News
Maniec and McNamara Join Guild of Sommeliers Board
April 16, 2010
Maniec and McNamara Join Guild of Sommeliers Board
St. Helena, CA - The Guild of Sommeliers is pleased to announce that Laura Maniec, MS and Andrew McNamara, MS have joined our Board of Directors. Ms. Maniec and Mr. McNamara replace Directors Shayn Bjornholm, MS and Jay Fletcher, MS whose terms have expired.
Laura Maniec, MS, serves as the Wine Director for BR Guest Restaurants in New York City. Ms. Maniec manages the wine program for BR Guest’s 12 restaurants. She is responsible for wine purchases, directing the wine list for each property and employee wine education. A significant contributor to the Guild, Laura has spearheaded our efforts in New York City. Ms. Maniec has secured panelists and promoted a series of Guild tasting events in New York and served as the lead for the TOP|SOMM Eastern Seaboard Area Competition.
Andrew McNamara, MS works for Premier Beverage Company in Florida. Andrew spearheads Premier’s customer initiatives and works to broaden their wine scope through education and training. Prior to joining Premier, Andrew was the Wine Department Chairman for the Professional Culinary Institute in Orlando, FL and a member of the sommelier team at The Breakers in Palm Beach. Andrew has been actively involved in the Guild and has worked to develop content on the website. He served as a judge in two of the TOP|SOMM Area Competitions (New York and Florida) and is responsible for organizing Guild tastings events in Florida.
“Our thanks to Shayn and Jay for their incredible contributions to the Guild of Sommeliers” said Fred Dame, MS President of the Guild of Sommeliers, adding “we are looking forward to having Masters Maniec and McNamara help direct our vital and growing organization.” During his term, Master Fletcher secured two donations of library wines to the Guild’s cellar totaling nearly 5,000 bottles. These wines are used to educate sommeliers and wine enthusiasts. Master Bjornholm was instrumental in getting the Guild’s website established and was a valuable contributor to our fundraising efforts including establishing several scholarship programs and serving as auctioneer at three fundraising events.
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