News Releases & Statements

American Beverage Association President and CEO To Participate In Panel At 2006 National Conference Of State Legislatures Annual Meeting And Exhibition

Contacts:
Tracey Halliday                
(202) 463-6718

AMERICAN BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO TO PARTICIPATE IN PANEL AT 2006 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES ANNUAL MEETING AND EXHIBITION

PANEL TO DISCUSS NEW SCHOOL BEVERAGE GUIDELINES AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC HEALTH

WASHINGTON — With a new school year upon us, American Beverage Association (ABA) President and Chief Executive Officer Susan K. Neely will discuss the beverage industry’s new School Beverage Guidelines at the 2006 National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Annual Meeting and Exhibition panel, “Sugar Suspension: The Healthy New Direction of Snacking at School.”

This past May, ABA and its member companies joined with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association under the leadership of former President Clinton and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, to develop new School Beverage Guidelines. The new guidelines provide America’s 35 million students with a broad range of lower-calorie, nutritious, smaller-portion beverage choices.

“Working with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, we are taking a meaningful approach to school wellness that will have real impact on the lives of children,” Neely said. “Limiting calories in schools is a sensible approach that acknowledges our industry’s long-standing belief that school wellness efforts must focus on teaching kids to consume a balanced diet and exercise more.”

These guidelines were developed to serve as the beverage criteria for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools program. The guidelines apply to all beverages sold at school during the regular and extended school day. 

The panel, which will also include Alliance for a Healthier Generation Director of Industry Initiatives Brian Herr, will take place from 2:45 to 4:15 p.m., Wednesday, August 16, in Presidential Ballroom B, Level 2 of The Gaylord Opryland.

To schedule an interview with Ms. Neely, please contact ABA’s communications department at (202) 463-6718. For more information on the new School Beverage Guidelines, please visit ABA’s Web site.

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The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States.