The Academy of Spirits & Fine Service

An academy built for both the market & for internal training

Educating the market only provided for better drink education, higher expectations of sales execution & promotional opportunities.

Welcome to the Academy of Spirits and Fine Service. This program is designed for Beverage Managers, Bartenders and Restaurant personnel who want to upgrade their knowledge and skills in bar operations, category knowledge, and classic cocktails.  I started this program from scratch, as I noted there was no real way to engage the entire bartending community in a manner that was both cost effective and broad-reaching.   This is only in a few select states, and has really changed the culture of bartending in the state of Indiana, and I am enormously proud of the program and our graduates.  It is literally beginning to change the entire on-premise community, and was a prerequisite to work at many cocktail bars in the city.

This is a 12-week program conducted once a week for a two and half to three hour session. The Academy provides working product knowledge on all types of alcoholic beverages in the United States and throughout the world. This hands-on program allows participants to recreate “Prohibition Era Classic Cocktails” and create new, trendy cocktails while focusing on the use of simple garnishes that enhance the esthetics of the drink. Each participant will be armed with the knowledge and awareness of responsible consumption.

Course Description

This program is designed for Beverage Managers, Bartenders and Restaurant personnel who want to upgrade their knowledge and skills in bar operations.

Objectives

  • Provide working product knowledge on all types of alcoholic beverages in the United States and throughout the world.

  • Impart essential skills to prepare, mix and serve different types of beverages.

  • Allow participants to discover “Prohibition Era Classic Cocktails” and create new trendy cocktails while focusing on the use of simple garnishes that enhance the esthetics of the drink.

  • Create awareness of the use and abuse of alcoholic beverages.

  • Technical product knowledge

History of each cocktail, cocktails & food pairing, classic/trendy cocktails, and hands-on mixology training will be part of each session.

 

Advanced Academy of Spirits & Fine Services

More learning for beverage professionals

Bartenders & SGWS Employees learning to fuel their passion for the industry.

The Advanced Academy is a travel program for beverage professionals in partnership with suppliers and manufacturers.  This allows professionals to have hands-on experiences with master distillers, distilling, wine making, and brand teams.  Over the last few years, we have taken bartenders, influencers, and retailers to:

  • Scotland to visit Tanqueray and Single Malt Scotch

  • Jamaica to visit Appleton Rum

  • Wild Turkey Distillery and the Bourbon Trail

  • Cognac with the BNIC

  • Paris, France with Pernod Ricard

  • Chicago & NYC for cocktail research

  • Professional Knife Skills and Molecular Mixology

I am still very proud of this program and the experience it provides, as it is reminiscent of my Ambassadair days that I get to share with others!

United States Bartenders Guild - Indiana Chapter

USBG continues learning & professionalizes the bar trade

The Academy fueled more opportunities for learning & professionalism of the trade through the efforts of the community.

The growth of these groups led to the creation of a United States Beverage Guild Chapter in Indiana, which is one of the countries largest and most active chapters in the country.   These Academies bring new members to the group, and allow them to continue their education well past the classroom.   I am immensely proud see the growth of this professional group.   

"Racing Indy Night"

“Racing Indy Night” was a partnership I put together with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway leaning into Indy’s racing legacy and our city’s important status every Memorial Day Weekend. We felt it was important to lean into who we are as a club, and who makes up our fan base are those who also enjoy motor racing. We also saw this as an opportunity to capture new fans coming to the city who could join us for a match prior to the race the following day, The Indy 500. This collaboration (which is still on-going) became the theme/promotional element of our match and resulted I merchandise and other elements that brought droves of fans into our games early in hopes to collect these unique offerings to wear on race day!

  • Largest revenue generating item the club had ever created (and continues to be)

  • PR assistance across all major, local networks

  • Net new fans to our overall gameday & database over 20%

Featured below:

  • Past years “Racing Indy” Jerseys & Promotional elements

  • Indy Car Driver, Jack Harvey promotional photos

  • Racing Indy Game Day Posters

  • Launch Video: Jack Harvey (Indy Car) & Cam Lindley (Indy Eleven)

  • Chuck Lofton (WTHR) showing our Racing Indy gear from the speedway the morning of the Indy 500

ELEVEN Q - 2020

In partnership with The Q, we create some live elements to our match days for those who were at home and did not feel comfortable coming to match days. Below are some examples our work on this project as it steamed directly to your phone and allowed you play along to win real prizes. This helps us stay engaged with all of our fans, no matter where they were in 2020.

XI Century Club

When players reach 100 games, soccer clubs make this a moment to celebrate the achievement and make it a grand occasion. As a supporter, I saw an opportunity to encourage our supporters and celebrate THEIR achievement of 100 games. A behavior we wanted to help shape with our fans is ATTENDANCE, that sense “because I have a ticket I need to be there”. We have now started awarding “appearances” exactly as we have with players. We we also hope to determine is when you come to your FIRST game versus when did you become a season ticket holder? What other events/items/experiences did you have with Indy Eleven that helped that come to fruition? How do we as a club do more of those items? As we begin to learn more about our fans, we also reinforce their journey as to when they reach milestones. A message from their favorite player, a surprise in the mail, free seat upgrades - whatever it is that we can to invest in them as a supporter and their experience with Indy Eleven.

Back Home Again - 2021 Campaign

Our team had to swiftly create a 2021 Campaign after it was determined very late we would be moving back to our historical home of Michael A. Carroll Stadium on the campus of IUPUI. Here are elements of the creative put together by our team and how we bringing it to life.

The BACK HOME AGAIN “punk version” was recorded by a local punk band in charge of “Punk Rock Night” at the Melody Inn, one of Indy’s oldest punk-oriented music bars. This was used in some advertisements and on game days when goals were scored.


YOUTH SOCCER INITIATIVES

As a club, we are surrounded by competitors in the soccer space with MLS Clubs in our market (Sporting KC, Chicago Fire & FCC). We needed a more meaningful and robust presence in the one space we should dominate, the youth soccer market. We determined our best approach is to lay out foundation at the recreational level to build toward meaningful partnerships with clubs, their staff, coaches, volunteers, kids/players, and parents for the long term sustainability of the game. This Recreational soccer program is designed to turn kids into soccer enthusiasts early, keep them playing longer, and provide them a club to aspire to play for by building a more meaningful approach to their experience. With this foundation, we will look to grow ourselves into the other aspects of the game in Indiana.

https://www.indyeleven.com/youth-soccer-program/

SUPPORTER CULTURE/FAN CULTURE/FAN EXPERIENCE

My experience with building a supporter’s group from scratch helped me understand soccer culture, supporter/fan culture, and what is considered allowable from a FO (front office) perspective versus what would be deemed “plastic” or inappropriate. Now, as an employee of the club, I certainly want to encourage supporters to take actions that help and support the club, but by no means am I in a position to influence that decision making process. Instead I have taken the approach of amplification of the supporter group’s work and reinforcement of behaviors we want from our fans AND our supporters. Fans are supporters that just do not know it yet. Finding a way to both track and support that conversion is the work we are identifying and working toward today. The examples provided here are the XI CENTURY CLUB, and a few theme/promotional nights (RACING INDY & GRATEFUL DEAD).

THE INDY ELEVEN APP

I was tasked with creating and developing our Indy Eleven APP, after the first app we launched did not meet expectations nor serve any real purpose for supporters other than the same content that came from our website. . I started with the end in mind. What purpose should any app provide? What would I expect as a supporter? Do I have behaviors would I want to reinforce or change? What can I learn about our supporters with an app? How could something like a phone app actually make the experience even better or enhanced? Click the photos for below for more detailed instructions of the work, the solutions, ideas, and partnership we created.

THE ELEVEN Q - Our in-app Trivia show we host pregame, halftime and post-game for supporters around the world. The aim was to provide another touch point for supporters for those who did not want to attend games due to the pandemic concerns.

The Brickyard Battalion

I was both a FOUNDER and PRESIDENT for 4 years of the Brickyard Battalion, the supporters group for Indy Eleven, a registered 501c organization. Our work and organization pre-dates the team (2011), and was integral in assisting in the movement to get professional soccer in Indianapolis. I understand and ultimately RESPECT supporter culture. Hours upon hours of volunteer work with the sole purpose of bringing professional soccer to Indianapolis. This group grew to over 5,000 registered supporters during my tenure starting from a group of 6 people. Countless meetings, tireless hours, and building enthusiasm - all while trying to raise a young family. The team was ultimately formed and played their inaugural game on Saturday, April 12, 2014.

LEARN MORE @ byb.soccer