The National Beer Wholesalers Association will hold its 67th annual convention at San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt next month. The conference, which will run from Sept. 12-15, will feature a broad line-up of general session speakers, panel discussions and educational seminars.

The association will detail its many activities and introduce its new leaders for 2005, and it also will host general session speakers that include political commentators, beer company executives and industry experts.

Former actor and Iowa Congressional Representative Fred Grandy will tell attendees why “Washington is Hollywood with a Higher Ceiling”. After serving in the House of Representatives for eight years, Grandy took over as president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries, restoring the organization’s reputation and turning it into the country’s most successful workforce development network. These days, Grandy is a visiting professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs, and is the co-host of Washington, D.C.’s WMAL Morning News.

Offering a journalist’s take on Washington will be Mark Shields, a commentator and syndicated columnist, with a career that has spanned eight presidents. He has been the principal political analyst for 17 years on PBS’s The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and has been moderator of CNN’s The Capital Gang.

Also speaking is Phil Lempert,  a consumer trend analyst who often appears as food trends editor on NBC’s Today Show. He has a syndicated column, is editor of two newsletters and founder of Supermarketguru.com.

NBWA will host brewery executives such as Norman Adami, president and chief executive officer of Miller Brewing Co. Adami joined Miller parent company South African Breweries Ltd. 24 years ago, and has earned a reputation for strong management based on tough financial discipline. In addition to his many board positions within SABMiller, Adami serves on the South Africa Foundation board of directors, an association of the country’s largest corporations.

Yingdi Liu, executive president of China’s Tsingtao Brewery Group Co., also will address NBWA members. Liu joined Tsingtao Brewery in 1982 and became executive president in 2002. His company controls 49 breweries in China and is one of the top 10 brewing companies in the world, with the No. 1 brand in China and the No. 1 Chinese beer brand in the United States.

Benj Steinman, president of Beer Marketers Insights, will offer “An Update on the State of the Beer Industry”, providing a look at industry trends, the competitive atmosphere and distributor issues.

The convention also will feature a number of educational seminars that will address topics essential to distributors’ businesses. The Brewers’ Association of America will present a panel discussion on “Profiting Through American Specialty Beers”. Panelists will include Gary Fish, president of Deschutes Brewery; Steve Hindy, president of Brooklyn Brewery and Jim Koch, founder and chief executive officer of Boston Beer Co.

A panel of legal experts will tackle the issue of direct shipping in “Under Attack: 21st Amendment Roundtable”; and legal minds will also take on the issues of the liabilities that come along with event sponsorship in a session titled “Sponsor and Promoter Liability: The Law, Risks and Solutions”, presented by Bleakley Platt & Schmidt LLP; “Distributor Agreements and the Law” from Madigan Dahl & Harlan PA; “Buying and Selling Imports and Secondary Brand Rights” from Ippolito Christon & Co.; and Kroll Background America will talk about ID protection in “Identity Theft: Guarding Your Most Valuable Asset.”

Marketing seminars designed to help distributors make the most of promotions include: “Increasing Feature/Display Activity with Category Management”, presented by CM Profit Group; “The Value of Server Training: Why it Matters to You” from Health Communications Inc.; “Maximize Your Message”, presented by Pennino and Partners; “Understanding the Beverage Alcohol Consumer… It’s a Moving Target” from Information Resources Inc.; and “The New Competitive Reality”, presented by the Independent Beverage Group.

Seminars dealing with employee relations and developing company strategies include: “How to Run Your Business So You Can Leave It in Style”, presented by DMG Financial; “The Power of Part-time Employees”, from HeaneyCougar; “Fistful of Overtime Dollars: Complying With The New Wage and Hour Regulations” from Ford & Harrison LLP; “21st Century Leadership, Motivation and Influence”, presented by Sales Systems Development Inc.; “The Beer Distributorship of the Future, from Beer Business Daily; “Distributor Rx: A Do-It-Yourself Kit”, presented by Colorado Distribution Consulting LLC; “Tackling the Trends,” presented by Smith Barney; “Finding the Right Talent, Right Fit, Right Now” Recruiting and Interviewing”, from P.I. Associates; and “Asset Protection and Transition of Your Business and Wealth Into the Future” from The Private Consulting Group. In addition, a special “Networking With Women in the Beer Business” session will be held the afternoon of Sept. 13.

And NBWA will talk technology with “How Wholesalers Can Add Value Through Mobile Computing”, presented by The Beer Industry Electronic Commerce Coalition; and “How Much Software Do You Want To Buy Today?” from MIT Systems Inc.