Lorraine Hems having a good time at the Masked Ball at this year’s SWE Conference
Last August, at our annual conference, SWE welcomed its new Executive Committee and Board of Directors. While many of our board members have served for quite a few years, there are also some new faces in the group as well. Today we’d like to introduce you to one of our new board members, Lorraine Hems…and thank her for her service to the Society!
Lorraine Hems, CSS, CWE, is a newly-elected member of the SWE Board of Directors. Lorraine has been in the wine and spirits industry at the retail, wholesale, and educational levels for over 30 years. She currently teaches wine and spirits studies as a full-time lecturer in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY.
Lorraine is also a Certified Bordeaux Educator with L’Ecole du Vin de Bordeaux/SOPEXA. She stays active in the wine industry through various roles with SWE, Women for WineSense, and the American Wine Society that have included volunteering, teaching at local events, and presenting at national conferences. In 2012, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Chapter of Women for Wine Sense.
Lorraine is an active advocate for the wines of the Finger Lakes, the area she calls home. Even though she is lucky enough to live in such a lovely wine region, she still enjoys travelling, particularly while checking the various wine regions of the world off of her “spit bucket” list while presenting and judging at wine and spirits competitions throughout the world.
Welcome, Lorraine!