Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

Some years ago a colleague of mine who had been in the beer industry for 20 years, left the profession to go into real estate.  He had been employed in his new trade for about 12 months when he called me.  We talked for a while and he said he really enjoyed his new life.  I asked if he missed anything about the beer business.  His comment, “Only one thing… the people!”  How true!

I’ve met and worked with hundreds of great people over the decades, many have stayed in touch with me, many haven’t and I wish we had done so.  During the week of Thanksgiving, however, two longtime colleagues and friends passed away.

During my time at Glazer’s I worked with Bill Saul.  Bill was in charge of training and development of the Glazer’s staff.  He was employed by the family for over 20 years.  I had the pleasure of working closely with Bill on the development of a malt training program because the sales people did not have adequate education in the malt beverage field.  For years, Bill and I officed next to each other and shared the same administration support.  Bill was eventually promoted to a VP, and created the e-training programs, which were implemented during my last year at Glazer’s.  About a year or so after I left, in a “cost cutting umbrella,” Bill’s position was eliminated and he was escorted out the door without even a thank you.  After all those years with Glazer’s, Bill had a very difficult time accepting what had happened to him.  Eventually, he and his wife decided to leave Dallas and relocated to North Carolina to build a new home.  It was there that Bill passed away.  Bill was a true  professional and friend and he truly loved what he did and the company for which he worked.

That same week, Albert Cramer, the owner of Warsteiner Brewery in Germany, and the 8th generation Cramer to run the brewery, also passed away.  As President of Warsteiner Importers Agency, I had the pleasure of getting to know Albert well.  There is very little I can say about what Albert accomplished, as head of the brewery, because so much of what he achieved is well documented in the press.  He was quite the leader.  On a couple of occasions I visited with him at his US home in Florida.  I remember once driving to meet a long-time Warsteiner draft account in Orlando when Albert and I  got into an argument regarding the correct turn to make to reach our destination.  Being the hard-headed German he was, Albert stopped the SUV right in the middle of the highway and started speaking to me in German. I was in  the front seat thinking I was following along!  After a couple of seconds, I reminded him that while this wasn’t the German autobahn, it still was a US interstate highway, and unless we all wanted to be road-kill, we had better get moving.  He did, we found the location of the account, and we all had a wonderful dinner.

We’ve all lost friends who have made great impacts on our lives, both personally and professionally. I will truly miss Bill and Albert, however, my life is much better because I did have that chance to know them well.  As Ben Franklin said “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” You can bet someday I’ll join my friends over a cold one.  Until then, these two friends and leaders will be missed.