish together. We are grateful for our long partnership with WSWA.
“Finally, we thank outgoing chairman, Chris Underwood, for his leadership and collaboration over the last year. During his time as chairman, our industry saw many achievements, but namely the removal of tariffs on spirits products. We appreciate Chris’ many contributions and leadership in the industry.”