2025 BEST PRACTICE AWARDS
Best Trade or Licensee Education Program
WEST VIRGINIA ABCA by MELISSA DOWLING
West Virginia’ s alcohol industry employs tens of thousands of service workers who encounter many forms of legal and illegal identification daily all while navigating the evolving legal landscape. The West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration( WVABCA) aims to balance the requirement for compliance with the need to proactively educate both on-premises and off-premises licensees and their employees.
Along those lines, the WVABCA designed an educational“ Best Practices” carding video to empower servers and sellers of beer, wine and spirits with a heightened awareness of the various forms of IDs. The video, which uses state-of-the-art graphics and illustrations, also provides a better understanding of new regulations impacting the alcohol industry.
An ID poster created by the WVABCA assists both on-premises and off-premises licensees. This poster also served in the storyboard creation, scripting, prop development, and narration of the“ Best Practices” carding video, says WVABCA Commissioner Fred Wooton.
The WVABCA collaborated with the West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles( DMV) to acquire various forms and styles of West Virginia IDs, which were instrumental in developing the carding poster and video.“ A unique aspect of this project was the creation of four alias IDs by the DMV for our actors to use during the carding portion of the video,” Wooton says.
For instance, one actress used an ID with her picture taken while wearing a wig for a mock scenario. The mock scenarios section also covers several recent changes in alcohol laws, such as alcohol to-go( recorking, growlers, etc.) at on-premises locations and changes in store hours.
The carding video highlights both legitimate and unacceptable forms of West Virginia IDs. Due to recent redesigns of West Virginia IDs some confusion has arisen among WV- ABCA licensees, and the video aims to assist servers and sellers of alcohol in understanding these changes.
This video also addresses the WVDMV ' s new mobile ID initiative.“ As this new technology gains wider acceptance, the video will direct viewers to the necessary resources to determine the validity of the mobile ID,” Wooten says.
The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association( NABCA) provided award funding for this project, which was completed in January 2025.“ We also worked with local universities, West Virginia Bureau of Prisons, and the Bureau of Vital Statistics,” Wooton notes.
The feedback so far has been positive, Wooton says, with some licensees noting how practical and easy to understand the video illustrations of acceptable forms of ID are. Many have also reported that the training is time friendly, unlike other server / seller training videos that can take hours to complete.
And several restaurants are already incorporating the 20−minute video into their new hire orientation process, he adds.“ Both bars and off-premises licensees have expressed appreciation for the real-world examples and clear guidance on what to look for on an ID.”
The impact from the educational program may contribute to fewer regulatory violations and reduced administrative fines, says Wooten. What’ s more, achieving compliance leads to fewer criminal citations and potentially reduced legal issues for business owners and employees.“ WVABCA agents working in the field have a new tool to educate and work with licensees to prevent underage sales.”
24 StateWays • Fall 2025 www. stateways. com