Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services Wins National Awards for Its Community Engagement Programs – Mocofeed

Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) has received two best practices awards from the national trade magazine StateWays. The magazine recognized the “Spirited Discussions” podcast as its “Best Consumer Education Program” and the Safe Bars bystander intervention training as its “Best On-Premises Partnership.” The “Spirited Discussions” podcast educates listeners about alcohol products, trends, and policies in Montgomery County. The Safe Bars bystander intervention training offers tools to identify and prevent sexual violence in bars and restaurants.

The StateWays Best Practices Awards will be presented to ABS at a ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association’s Administrators Conference in Bethesda.

Read the StateWays article at https://read.epgmediallc.com/stateways-fall-2025/0665568001758289492.

“I’m pleased that our Alcohol Beverage Services has been nationally recognized as an industry leader for their innovative approach to community engagement,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Their efforts demonstrate how – if you live in Montgomery County – you benefit from our distribution model whether you drink alcohol or not. In addition to contributing tens of millions of dollars annually to County programs, ABS leverages its longstanding partnerships to ensure that ours is a welcoming County with safe social spaces for everyone.”

Now on its eleventh episode, the “Spirited Discussions” podcast continues to experience steady growth as it educates residents and businesses about alcohol products, trends, and policies in Montgomery County. Its most popular episodes are “Literature’s Most Famous Drinks,” “Control Model for Alcohol Distribution,” and “Top Ten Bestselling Beers, Wines and Spirits.” The Office of Broadband Programs in the County’s Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions provides technical support for the ABS podcast.

The nonprofit organization Safe Bars has been teaching hospitality professionals how to spot the warning signs for sexual violence and how to de-escalate threatening situations since 2013. Participants in the program often find themselves deeply moved by the stories and statistics shared in the workshops, and everyone comes away with new perspectives and tools.

StateWays is the only magazine devoted to issues affecting alcohol control state systems. It features articles that reflect many aspects of the control states’ mission of fiscal performance, promotion of responsible consumption, enforcement, retail sales, and warehouse operations.

“Understanding that we serve the most diverse county County in the nation, ABS we continue working toward meaningful educational opportunities for everyone,” said ABS Director Kathie Durbin. “We aim want to help people make informed and responsible decisions about alcohol, which in turn keeps the entire community safe.”

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Seventeen U.S. jurisdictions and all but one province in Canada operate under a similar alcohol model to Montgomery County’s. They oversee the sale of distilled spirits – and in some cases wine and beer – through government agencies at the wholesale level. The model allows revenue from alcohol sales to be returned to a general fund for public services.

ABS is the alcohol wholesaler of beer, wine, and spirits for Montgomery County and operates 27 retail stores throughout the County. In addition, ABS manages alcohol licensing, enforcement, and education for more than 1,000 businesses. Generating tens of millions in net income annually, its profits are used to pay down County debt with a large portion deposited in the general fund to pay for resident services that otherwise would be funded by County tax dollars.