Established in 2018 by female leaders at Horizon, our Women in Leadership program's mission is to:
inspire and support the personal and professional success of women at Horizon Beverage.
The group consists of 74 women and men in sales, portfolio, and operational management positions in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The group’s main objectives are to provide female-focused career and personal development skills training, create a safe forum for a productive exchange of ideas and experiences, give women an opportunity to positively affect an evolving culture, and team building through community outreach and charity partnerships.
Empowering Female Professional Development
• Participated in the Boston Business Journal's Mentoring Monday for the third consecutive year. This one-of-a-kind virtual event brought together women in the business community for a morning of networking, keynote remarks, presentation panels, breakout mentoring sessions, and fun in a fast-paced coaching atmosphere.
• Partnered with Bacardi and the Bentley Center for Women and Business to present “Overcoming Hidden Barriers and Addressing the Gender Confidence Gap” workshop.
• Partnered with The Predictive Index to offer an assessment tool that identified behaviors participants have a natural tendency toward and how to leverage those tendencies for success.
• Partnered with Heineken and had a photographer take professional headshots so participants could update their digital profiles.
• Partnered with Campari and Bentley Center for Women and Business to present “Men as Allies” workshop. The workshop was also attended by all members of ownership and executive management.
Workplace Panel Discussions for Women by women
• In 2021, we hosted a Virtual Customer Panel Discussion on the topic of Resilience. Panelists spoke about ways in which they have been resilient in their business and personal lives throughout the pandemic. They also shared ways in which the Horizon team can effectively support their business during this time. Our esteemed panelists were:
- Denise Herrera – Vice President of Culinary for Burtons Grill & Red Heat Tavern; Chairperson of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association’s Executive Board
- Taniya Nayak – Co-owner of Yellow Door & Lower Mills Tavern; restaurant interior designerfrequently featured on HGTV
- Jen Ziskin – Owner/Wine Director of La Morra, Heritage of Sherborn & Punchbowl; organizer of “Let’s Talk Womxn, Boston”, a collaboration of 30 Boston female chefs and restaurateurs
- Tatiana Rosana – Executive Chef at Envoy Hotel leading Outlook Kitchen and Bar, Lookout Rooftop and Bar, and In Room Dining
- Nancy Batista Caswell – Managing Director and Owner of Caswell Restaurant Group: Brine, Ceiaand Oak + Rowan
• In 2019 we welcomed Nicole Brassard Jordan from the New Hampshire State Liquor Authority, Jodie Battles from JK Food Group (Toro, Coppa and Little Donkey) , Nancy Batista-Caswell from Caswell Restaurant Group (Brine, Ceia and Oak + Rowan) and Rachel Moniz from HEI Hotels and Resorts.
• In 2018 we welcomed Tiffani Faison and Kelly Walsh from Big Heart Hospitality Group (Tiger Mama, Orfano, Fool’s Errand, Sweet Cheeks), Ezra Star from Drink and Christine Elder from Blanchards Wine & Spirits.
• In 2018 we welcomed a team representing every level of the organization at Heineken USA including their Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel, National Sales Director, New England Zone Director and a Boston On Premise Manager.
educational and fun Female Focused Virtual Events
• In 2021 & 2020 we've held 5 virtual educational events as a way for our group to informally learn the history and distilling process of many popular spirits, taught by our Manager of Spirits Education and Development Patrick Gaggiano. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces connecting and interacting socially while making and sipping cocktails "together" from a safe social distancing.
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Sponsors of the events included Bacardi USA, Beam Suntory, Branca USA, Campari, Clean Co, Fever Tree, Ghost Tequila, Horizon Beverage, Hotaling, Patron, Rhum Clement, St George, and Samson & Surrey.
Outreach and Charity Partnerships for women in our communities
• PanMass Challenge 2022 – WiL is thrilled to announce we have officially entered our first-ever Horizon Team! The PMC takes place August 6-7th and benefits Dana Farber. Our team roster currently includes 7 riders: Caitlin McGarrahan (Co-Captain), Nikki Inkpen (Co-Captain), Brittany Safy, Chris Herrick, Dominic Colesano, Ken Powers, and Ryan Fochtman. Please support our team's effort to conquer cancer.
• Let's Talk Womxn Boston – Horizon sponsored the second annual event in March 2022, a mulit-restaurant tasting dinner by 16 of the best local female chefs & restauranteurs. The dining experience was paired with a Zoom conversation moderated by Jenny Johnson to celebrate their food, evolution, and collaboration to lift each other up.
• Spaghetti Dinner Gala – we partnered with Boisset, Beam Suntory, and Bacardi USA to donate two separate “Home Bar” packages collectively valued at over $1,200 for the 2021 Annual Women's Lunch Place Spaghetti Dinner Gala, historically held at Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. The Gala was run virtually and guests had the opportunity to bid on a number of great items via silent auction. All proceeds from the event went directly to the day shelter.
• Ride for Food – We teamed up to fundraise & cycle together in the Ride for Food on, October 3, 2021, Three Squares New England's annual bike ride to benefit hunger relief in Massachusetts.
We rode to support the critical mission and work of Women’s Lunch Place, our Boston-based community outreach partner. This was a fun opportunity to get our group together [safely] outdoors to enjoy some exercise in the fall air while giving back to our local community. So proud of our group that raised over $7,700 which included a generous company match from the Epstein and Rubenstein families. Horizon WiL's contribution represented nearly 15% of the total funds raised during Ride for Food's annual event!
• In 2021 & 2020, we hosted an Amazon Holiday Wish List Donation Drive benefitting Women’s Lunch Place. Horizon employees were encouraged to visit our online Amazon Wish List where they could purchase and ship a number of the shelter’s most-needed items. Gifts of blankets, gloves, socks, and towels were collected and organized at Horizon then delivered to the shelter on Christmas Eve. Our 2021 holiday drive totaled over $1,000 in gifts and included 100 bottles of hand sanitizer graciously donated by our friends at Bully Boy Distillery!
• Project Smile – in 2019, we partnered with Constellation Brands and 12 volunteers worked a “Fashion on Fire” event to raise money for Project Smile, a non profit that donates books, toys and stuffed animals to police and fire departments for first responders to give Children at the scene of traumatic events.
• Women’s Lunch Place – since opening its doors in 1982 the WLP in Boston welcomes over 200 women each day with a healthy breakfast and lunch in a safe, supportive community. In addition, they proved basic necessities and services such as career counseling and housing advocacy to help restore dignity and hope. In 2019, we sent two groups of volunteers to work the kitchen for breakfast and ran a collection drive for travel sized toiletries.
• In 2018, we supported our very own Origin Spirits Representative Kate Mazzotta in a guest bartender role at Lion’s Tale Woman Crush Wednesday supporting “Strong Women Strong Girls”, a nonprofit championing the next generation of female leaders through multi-generational mentoring programs.
What have attendees taken away from Horizon's Women in Leadership events? Anonymous feedback from surveys:
“A sense of calm knowing my struggles are not just mine alone"
"…knowledge about how to grow from both strengths and weaknesses"
"mentoring looks different in every relationship"
"…stop with the guilt…more support for each other"
"…a boost in confidence"
"I have become more open minded"
"…to advocate more for myself and groups I am passionate about"
"I want to volunteer more"
"…have passion and stick to your honest feelings"
"…be genuine"
"I am inspired to dig in and truly understand why our employees are with us…”