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Virginia ABC's 75th Anniversary 1934 - 2009

Timeline


1933

  • Virginia citizens vote on October 3, to ratify the 21st Amendment, which would end national Prohibition.
  • National Prohibition repealed when Utah becomes the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment on December 5.

1934

  • Virginia becomes a control state and the General Assembly votes to create the first three-member ABC Board on March 7.
  • Colonel R. McCarthy Bullington and T. McCall Frazier are appointed to the first Board on March 22, while Maj. S. Heth Tyler is named chairman.
  • The Pullman Company receives the first ABC license on April 3, to serve alcohol on six of its dining cars.
  • First four ABC stores open on May 15, in Richmond. Fifty stores were opened by August and 66 by the end of the year.

1936

  • ABC agents are granted full police powers statewide.

1938

  • ABC Investigator Thomas Massie Gravely is shot on September 1, while raiding a still in Pulaski County. He dies from his injuries five days later, becoming the first ABC agent killed in the line of duty.

1941

  • Bureau of Law Enforcement seizes an all-time high of 1,771 illegal stills.
  • The 100th ABC store opens.

1944

  • ABC offices move from the historic Central National Bank Building at 219 E. Broad St. in Richmond to 4th and East Grace streets.

1950

  • ABC Investigator Floyd Fenwick Vincent is killed on January 22, while trying to execute a search warrant on a still in Bland County.

1952

  • ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement purchases unmarked cars, aircraft and radio equipment to increase surveillance of illegal stills.

1966

  • The 200th ABC store opens.

1968

  • Liquor by the drink sales are approved for establishments that qualify for a mixed beverage license on a local option basis.

1969

  • On November 26, Store 294 at Bailey's Crossroads in Fairfax County is the first ABC store opened after being remodeled for self-service patronage.

1970

  • Store 294 is the site of another first when Betty Wilson became the first female store clerk hired by ABC. Judy Beers became the second female clerk hired by ABC and worked at the same store.

1970

  • The 250th ABC store opens.

1971

  • The ABC warehouse moved from Harrison and West Broad Streets in Richmond to its current location at 2901 Hermitage Rd.

1974

  • Legal drinking age is lowered from 21 years old to 18 for beer.
  • Exotic dancing banned in mixed beverage licensed establishments.

1976

  • Central Office moved from East Grace and Broad streets to the same location as the Central Warehouse at 2901 Hermitage Rd. for the first time in agency's existence.

1981

  • Legal drinking age for beer is raised to 19 years old for off-premises consumption, but remains at 18 for on-premises consumption.

1982

  • Robert J. Grey Jr. becomes the first African American commissioner appointed to the ABC Board, serving as Chairman from 1984-1985.

1983

  • Legal drinking age is raised to 19 years old for all beer sales, and bartenders must be 21.

1984

  • A variety of ceremonies are held at the Central Office as ABC celebrates its 50th anniversary.

1985

  • Laurie Naismith becomes the first female commissioner appointed to the ABC Board.
  • Illegal Whisky Task Force is formed in Rocky Mount.
  • Persons born on or after July 1, 1966, are able to purchase beer, wine and liquor on and after their 21st birthday. Persons born before July 1, 1966, retain the privilege to purchase, possess and consume beer.
  • The Youth Alcohol Abuse Prevention Project (YAAPP) is formed and its first statewide conference is held at Roanoke College. A few years later, drug prevention is added to the mission of YAAPP, thus creating Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project (YADAPP).

1986

  • ABC stores stop selling wine except for Virginia-made brands.
  • First ABC-sponsored College Conference takes place. The event has continued annually ever since. It is the oldest continuously operating conference focusing on alcohol abuse prevention for college students in the country.

1988

  • Gov. Gerald L. Baliles proclaims October to be Virginia Wine Month.

1989

  • Gladys Bailey Harris becomes the first female ABC chairperson.

1993

  • ABC agents uncover 36 800-gallon pots during a raid on a still in Pittsylvania County, the largest size still bust in the commonwealth's history.

1997

  • ABC launches its Web site to further inform the public about the agency's mission, educational initiatives and retail products.

1998

  • ABC's Illegal Whisky Task Force seizes the largest single amount of illegal whisky in 20 years in Franklin County.
  • ABC special agents are put in charge of conducting underage alcohol and tobacco compliance checks.

1999

  • Operation Lightning Strike, a joint effort by ABC, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Internal Revenue Service and the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Department, uncovers a complex illegal whisky network based in Franklin County.

2001

  • ABC receives the Governor's Transportation Safety Award for its None For The Road campaign.

2002

  • ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement named National Agency of the Year by the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association for its assistance with rescue, recovery and security efforts at the Pentagon following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

2003

  • Revenue (profit transfers plus taxes) to the commonwealth exceeds $200 million.

2004

  • ABC Stores open for the first time on Sunday. Stores in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and some localities in Northern Virginia begin operating seven days a week for increased customer service.
  • ABC is awarded the first of two consecutive prestigious U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Awards for Performance Excellence.

2005

  • The 300th ABC store opens at Fair Lakes Shopping Center in Fairfax County.

2006

  • The first three-woman ABC Board was appointed. Esther Vassar was reappointed while Pamela O'Berry Evans and Susan Swecker were appointed.

2008

  • ABC received national and state awards for implementing the Alcohol and the Aging initiative and leading the formation of the Alcohol and Aging Awareness Group.
  • ABC received Environmental Enterprise certification, welcoming the agency to the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program.
  • ABC stores in Richmond and four cities in the Hampton Roads area open on Sunday.
  • Revenue (profit transfers plus taxes) to the commonwealth exceeds $300 million.
  • ABC initiated a partnership with the U.S. military to educate soldiers and sailors based in Virginia about the commonwealth's alcohol laws.
  • ABC established the Community Advisory Council, a series of regional meetings to increase communication between the agency, licensees, community organizations and citizens.

2009

  • ABC celebrates its 75th anniversary.

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