OFFICIAL
ACADEMIC CURRICULUM |
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Greetings!
Welcome to the most exciting Tobacconist University Newsletter, ever! - We said that last time, and the time before, but it is true again. In this issue, we make history twice!
Normally, this would be our last newsletter of the year, but this is not a normal year. With the global economic catastrophe looming overhead, TU is creating and aggregating content to help Tobacconists excel during the holiday season, and beyond.
One week from today we will send out our first ever Holiday Newsletter with Tips & Strategies to help retail Tobacconists succeed. We will send the Holiday Newsletter to our entire contact list; not just retail Tobacconists. Help us help retail Tobacconists by forwarding the Holiday Newsletter to retail Tobacconists and industry members - we must be proactive! |
| OUR FOUNDING SPONSOR |
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This is a profound and historic announcement, as the future of free retail Tobacconist certifications and academic development has been secured by an endowment from our Founding Sponsor. In addition, this is the first time in history that a company has paid an educational institution to certify and educate Tobacconists.
From TU's perspective, our Founding Sponsor needed to be a vertically integrated cigar maker with impeccable credentials. They need expertise, wisdom, and values better than our own so we can learn from them. In addition, it takes passion and vision to fund Tobacconist University. And lastly, it takes respect and love for retail Tobacconists and consumers. To that end, we have found the perfect Founding Sponsor:
As we go forward "Preserving Luxury Tobacco for Generations to Come", it is important to recognize our Sponsors - without them TU would not be a viable institution. In the case of our Founding Sponsor, Padrón Cigars, we must be extra grateful. It takes extraordinary vision and commitment to be the first. Padrón Cigars believes that retail Tobacconists are the key to our future and they are willing to back their convictions with real time and money.
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| NEW Certified Tobacconists & Apprentices |
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Certifying Tobacconists is the most important thing we do. To that end, it has been an exciting few months. Every week retail Tobacconists from around the world accept the TU Code of Ethics & Standards and begin the educational seminars on their way to Certification. We are honored by these Tobacconists: they are some of biggest, best, oldest, and most experienced retail Tobacconists in the world. Have a look:
82nd Ave. Tobacco & Pipe Ltd. - Portland, OR
A Little Taste of Cuba - New Hope, PA
Acadiana's Tobacconist - Piper's Haven, Ltd. - Lafayette, LABaker Street Tobacconist - Napa, CA
Broadleaf Tobacco - Severna Park, MD
Cigarette World - Boardman, OH
Davidus Cigars - Gaithersburg, MD
En Fuego Tobacco Shop - Rockwall, TX
F & M Tobacconist - Montgomery, AL
Famous Smoke Shop - Easton, PA Georgetown Tobacco - Mclean, VA
Harry Smooth's Tobacco Shop - Titusville, FL
Iwan Ries & Co. - Chicago, IL
J.T. Cigarro - Fargo, ND
Las Vegas Paiute Smoke Shop - Las Vegas, NV
Leaning House Fine Cigars - Belle Vernon, PA
Maska's - Seoul, South Korea
Millenium, Inc. - Roseville, CA
MJM Fine cigars & Tobacco - Palm Harbor, FL Ol' Times - Casselberry, FL
Old Virginia Tobacco Co., Kingstowne, VA Outland Gift & Cigar - Charlotte, NC
Palm Desert Tobacco, Inc. - Palm Desert, CA
Prattville Cigar Co. - Prattville, AL
Puffin' - Las Vegas, NV
Puffs N Stuff - Pittsburgh, PA Racine & Laramie - San Diego, CA
Smoke'm Prescott Valley - Prescott Valley, AZ
Stogie's - Houston, TX
Stoie's Stogies - San Francisco, CA
Tampa Humidor - Tampa, FL
Tarazona - Lynchburg, VA
The Cigar Shoppe -Cumming, GA
The Stash Gift Shop, Ltd. - Milwaukie, OR
Timothy's Fine Tobaccos - Bay City, MI Tobacco Haus Cigar Lounge - New Braunfels, TX
Tobacco Junction - Temple, TX
Tobacco World - Atlanta, GA
Up Down Cigar - Chicago, IL
V-Cut Smoke Shoppe - Toluca Lake, CA
White Ash Cigars, LLC - Egg Harbor Twp., NJ Z-Cigar International, S.A. - Roatan, Islas de la Bahia, Honduras
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| RETAIL TOBACCONIST SEMINARS - sign up now |
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| E-Seminars
TU provides retail Tobacconists with 12 E-Seminars (multi-media and hotlinked emails), as a study guide to the Academic Curriculum. The Seminars start every first Monday of the month and continue for six weeks - on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Send us an email if you would like to be included and we will sign you up for the next round. Make sure you let us know at least two weeks ahead of time so we can get you the Introduction Email, which will allow you to accept the Code of Ethics & Standards and become an official TU Certified Retail Tobacconist Apprentice - this will get you listed on the Certified Tobacconist webpage. |
| New Content |
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Coming Soon ...
TU is about to unleash the most extensive amount of new academic curriculum since the 'four colleges'. Thanks to our recent endowment, more than one hundred new enrollments, and years worth of research, new education, and tools are on the way. In particular, Service College will be expanding with Retail School, Customer School, Event School, and Business School. Also, How To Videos are coming to the FAQ section very soon (in post-production)! And new content like Humidor Etiquette, Cigar Myths, Wrapper School, and Product Placements will be added to the academic curriculum.
Also, please let us know if there are any topics you would like covered, and/or if you can think of new glossary terms for us to add.
Would you like to contribute? Let us know. TU is always open to contributions from Certified Tobacconists and credible industry members. |
| SMOKESHOP Magazine |
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This October we were honored with the front cover of Smokeshop Magazine. The writer, Dale Scott, really 'got it' when trying to capture the reality and potential of TU. He took his time, asked the right questions, and told our story well. His knowledge and passion are what made this honor possible. And, we are grateful to E. Edward Hoyt III, Smokeshop's Editor and Associate Publisher, for also recognizing the potential of TU and helping us along our way. All of TU's success depends on what Tobacconists and other industry members contribute. |
| PRESIDENT'S THOUGHTS |
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Clearly, these are exciting times for TU and our industry. Thanks to the Padrón endowment, we will be able to certify hundreds of new CRTs from now through 2009; and that will go a long way towards starting to shape the culture and industry we deserve to live in.
While we are promoting and certifying Tobacconists, we realize our most important focus is to help retail Tobacconists succeed. While the global economic catastrophe looms over us, we must remember that Tobacconists have always survived, and it is even possible to prosper in a lousy economy. Remember that Cigars = Vacation and our customers need us now, more than ever. Tobacconists contribute positively to Quality of Life! We must get that message out and do our jobs.
Stay tuned for volumes of useful content that will help us learn, share, and navigate our way to prosperity.
If you need help, ideas, feedback, or motivation, contact TU - we are here to help. | |
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"Preserving Luxury Tobacco For Generations To Come"
Sincerely,
Jorge Luis Armenteros, CMT
President & Founder
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