Bill Cherrie: How Seagram’s Gin Puts Young Black Men to Work

photo by steed media service

VP, Multicultural Marketing, Pernod Ricard USA

Bill
Cherrie, vice president of multicultural marketing for Pernod Ricard,
says it is unconscionable for businesses not to engage in economic
reciprocity with communities that supports its thick portfolio of
spirits. Therefore one of its signature brands, Seagram’s Gin sponsors
a Seagram’s Gin Pursuit of Excellence Institute, a job readiness
program for African American males that takes place during Black
History Month.

“The program is a job
creating [and] mentoring program for young African American males. It’s
a program that’s designed to provide some important life skills in
terms in area of résumé writing, how to dress, how to interview [and]
how to get ready for that next step, whatever that next step will be,”
says Cherrie off the Seagram’s Gin Pursuit of Excellence Institute.
“The whole objective is to give back to the community that we serve.”

The Institute’s rigorous four-week training program commences in
January and ends during Black History Month. Students are harvested
from a pool of candidates who are vetted through a multifaceted
interview process. Once enrolled, the students learn computer and
technical skills, interviewing techniques, table etiquette and other
training. The New York-based Pernod Ricard USA, which houses the
Seagram’s Gin brand, started the program in two cities: Atlanta and
Chicago. The 99 percent job placement rate, Cherrie attests, prompted
his company to add two more cities this year — Tampa, Fla., and
Columbia, S.C. Each city has a total of 10 African American males who
can qualify for the program, which offers a $500 stipend for the
month-long institute. –terry shropshire