home | current news stories

Liquor Commission Nominee Mark Bodi Meets with Members

Mark Bodi, Gov. Lynch's nominee for Liquor Commissioner, met with a group of SEA members and guests at the SEA office on April 11th.

During the meeting, Bodi shared his background and management perspective, and heard employees’ concerns about the future of the agency.

Mark Bodi (left) speaks with employees

If confirmed, Bodi said, he wants to create either a Labor-Management Committee or an equivalent “roundtable forum” to improve communication between the Liquor Commissioners and the agency staff. “All members of the Commission should interact as regularly as possible with employees to get an idea of what’s going on,” he said.

Liquor Commission employees told Bodi about a wide variety of problems, including: safety concerns about the warehouse racking systems; lack of coordinated planning for new store openings; shortcomings in the distribution system; issues with the on-line ordering systems; and other communication problems with large business customers.

They also discussed the “trust issues” and “loss problems” that can result when stores are staffed primarily by part-time employees, when stores are opened and closed by part-time employees, and when bank deposits are made by part-time employees. The Commission has 490 part-time or temporary employees, but only 294 full-time employees.

Although “part-time employees are an important part” of the agency’s workforce, “they have been used as a way of lowering wages and reducing expenses, ultimately to the detriment of our business and customers,” Bodi said. “Full-time employees are more vested, more committed” to the mission of the agency, he explained.

"Part-time employees . . . have been used as a way of lowering wages and reducing expenses, ultimately to the detriment of our business and customers."

The Liquor Commission is one of the few agencies that produce revenue for the state, generating $98 million in FY2005. Bodi said he would focus on ways to increase Commission proceeds so that “the state can use those revenues to benefit all” citizens of New Hampshire.

Bodi said he would “be a strong advocate” for investing in Commission infrastructure and staff. “In a retail environment, you need to project a fresh image,” he said. He also said he “would support anything that enhances distribution to our customers.”

“There is an enormous amount of new technology that could be employed” to improve customer service and sales, he said.

If confirmed, Bodi would leave his position as President of the marketing firm Griffin, Bodi & Krause, which has provided advertising services to the Liquor Commission since 1991.

Bodi discussed press reports about whether his past experience would present a “conflict of interest” if he is confirmed as Commissioner. He said he would sever all ties to his former firm “because I want to do something different. I want to be a responsible change agent.”

He said his long-time work with the Liquor Commission would enable him to “hit the ground running” if his nomination is confirmed. “You’ve raised a thousand problems, a thousand issues that need to be resolved,” he told the Commission employees. “And the advertising contract didn’t come up once this evening.”

Bodi is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, has served three terms as a state representative, and has also served as a Fire Commissioner in Manchester.

Employees who attended the meeting came away convinced that Bodi’s past work for the Commission would be an asset, not a conflict. “He didn’t hem and haw about leaving the company,” said Accountant Cassandra Denoncourt. “It would be good to have someone with his background” on the Commission, she said.

“From what he said, it sounds like he would be looking out for us, not looking out for himself,” said Stock Clerk Rick Follansbee. “I was really impressed with Mr. Bodi. I liked what he had to say, and I am really glad I went to the meeting.”

Based on the feedback from members who attended the meeting, the SEA is urging support for Bodi.