Dated July 18, 2018
This afternoon it was brought to the attention of the Board of Directors of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation that Adam Seger was arrested today, as reported by NOLA.com. Mr. Seger, a long time member of the spirits community, is charged with third degree rape which allegedly occurred years ago. We are deeply troubled by Mr. Seger’s alleged actions and are saddened and heartbroken for the individual who was victimized.
We understand and acknowledge that sexual assault and misconduct of any kind is a serious issue for the hospitality and spirits industry. When we created the Foundation in February of this year, one of our first commitments was to make sure that Tales of the Cocktail New Orleans is safe for our attendees, participants, sponsors, cocktail apprentices, volunteers, staff, committee members, consultants and our Board of Directors.
To ensure this, the Foundation took several steps:
- Instituting a mandatory Code of Conduct, created with the help of local non-profit Shift Change, for every individual registered and/or affiliated with Tales.
- Partnering with Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR), a Louisiana based 501c3, and Green Dot, a sexual and physical violence prevention organization, to offer seminars on assault and harassment, that are available for free to the entire community.
- Partnering with STAR to make a 24/7 hotline available to all Tales attendees. If you observe or experience sexual violence, it is important to inform the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and/or contact a victim advocate organization by calling the hotline: 1-855-435-STAR
Additionally, the Board committed to programming at Tales designed to support the entire bartender and industry professional holistically. Beyond the Bar is an alcohol-free, no-charge, week-long activation, with a range of offerings including AA meetings, free health screenings, group therapy, physical health, and mental well-being seminars. These are open to the public and entirely free of charge.
We hope the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation will be a convener for change. We believe it is Tales’ responsibility to create the space for conversation and commit to making sure there is action and progress towards a solution. We are not individually the experts, but we can bring them together.
Mr. Seger’s alleged actions are egregious violations of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s code of conduct. He is not affiliated with Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and will not be invited back.
We intend to offer all support and assistance we can to law enforcement and survivors.
- Caroline Rosen, Executive Director of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation
