Beltzer reminisces.“ What was really neat about this partnership was that we had people coming in from Indiana, Illinois and Ohio to buy these limited edition 1800 Tequila Detroit Lions branded bottles.”
The best part? Beltzer says putting everything together with the new logo and SKU proved to be an easy task.
“ In the grand scheme of things, it really wasn’ t that difficult,” she explains.“ All we did was listen, which we’ re trying to do more of. We’ re trying to listen and meet people where they want to be. We just want to figure out a way to make things work and not have to tell people,‘ No.’”
WOMEN LEADERSHIP AT THE MLCC
Being a woman leader in the beverage alcohol industry can be quite daunting. While the industry has certainly made strides over the years to be more diverse, we still have a long way to go.
However, Beltzer says she has been welcomed very graciously during her time as Chairperson and has not felt any discrimination for being a woman in a leadership role.
In 2023, the Beverage Information Group featured Beltzer in an article titled,“ Celebrating Female Leaders in the Beverage Alcohol Industry.”
“ My experience has been that the alcohol industry is very open to women leaders,” Beltzer told the Beverage Information Group in the article.“ The reception that I have received from my fellow commissioners, industry stakeholders, legislators and business owners has been overwhelming. I’ ve spent a great deal of time connecting with people, and being open to new ideas, processes, and how we can improve and grow the beverage alcohol industry in the state of Michigan. I’ m surrounded by very strong women in my office. All four of the directors at the MLCC are women, and they are exceptional at their jobs.”
Not much has changed for Beltzer in the two years since the article was published.
“ Even today, people in the industry are still very open to me,” she says.“ It’ s really kind of overwhelming for me, not only with the opportunity to lead at the MLCC, but also because most of our directors, as well as our business manager, are all women. We only have one male on our leadership team.”
Aside from leadership, there are many other great women in the industry that Beltzer and her team get to work alongside.
“ These women are very strong and confident,” she says.“ They also bring a lot to the table. In general, there’ s a sense of pride that comes with this for me because I thought it would be more challenging being a woman in a leadership role, but it hasn’ t been hard at all.”
And while there’ s still work that needs to be done in the industry for it to be more welcoming and inclusive to women, Michigan seems to have a headstart with this movement.
“ Women are great collaborators and they’ re always asking questions on how they can be better, which is the kind of aspect that inspires creativity and stronger productivity,” Beltzer says.“ For the most part, women see a task in front of them, and they get it done. And that’ s exactly our approach with the MLCC. We just want to get the work done so that our team can go home to their families.”
THE MLCC AND CANNABIS
Aside from helping licensees, according to Beltzer, the MLCC is also very heavily involved in the cannabis industry.
“ We’ ve had some really great conversations with our partners at the Cannabis Regulatory Agency,” she says.“ We actually talk to them quarterly and have scheduled calls, so there have been a lot of conversations as of late.”
Given the maturity of the legal cannabis market in Michigan, the MLCC has quite a
The limited-edition Detroit Lions branded 1800 Tequila bottle.
few industry stakeholders that regularly ask for information on THC-infused and hemp-infused beverages.
“ Stakeholders reach out to us about these infused beverages to see what it might look like from a regulatory standpoint, as well as to encourage the MLCC to be open to these beverages legislatively,” Beltzer says.“ We already have a structure in place to regulate the beverage alcohol industry with the three-tier system, so I think that with our 90−plus years history, this is really a good fit for us if and when things start to move forward.”
At the end of the day, there’ s never truly enough time to accomplish everything on your task list. This reigns true for the MLCC, especially with all the new licensees that strive to open their businesses each year.
But after speaking with Beltzer and seeing all the hard work the organization has done for its community, they do a great job at checking off as many tasks as possible.
“ We need more opportunities to showcase the work that we’ re doing and to get out on the road more, which is why we started the MLCC On The Road podcast,” Beltzer says.“ We’ re able to go out, highlight different businesses and put a name to people that we work with. It gives people the chance to listen and then ask questions themselves, along with spreading the word on what we do.” •
www. stateways. com Winter 2025 • StateWays 13