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Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Seminar

WATER: Beneath the Surface and Around the Globe

Friday, February 24, 2012
1PM to 5PM
The Country Inn at Berkeley Springs
There is no charge for the seminar.

Arthur von Wiesenberger
Moderator and Water Master The International Water Tasting & Competition
Noted water expert and consultant

Arthur is well known for his highly successful Champagne and caviar club, Nipper's. He has been in the wine tasting business for many years and in the late 70's began conducting water tastings in his winter festival home state of California. He has worked as a water consultant for Anheiser-Busch and Perrier, as well as many others. He is a past president of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association, the American Institute of Wine and Food and the Society of Wine Educators. He has written five books including Champagne & Caviar, A Pocket Guide to Bottled Water and The Taste of Water. He was the Water Master of the First International Water Tasting Festival: International Water Tasting & Competition in 1990 and has been here for all but two since and then only because of the birth of two of his sons.

TOPIC: "The Water & The Odyssey"
Presented by Arthur von Wiesenberger, President BottledWaterWeb.com and Michael Cervin, Senior Editor

This presentation is a unique journey, few have ever experienced. It is an odyssey in quest of a special source of protected water hidden among the Kunlun Mountains soaring above the Tibetan Plateau in China. The audio-visual show takes us from the sophistication, history and vibrancy of Beijing to the Kumlum Buddhist monastery near Xining with incredible Yak butter sculptures and dynamic debating monks. Deeper still, we travel to Western China and the city of Golmud which in Mongolian means "rivers." It is here that the great salt lake exists but our thirst for pure water takes us to the longest mountain chain in Asia. Here are the Kunlun Mountains, said to be the forefather of mountains. It is also the birthplace of Kunlun Mountains Mineral Water. Like Evian from Mt. Blanc, Kunlun Mountains Mineral Water is a bottled water from a high altitude source and Kunlun's state-of-the-art bottling plant is one of, if not the highest altitude bottling plant in the world. As will be shown, great things come from the roof of the planet.

Michael Cervin is the Senior Editor at Bottled Water Web.com, the premier industry website devoted to water subjects in general and the workings of the bottled water industry specifically. He is also the author of three national travel books, two fiction books, and has penned thousands of articles on diverse subjects such as water privatization, food, wine and spirits, Los Angeles-based architecture, history, artists, and travel. In addition to having been a judge at Berkeley Springs for several years, he has been invited to judge at the Best of Vinho Verde Awards in Portugal, the Taste of Rum Festival in Puerto Rico, The Winemaker's Cook-Off in Paso Robles, and wine competitions in Monterey, Santa Barbara and the Sierra Foothills in California. You can view his work at www.MichaelCervin.com

TOPIC: "A History of Healing: Water Throughout Time".

Join Dr. Kathy Gruver as she shares her knowledge about our most precious resource and its healing ability. Water has been considered sacred and medicinal since the of Hippocrates, and Kathy will walk you through time on a journey to find out how we got to where we are now with spas, hydration disease prevention and healing.

Dr. Kathy Gruver, author of The Alternative Medicine Cabinet, has earned her Doctorate as a Traditional Naturopath and PhD in Natural Health. She has studied mind-body medicine at the famed Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School and pursued further education at The National Institutes of Health. Gruver has been featured as an expert in countless publications and has penned dozens of health and wellness articles. She has appeared as a guest expert on over 55 radio shows and has done over 40 educational lectures around the country. She has also served as an expert witness for massage negligence and ethics cases.

In addition to maintaining an award winning natural health and medical massage practice in Santa Barbara, CA, Kathy offers phone and email health consultations. She has also produced an instructional massage DVD, Therapeutic Massage at Home; Learn to Rub People the RIGHT Way and is a practitioner with over 20 years of experience. Kathy was featured on Lifetime Television’s The Balancing Act in 2011 speaking about natural health and is in development with a network in Los Angeles for her own TV show. For more information and free health tips and resources go to www.thealternativemedicinecabinet.com

TOPIC: "Maryland's Watershed Implementation Plan".

W.I.P.: Maryland's plan to reduce nutrients and sediment pollution provides a series of proposed strategies that exceed Maryland's 2017 target-70% of the total reductions needed to meet the state's accelerated deadline of 2020. The Plan commits to work hand in hand with all Marylanders, including local governments, stakeholder organizations, farmers and scientists, to develop the most practical, cost effective means of implementation. In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we make choices that are mindful both of our citizens and the enormous benefit a restored Chesapeake Bay will bring to Maryland, as well as the entire region.

William B. McKinley (Bill) has been a lifelong educator, having been a classroom teacher, coach and administrator.   After serving as a Middle School and High School principal, and later director of all secondary schools in Washington County, Maryland, he became Executive Director of Support Services in the school system and was in charge of the Budget, Transportation, Facilities Management and Food Service.  He retired from public education in 2002 after 37 years of service.  Following retirement he was selected to be the first ever President of Saint Maria Goretti Prep School in Hagerstown, Maryland.   Bill was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in Washington County, Maryland, in 2010.  He has a long-standing intent interest in all things environmental, with a particular passion for clean waterways.

Bill graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) with a Master of Arts degree.  Past and present activities include, in part, being the Chairman of the Washington County Md. Gaming Commission, Leadership Hagerstown class of '95, Williamsport Lion's Club, Williamsport Rotary Club, Past President and current member of the Hagerstown Community College Hawk Booster Club, St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Leadership roles in the Boy Scouts of America, Little League Baseball and is he is also a member of several conservation groups namely: Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and the Ruffed Grouse Society.   Bill is very pleased to be a part of the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting. 

TOPIC: "Bottled Water Backlash: Making the Case for Healthy Beverage Choices".

Efforts to ban or restrict bottled water from various venues, including state office, college campuses and national parks are supported and often intitated by activist groups with a predisposed antagonism toward the bottled water industry. Now, more than eve, meeting these often inaccurate claims head-on is of vital importance. This discussion will outline some of the challenges facing the industry, the approaches IBWA is taking to meet them and the importance of separating fact from fiction.

Christopher Hogan is the Vice President of Communications for the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), headquartered in Alexandria, VA.

IBWA is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters. Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers.  IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, and state governments to set stringent standards for safe, high quality bottled water products.

Mr. Hogan oversees IBWA’s communications and brand development initiatives, communicating facts about the bottled water industry to the media, consumers, legislators, regulators and other opinion leaders.  He develops and supports targeted and general messaging with a goal of accurately representing IBWA and the bottled water industry’s stances on key issues and policies.  Mr. Hogan also leads IBWA’s extensive social media and blogger engagement activities, including the “Bottled Water Matters” education campaign, and is staff executive to the Communications Committee.

Prior to joining IBWA, he served as both the Director of Communications and Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs with the American Gas Association (AGA), which represents America’s natural gas utility industry.  While at AGA, Mr. Hogan also directed the “Defend My Dividend” national grassroots advocacy campaign to preserve reasonable dividend tax rates for investors. Defend My Dividend’s innovative approach drew on the combined strengths of diverse partners, including utilities, trade associations, state shareholders organizations and other coalitions.

Mr. Hogan is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Investor Relations Institute.  He is also the vice chairman of the Institute of Organization Management’s Northeast Board of Regents.

He holds a B.S. in Political Science from Northeastern University; a Master of Business Administration and Master of International Management, both from the University of Maryland University College; and was awarded the I.O.M. nonprofit executive certification.

TOPIC: "Insights in the Marketing and Distribution of Bottled Water".

James M. Stevens is Chairman of J. M. Stevens & Associates, Inc. a beverage industry consulting firm specializing in strategic business development, brand building and multi-tiered distribution systems. His beverage experience, ranging over 40 years, includes introducing Perrier to the U.S. in the 70’s, which established bottled water as a beverage category of its own. Stevens served during 2000 as President and CEO of the Danone Water Company of North America while continuing his consulting firm established in 1997. From 1992 through 1996 Stevens was President and CEO of the Suntory Water Group, growing it to the nation’s second largest bottled water company. At Suntory he was successful in establishing his Crystal Spring brand as the Official Bottled Water of the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. In 1986 he joined Coca-Cola Enterprises, the largest bottling company in the world, with annual revenues of more than $10 billion. In 1989 he was named as the company’s executive vice president and COO and after six successful years of consolidation and growth he left the company to join Suntory in 1992 as the President and CEO of North America. As President of Prestige Wine Imports from 1981 to 1986, Stevens along with his partner developed several important brands, including Bollini and Castello di Gabbiano wines from Italy. Stevens served as Senior Vice President of Perrier, Great Waters of France from 1977 to 1981. His achievements include establishing Perrier’s U.S. and Canadian sales and distribution network. From 1969 to 1976 Stevens held key management positions with Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, Purchase, New York.

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