ASQ Section 0511 May 2025 Meeting Announcement
Saturday, 17 May 2025
George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill: Ranger Outing Event
Event Organized by
Edwin Videla
ASQ Section 0511 Arrangements Chair and Ranger Outings Lead
Short Description:
ASQ Section 0511 is pleased to have arranged for an approximate one hour and a half a ranger-led tour of George Washington's Distillery® and Gristmill at Mount Vernon, VA. Please arrive at 10:45 am to organize tour groups. The tour will be at 11:00 am. Space limitations provide for a maximum of twenty-four (24) participants per pre-reserved guide, so reserve your spot while you can!
- Participation will require driving to the location and spending time there comparable in duration to regular ASQ meetings plus meal time if you participate in the networking meal.
- This is an educational event. Participation in the tour provides 0.15 RU. Participation in the Networking Lunch provides 0.1 RU for a total of 0.25 RU earned when joining us for both. Participation in the tour is required to get RU for the Networking Lunch.
- You can earn an extra 0.05 RU if you perform the Optional Preparatory Review. For more details see Optional Preparatory Review George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill section below.
- You (and your guest if any) must register and pay here:https://app.memberplanet.com/#/event/asqnorthernvirginiasection/202505-GWDistilleryRO
- Each participant and guest must register
- Max number of guests per participant is 1
- If you have not successfully paid, your registration is invalid.
- The visit includes a distiller, and it allows visits from people under 21 years of age.
- We would also appreciate your feedback in a short poll on past events which reflects upon the 12 Ranger Outing events of 2021-2025 and prepares us for future Ranger Outings.
Registration and Payment:
Standard Registration is now open. There are 24 slots available. The cost is $25 per person. A guest can be added by selecting 2 for the count. Regular Registration will be open until Sunday May 11, 2025 @ 11:59 pm. Beginning May 12 and until Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 11:59 pm or when we run out of slots there will be a non-reimbursable $5 late fee.
Scroll all the way through to ensure you are completing all the information for each registration. Your registration will be reimbursed (attendance will be recorded) after the event as follows:
- Tour Participation
- ASQ Section 0511 Paid Member - $10
- Anyone else - $5
- Networking Lunch Participation
- ASQ Section 0511 Paid Member - $10
- Anyone else - $5
Anyone NOT registered WHO SHOWS UP for this ASQ event (for example, as a guest of someone who has registered) will be accommodated only if there is an ability to do so.
No guarantees of such accommodation should be expected; thus, it is important that you register both yourself and your guest.
Overall, you can attend a different Distillery tour, but you will have to arrange ticketing yourself, and it will be a tour not associated with this ASQ Section 0511 Ranger Outing event with no RUs awarded.
Program:
10:45 am-10:55 am.- Arrival, check in, in or near the front entrance at the Distillery building. Meet Edwin, he is expected to meet you wearing the ASQ Sash.
11:00 am-12:00 pm.- Tour is inside buildings. Tour will start on time and will not wait for late arrivals.
12:00 pm-12:15 pm.- A short drive to El Paso Mexican Restaurant 5-6 minutes. (8746 Cooper Rd, Alexandria, VA 22309)
12:15 pm-1:15pm.- ASQ Section 0511 Networking Meal. You will pay for your own meal that is to your liking in size, content, and cost. For more details about lunch see Networking Lunch after Tour section below.
About The Venue:
Website: https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/distillery-gristmill
The Venue: Nearly a 200-year hiatus and a multi-million dollar reconstruction, George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill at Mount Vernon, VA is back in business - producing grain products powered by a 16-foot waterwheel and the same rye whiskey that made the Founding Father the nation's most successful whiskey producer in the years after his presidency. Located at the original site, George Washington's Gristmill highlights his vision for America's future as "granary of the world;" while his Distillery is the only site in North America that demonstrates 18th-century distilling from seed to barrel.
Tour: Take a walk in a faithfully reconstructed working distillery that produces small batch spirits on site.
Ranger: This tour will be led by a guide provided by the distillery. Due to space limitations, we will be split into two or three groups of 8 people.
Map:
George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill
5513 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy, Alexandria, VA 22309
Parking:
Free parking is available at George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill. The facility is located at 5513 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309, approximately 2.7 miles from the main Mount Vernon estate. Visitors should arrive directly at the distillery and gristmill site, where on-site parking is provided at no cost. Additionally, a free shuttle service operates between the main Mount Vernon estate and the distillery and gristmill site, offering convenient transportation for guests.
Ranger Outings Poll:
If you have not yet done so, please respond by Friday 16 May 2025, 11:59 pm to the poll conducted by our Section 0511 Chair for Voice of the Customer:
Your answers are a direct input in helping us evaluate the results of the previous twelve (12) Ranger Outings of 2021-2025 and further improve our future Ranger Outings. It will also help us prepare for this Ranger Outing better.
This poll is only the second poll for Ranger Outings for all members and friends of Section 0511 (first such poll was in September 2021).
- Please kindly respond to the poll even if you decide not to register for the 17 May 2025 Ranger Outing. And then keep an eye for future polls.
Optional Preparatory Review:
This Optional Preparatory Review is for the May 2025 George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill Ranger Outing
Summary: The Optional Preparatory Review is an educational add-on to the main event that you may complete if you so choose.
- Completing and certifying its completion grants you an additional 0.05 RU atop of the RU credit you have earned by attending the Section's event.
- The Preparatory Review is designed to be about 30 minutes for an extra 0.05 RU.
How to Complete and Certify the Completion of the Preparatory Review
1. Complete all of the Preparatory Review activities noted in the Preparatory Review Activities
2. When you register for the event, check off the mark: "I certify that I have completed all activities of the Optional Preparatory Review before submitting this registration."
- If you have not checked off this mark at the time of the registration, Section 0511 will not record the additional 0.05 RU for you.
- If you have a Guest and the Guest has also completed the Preparatory Review, you may check off the certification mark for the Guest, too.
3. Attend the Section's Monthly Educational Event (which itself grants you 0.15 RU) to get the add-on 0.05 RU.
- If you do not attend the Event, you will forfeit your claim for the add-on RU, even if registered.
- Note: Attendance of the Section Event's Optional Networking Lunch (if one accompanies the event) is not required to get the credit for the Preparatory Review.
4. Be willing to use your knowledge of the Preparatory Review materials during the Section's event.
Thus, you will receive 0.15 RU for the Section's event and 0.05 RU for the Preparatory Review (and the 0.10 RU for the Networking Lunch if you attend it), for the total of 0.20 RU or 0.30 RU, respectively.
Activities of the Optional Preparatory Review
Important:
- You must complete ALL listed activities before certifying its completion during your registration for the event.
- Note that the web pages of this Preparatory Review also contain links to pages and texts outside the scope of the Distillery and Gristmill. You may explore those out-of-scope links if you so choose, but doing so will require your additional time and will not result in additional credits.
- Manage your time when reading the materials and exploring the virtual reality. The materials are engaging and may take you past 30 minutes.
Action #1. Read this short page and review the map: https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/distillery-gristmill
Action #2. For each of the following links, do the following:
- Instructions:
- Open each link
- Click on ENTER FULLSCREEN in the upper right
- Read the brief description on the left bottom (click on X to close it when done reading)
- Click on all interactive points - circle for a picture, triangle for a short video
- Remember that these links are virtual reality (like in video games).
- Use your mouse to rotate the view to see all parts and interaction points.
- If you do not do so, you will miss the interaction points. For example, you will not find all 14 interaction points on the Distillery site.
- The Links are:
- Distillery (one link with 14 interaction points, including 4 videos)
- Gristmill (a separate link for each of the views, with varying number of interaction points, remember to rotate the views)
Action #3. Certify the Preparatory Review completion during your (and, if applicable, your Guest's) registration for the event.
Networking Lunch After Tour:
Ranger Outings Lead Background:
Edwin I. Videla is a seasoned Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance leader with expertise in product development, food safety, supplier verification, and regulatory compliance. He has led FSVP and FSMA compliance initiatives, ensuring FDA readiness and supplier quality across global markets. Edwin currently works as an independent consultant for companies that want to get food related certifications and import products into the US.
Edwin holds an MBA with a concentration in Project Management from The University of Texas at San Antonio and a degree in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences from Universidad de Chile. He is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Food Safety and Quality Auditor (CFSQA). Fluent in English and Spanish, Edwin is known for his strategic planning, team leadership, and ability to drive quality initiatives that meet regulatory and customer standards, ensuring high-performance execution and compliance in global markets.