BEVERAGE CONFERENCE 2000.

Business today is built on communication and we all use a variety of communications tools everyday that didn't even exist 20 years ago. But in this age of e-mail, cell phones and faxes there's still no substitute for face to face interaction. As amazing and convenient as teleconferencing may be, there's nothing like the energy generated by a group of individuals with a common purpose in the same place at the same time. That's certainly been my experience of the Cheers(r) Beverage Conference the last two years.

And I'm certain that will also be the case with the Cheers(r) Beverage Conference 2000, which I'm very pleased to announce, will be held April 25 & 26 in Chicago. We've considered moving the Conference to another city, but so far the Windy City remains the first choice of those responding to our post-Conference evaluations. And there's no doubt that it's a first-class bar & restaurant city with plenty of opportunities for doing market research. But, in the interest of keeping things fresh, we will be moving the Conference to another Chicago location this year.

One of the reasons, I'm so excited about announcing the cheers(r) Beverage Conference 2000 is because we've managed to secure as our keynote speaker one of the most universally respected individuals in the full service restaurant industry, Richard E. Rivera, President and CEO of Darden Restaurants' Red Lobster. During his career in the hospitality industry, Dick has served as President of Rare Hospitality and CEO of TGI Friday's (where he was the subject of an interview and photo shoot in the very first issue of Cheers in 1990) and certainly has been in a unique position to gather insight into consumers beverage choices, how operators can balance profitability and responsibility and a host of other relevant subjects. I'm sure his remarks will be well worth hearing.

We'll also be presenting original and valuable data on drinking in full service restaurants, conducted both by Adams Business Media researchers and by other respected sources.

The Cheers(r) Beverage Conference 2000 will also he the scene of the presentation of the Cheers(r) Awards For Beverage Excellence. Full details on entering can be found elsewhere in this issue and I urge all of you operators to enter your own programs. It also would be great to see suppliers would nominating some of their outstanding customers, because they really know who walks the walk, not just talks the talk.

More information on the Cheers(r) Beverage Conference 2000 will be in the magazine over the next few months and I hope many of you will be able to join Us for an informative and enjoyable two days. if you have any questions about the Cheers(r) Beverage Conference or sponsorship opportunities for suppliers, please e-mail me at [e-mail].

Cheers,

Robert Keane

Editorial Director