A reminder that we do have a choice and what we do today will certainly impact our tomorrow. I am certainly looking forward to a couple of ice cold MC67′s on the back patio, but I am enjoying my long weekend locally, I do not have far to go, 200 meters. If you are out celebrating this weekend, remember to download the  FREE TAXIGUY APP, that will call you a cab; the APP is FREE and the Call is FREE. No EXCUSES!!

Check out AADS PSA featuring  TAXIGUY APP

Photo: Anne Leonard, Executive Director, Arrive Alive;drive sober

Arrive Alive; drive sober has been a partner of ours for well over a decade, that is how long I have had the opportunity to be involved with Anne Leonard, the driving force behind the scenes fighting to keep our roads safe.

Have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!!

Cheers, MolsonCaroleB

Hosted over the lunch hour, the event saw support from dozens of companies in the local business park, including many who donated corporately for the opportunity to host an NHL Playoff viewing party at the brewery during this year’s playoffs.

New this year, we added a Molson Give-R event hosted at Overtime Sports. That event also saw C103 broadcasting live, as well as a sampling of some of our new products. The night ended with a draw – done in collaboration with Food Depot Alimentaire – to send a lucky winner to Montreal next season to see the Canadiens host the Maple Leafs.

By the end of it, our team ended up raising more than $9,000 to support the local food banks!

Il est photographié en train de recevoir de Mme Carole Bellon, Présidente du conseil d’administration de la Chambre de commerce de l’Est de Montréal, le prix Orchidée. 

Au nom de tous les employés de Molson Coors, félicitations Andrew!

Marjolaine Deslauriers and I were honored to attend an event last night organized by the Montreal East Chamber of Commerce where Andrew Molson received the “Orchidée” award. The “Orchidée” award is presented annually to an individual in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the economic and social development of Montreal East. A quote from the souvenir program explains well the reason why he received this award: “Mr. Molson is accessible, generous, attentive and gives back to the community. Thank you for your commitment!”

Andrew is pictured receiving the “Orchidée” award from Carole Bellon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Montreal East Chamber of Commerce. 

On behalf of the Molson Coors employees, congratulations Andrew!

Je suis encore plus fière aujourd’hui parce que la famille Molson a annoncé hier qu’elle fera un don de 5 millions $ à la Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal (CHUM). Ce don est l’un des plus importants dons de l’histoire du CHUM (http://fondationduchum.com/2013/05/un-don-de-5-millions-de-la-fondation-molson/ ). 

Félicitations à la famille Molson pour leur grande générosité!

I am very proud to work for Molson Coors Canada as well as for one of the most significant families in Quebec, the Molson Family. I started in 1981 and took a break of two years in 1992 to take care of my family. I am extremely grateful to have been able to come back as an employee. 

I am mostly proud today because of yesterday’s announcement that the Molson Family will contribute 5 million dollars to the Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM).  This contribution is one of the greatest gifts received in the entire history of the CHUM. http://fondationduchum.com/en/2013/05/un-don-de-5-millions-de-la-fondation-molson/

Congratulations to the Molson Family for their generosity!

The sound of morning birds high in the trees singing their early morning calls…toss and turn at 453 am…dog out to do it’s business…coffee on and i thought, “why not sit down and write a spring blog”. After all, three days of 20 degree + celsius and it actually feels like spring has sprung in Toronto. I must also admit that some other factors contribute to this overwhelming shift in season for me. Obviously with the NHL playoffs commencing this week, after what might have been a lost season, the city is truly excited. I was blown away by the sea of blue and white downtown and on the subway on Wednesday night. Love to see the community spirit. As a partner with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens we actually celebrated a little playoff BBQ at our head office on Tuesday, just to get the team in the spirit of spring playoffs. Our President Stewart Glendinning and Chief Legal and People Officer Kelly Brown and fellow leadership team members helped host staff over the lunch hour…a little competitive spirit added of course. And we can’t forget our third sponsored club in the first round of playoffs of course - Ottawa Senators.

Stewart and Kelly hosting

And then of course there is the return of the summer rep. Gosh, 32 years ago I sat in a similar seat as a young representative from northwestern Ontario. It was the summer of the Jeux Canada Games in Thunder Bay. What a grounding experience that has carried friends and memories for me across my entire 29 career at Molson Coors. A toast to our returning summer reps and those who have just joined us. I know that they will represent us well at events and promotions coast to coast to coast and always flying the responsible choices banner as they go about their business.

Another sign of spring is the annual Randstad awards night. Randstad does a great job at reaching out to 7000 prospective employees across the country to assess the attractiveness of 150 employees. Proudly Molson Coors ranked eleventh this year. A special treat this year was Debbie Travis presenting her “ten commandments” for success. Inspiring and entertaining to say the least !

A toast to our employees and all that they do to carry the passion, commitment and drive for our business…over the past 227 years. Now that’s heritage. Naturally we are nothing without those who carry our products to market and the beer drinkers who support us at the taps, retail store or your favourite drinking occasion. We appreciate and value your business.

And of course the beer business and all that we face in regulations, taxes, mark ups. Provincial budgets are another sign of spring and the Ontario budget was filed yesterday by the Wynne government in Ontario. Good news for beer drinkers and customers in Ontario is that there is not any increase in the beer taxes. Now that’s worth a toast on a sunny day at the legislature with blossoms in bloom at the memorial to Queen Victoria !

Another sign of spring is the renewed commitments to community. Across this great land we engage with community leaders in so many ways. Whether they are local festivals and events designed to instill community spirit and celebrate the arts, local sports events and team get togethers or support for a charity or not for profit of choice. The Beer Store in Ontario will be undertaking their annual drive for Leukemia. Hats off to them and their union membership and Beer Store customers who donate their empties and the difference that they make in our community. May 25th and 26th please donate your empty deposit refunds.

Perhaps you have a thought on spring being sprung. I hope you’ll share it. A toast to you and yours this spring weekend. No doubt we’ll all be seeking a patio, a television screen to watch playoffs and some great quality time with family and friends as the weather warms. Cheers to a great wrap to the week and start to the weekend. @MolsonFerg

Communities and fans will come together as we all cheer on our favourite teams. Each of the 16 teams have played hard to clinch their playoff spots for the opportunity and honour to raise the Cup.

Which team will you be rooting for? Let us know in our comments section for a chance to win a cooler bag filled with goodies! (contest closes at 3pm EST on Friday, May 3, 2013).

Here’s to the game this land gave us.

As responsible brewer, we’re proud of the steps we’ve taken with the industry to reduce our ‘Beer Print’. In Ontario alone, The Beer Store’s deposit return system has recovered approximately 75-billion beer bottles over the past 85 years! To see the other environmental benefits of bottle returns check out this Beer Store infographic:

And here’s a sneak peek into one of our breweries during part of the returns system where the bottles are collected, washed and reused:

Industry standard bottles from various brands are sent to our breweries.

Photo by Christopher Drost

This bottle washing machine thoroughly washes 60 bottles at a time with detergent. The labels get removed and goes through a rinse cycle.

Photo by Christopher Drost

After the bottles come out nice and clean, then it’s off to inspection!

Photo by Christopher Drost

So if you have any empties lying around, you know what to do!

Cheers & Happy Earth Day!

Led by our brewery Packaging Operator Paul Gulliver, employees raised funds by selling tickets within and outside of the Brewery for beer prizes (donated by employees themselves) as well as sponsorships for a group head-shaving at the end of the production shift on March 28th. In conjunction with the monthly Give’r promotion, the Brewery raised $3,881 in support of YACC and their excellent work!

If you’re in Newfoundland and would like to join us at one of our Give’r fundraisers in support of charities, check out the Molson Coors Newfoundland & Labrador Facebook page for details on an upcoming event!

The event was all about empowering students to make safe decisions related to alcohol. Throughout the day, over 750 students came through to speak  and engage with a variety of exhibitors including Crime Stoppers/R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere), Smart Serve, Arrive Alive Drive Sober and the LCBO.

Check out this video the Public Relations postgraduate students created to mark the occasion!

Ah, back at it after an Easter weekend break with family and friends. Easter sometimes is that true bridge to spring; not quite this year in Toronto, given our below zero temperatures continuing. Enough of that…

Easter is also a time of year when one (this one anyway) reflects on all the great things that we have as we celebrate with family and friends around us. After 29 years in the beer business I’ve come to realize that this industry of ours is one of deep community roots and involvement.

When I look back at my early years as a summer representative in Northern Ontario my whole focus was on community. From visiting tourist resorts along wooded gravel roads, to slo pitch and fast ball tournaments with men and women across the northwest of Ontario, to the Jeux Canada Games in Thunder Bay in 1981 and again in Sherbrooke in 2103,  to door prizes for local charitable events…it was all about supporting our community.

Beer in Canada is part of our social fabric (it likely is where you are too but I can really only speak with authority on Canada). Molson Coors has continued to play our part in supporting events, festivals, entertainment and sports related events big and small from coast to coast to coast.

The range of community action is broad and deep, large and small. From proud official beer supplier of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver, to a Red Leaf project park in Calgary, to the Mayor’s Ball for the Arts in Edmonton or support of CFL clubs across the country including the Saskatchewan Rough Riders – Calgary Stampeders – Edmonton Eskimos, or a responsible choice initiative like free New Years buses in Winnipeg, to our partnered NHL clubs Edmonton Oilers – Toronto Maple Leafs – Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens and the NHL overall in North America, to the families of our fallen military and the True Patriot Love committee, to community festivals speckled across Quebec or the Pointe-A-Caillieer museum project in Old Montreal, the Maison de Jeunes de Dieppe, the amateur hockey movement in Prince Edward Island, the Halifax Oval or scholarships at Memorial University in St. John’s, to slo-pitch and local sports or perhaps a snapshot of your favourite moment in the great provincial territories that crown this country in Molson Canadian’s “make your mark” contest.

We are also proud to support our employees and the difference that they continue to make in their communities. We match their donations through our Molson Coors Donations Fund and will “double match” when they play an executive role for charity or not for profit organization. We also afford our employees with the opportunity to share their passion with fellow employees by posting their efforts in our internal social Cheers network on yammer. We have a long roster of employees committed to various charitable causes.

So, all this said, Molson Coors folks are part of an industry that continues to play a big part in our community. It is core to our business. When people come together to celebrate or make a difference in their community they can also toast their efforts with a nice cold Molson Coors. Proudly, it all dates back to our founder John Molson who was quoted while speaking to employees saying, “we are all members of a larger community, which depends on everyone playing a part.”

So cheers to beer folks across this great land that continue to play their part in our community. It’s a big part of who we are and a big part of what we love doing in the beer business. Cheers ! @MolsonFerg