Employees in Houston Join Colleagues Around the World in Effort

ST. LOUIS (Sept. 21, 2011) -- More than 1,500 Anheuser-Busch employees across the United States won’t be at their desks on Friday, Sept. 23. Instead, they’ll be out visiting bars, restaurants and grocery stores to promote the use of designated drivers.

It’s all part of Global Be(er) Responsible Day, an annual effort
organized by Anheuser-Busch and its sister companies around the world.

“For three decades, Budweiser has been leading the way in the promotion of designated drivers,” said Kathy Casso, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for Anheuser-Busch. “Our programming to encourage responsible drinking takes place all year long, but on Global Be(er) Responsible Day our employees are making an extra push to spread the message in partnership with wholesalers, retailers and many other partners.”

ACTIVITY IN HOUSTON
Anheuser-Busch employees in Houston, including General Manager Rick Wohlfarth, Brewmaster David Cohen and others, plan to participate in Global Be(er) Responsible Day with the local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, Silver Eagle Distributors.

“We put a lot of effort into making the highest quality beers, and we want to ensure our products are enjoyed responsibly,” Wohlfarth said. “Our employees understand that we all have an important role to play in promoting alcohol responsibility because no one benefits from the misuse of our products.”

Locally, Silver Eagle is:

• Partnering with the Houston Astros to include Global Be(er) Responsible Day messages during the Sept. 23 home game, and as always will be implementing its Good Sport program, which promotes responsible behavior by sports fans and encourages the use of designated drivers.
• Providing local retailers with Driver’s License guides and We I.D. materials to assist in identifying and preventing those who are underage from purchasing and consuming alcohol.
• In conjunction with the Houston Restaurant Association, programs such as Alert Cab will be implemented to provide free and discounted rides home for bar and restaurant patrons of legal drinking age who have had too much to drink.

The city of Houston also supports Anheuser-Busch and Silver Eagle’s alcohol responsibility efforts. This week Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston City Council passed a proclamation, making Sept. 23 Be(er) Responsible Day in the city of Houston.

“By working together as a community, we can all do our part to promote alcohol responsibility,” emphasized John L. Nau, president and CEO, Silver Eagle Distributors. “We are proud to work with Anheuser-Busch and our local partners on this effort, and thank everyone involved for their support in making Global Be(er) Respnsible Day an impactful and educational event for our community.”

TAKE THE PLEDGE
Casso and Wohlfarth encouraged adults to show their friends they care by visiting Budweiser’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Budweiser, clicking on the “Bud DD” tab and pledging their support of designated drivers. Where legal, consumers who take the pledge may be eligible to win a prize from Budweiser.

“The vast majority of adults enjoy our beers responsibly and we have made progress in reducing drunk driving,” Casso said. “So let’s all work together so we can keep moving in the right direction. By visiting Budweiser’s Facebook page and signing up to be a designated driver, you can show you support the important role that designated drivers play in enjoying the great times.”

HARVICK SPREADS ALCOHOL RESPONSIBILITY MESSAGE
NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick will debut a special “Designate a Driver” paint scheme for this Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Visit Budweiser’s Facebook page to watch a video from Harvick about Global Be(er) Responsible Day. Harvick enters Sunday’s Sylvania 300 with four wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition so far this season and currently leads the NSCS driver point standings.

DESIGNATED DRIVER FACTS
In conjunction with Global Be(er) Responsible Day, new research from GfK Custom Research North America was released showing promising news in the area of designated driver use and awareness, including that 64% of American adults − or 141 million people 21 + − have been a designated driver or have been driven home by one.

The 2011 Designated Driver poll also showed that 86 percent of respondents think that promoting the use of designated drivers is an excellent or good way to help reduce drunk driving. The full survey results are available at www.alcoholstats.com.

LIFE-SAVING RESEARCH
On Thursday Anheuser-Busch will host in St. Louis a meeting of a working group of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, an independent group of law enforcement experts, at its corporate headquarters. The group recently released a report, Effective Strategies to Reduce Drunk Driving, and will be in St. Louis to continue their research as they search for proven strategies to reduce drunk driving on American roadways.
A lot of progress has been achieved in reducing drunk driving, according to the group’s 2010 report, but experts agree there’s still more work to be done. TIRF’s ground-breaking research on the nation’s DWI system has been supported by Anheuser-Busch for more than 20 years.