Grand-Prize Giveaway Caps Year-Long Campaign Rewarding Hundreds of Alabama Retailers Who Refused Underage Sales; Retailer Recognition Campaign Offers Message: `What's Recognized Gets Repeated'.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A grand-prize winner recently was announced for Alabama's Retailer Recognition Campaign, marking the culmination of a year-long, statewide rewards program that used positive reinforcement to promote retail compliance with Alabama minimum-age sales laws for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. Mark Bagley, co-owner of Lakeside Landing Marina in Cropwell, Ala., received the grand prize: a four-day vacation cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines, compliments of campaign partner, the We Card program.

Bagley was one of hundreds of retailers across the state who received positive rewards (including eligibility to enter the grand-prize drawing) after passing a state-run compliance check. Throughout 2005, retailers who passed checks conducted by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board received a rewards packet, including a commemorative pin, T-shirt, and an opportunity to enter into the grand-prize drawing.

"My wife and I are very excited, and of course pleasantly surprised, about winning the cruise. We are equally gratified by the fact that our commitment to keeping adult products out of the hands of underage customers has been rewarded," said Bagley. "We take the issue of preventing underage sales seriously because it is part of our job, but it's always nice to get some positive recognition for a job well done."

The Retailer Recognition Campaign is a unique, collaborative, public-private effort supported by the We Card program, the Alabama ABC Board, the Petroleum and Convenience Marketers of Alabama, the Alabama Grocers Association, and the Alabama Retail Association. Its focus on positive reinforcement sets this program apart from most compliance efforts.

"It is our hope that the Retailer Recognition Campaign has served to deliver this simple message to the retail community: What's recognized gets repeated," said David Glenn, Program Manager of the We Card program. "What our organization has found is that the benefits of rewarding positive clerk behavior and promoting the use of positive reinforcement to help prevent underage sales can resonate beyond just the person being recognized. We feel that rewarding the right behavior and telling others in the community about it creates a positive ripple effect both within an individual retail establishment and indeed across the retail industry as a whole."

The Alabama ABC Board was a crucial partner in the Retailer Recognition Campaign, and ABC Board officials are pleased with the results of the program.

"Positive reinforcement is a great complement to ongoing enforcement and educational efforts," said Jan Byrne, education coordinator for the Alabama ABC Board. "The hundreds of retailers who passed checks in 2005 serve as an example to other retailers that compliance has many rewards. Being part of a program that focuses on positive attention for retailers has been particularly gratifying."

Representatives of Alabama's retail community, including Arleen Alexander, Executive Director of the Petroleum and Convenience Marketers of Alabama, are equally excited about the program and its focus on positive reinforcement.

"Throughout Alabama, retailers are doing a much better job of refusing underage sales of tobacco and alcohol," said Alexander. "And they have a strong commitment to doing even more. I'm hopeful that the Retailer Recognition continues to play a role in the positive recognition of the collective efforts in the retail community, and I'm glad that part of the story is being emphasized."