This past weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of hanging out with Robert Holt, owner of Southern Draw Cigars. I spent Saturday night with him at one of my local Brick & Mortar shops and all day Sunday. It was a good break for him to just relax and enjoy some time here in Melbourne, FL. With Robert being Robert, the hours we spent together were filled with smoke and lot’s of stories. I learned a lot about this dedicated and driven cigar man, and his family, over a day and a half. Of course much of what we talked about was private and off the record but one topic he was passionately excited about was the latest Southern Draw Cigars charitable strategy, IGNITE.
The IGNITE program truly personifies what Southern Draw Cigars is all about – giving back to the community. Anyone that knows Robert and his wife Sharon understand their devout belief, that we are all here to help others when we can. In keeping with that belief, Southern Draw Cigars officially announced today, the launch of their IGNITE Charitable Strategy.
So what is IGNITE ?
IGNITE, is a creative way for Southern Draw Cigars to dedicate NEW release cigars to provide hope, morale and charity to those in need. Southern Draw Cigars with its partners will join together by voluntarily assisting in all lawful ways, to support mutually agreed upon charities and causes. The primary focus will be serving:
- Active-duty, deployed, military veterans and their families;
- Premium cigar rights and cigar retail associations; and
- Our community’s needy, homeless and hungry, many of whom are US military veterans.
The program is based on 4 key tenets or values:
- Ambition – IGNITE partners and sponsors will be demanding of ourselves, providing our first and best cigar offerings and are each committed to increasing annual contributions for every cause we agree to support.
- Collaboration – INGITE partners value one another, thrive on our united resources, and will work to leverage our combined strength in making a difference, without placing the financial burden on any single party regardless of their own resources.
- Creativity – IGNITE is a new idea, a new approach in overcoming federal, state and local restrictions that have proven somewhat prohibitive for the premium cigar industry, to take a disciplined approach to develop sustainable options to best support our causes.
- Accountability – IGNITE partners take responsibility for using our combined resources effectively and efficiently, achieving quantifiable and sustainable results and being accountable to one another, and most of all, to the causes we support.
Robert explained to the company has been working n this for a while and wanted to solidify as a focal point for the company. In order to execute the Southern Draw IGNITE Charitable Strategy, the company has set forth and declared publicly, six key goals for 2018:
- Produced five NEW cigar offerings with custom IGNITE bands;
- Partnered with FIVE different premium cigar retailers;
- Produced 5,000 custom “IGNITE some good” jars, ½ black and ½ white each with the charities’ sticker on top and informational brochure insert;
- Allocated $3.75 per jar to select charities (x 5,000 jars);
- Retail partner commitment of $3.75 per jar to select charities (x 5,000 jars) and optional coupon for future savings;
- $37,500 to charities ($3.75 x 5,000 from SDC + $3.75 x 5,000 from retailers) = $37,500).
Southern Draw Cigars will provide complete transparency regarding the identity of each partner, sponsor and the amount of all contributions and the frequency of the offerings.
Current Partners and Sponsors.
Each IGNITE jar has been optimized for delivery with Boveda’s (www.bovedainc.com) patented 2-way humidity control and a freshness seal, each donated by Boveda as they increase their already generous charitable giving program.
Southern Draw Cigars and three retail partners have selected Operation Cigars for Warriors (www.cigarsforwarriors.org) as the initial beneficiary. This is a concerted effort to increase the cigar donations and monetary contributions that have seen a significant decrease since the 2016 FDA Regulations. 
Stockpiles of donated cigars and funds to ship the cigars to our deployed military personnel have diminished to all-time lows.
2018 Calendar of Events
- April 14 – IGNITE release #1 during the Texas Cigar Festival.
Serious Cigars and Casa de Montecristo have partnered with Southern Draw Cigars for the 1st IGNITE release, details on the NEW cigar to be announced on April 9th.
- May 12 – IGNITE release #2 at Famous Smoke Shop & Leaf Cigar Bar.
NEW and exciting cigar release in Easton, PA, details to be announced soon. https://www.leafcigarbar.com/
- Date TBD – Cigars International has selected two unique releases under the IGNITE banner, along with scheduling exciting events in September and November.
- TBD – Q3 – 2018 IGNITE release #4 is available for retail partnership, 1,000 jars and a NEW Southern Draw Cigars release.
- TBD – Q4 – 2018 IGNITE release #5 is available for retail partnership, 1,000 jars and a NEW Southern Draw Cigars release.
“LET ALL THINGS BE DONE WITH CHARITY”
Please direct all questions, comments and requests about IGNITE or to inquire about our future sponsorship opportunities for retail partners to [email protected].
For general information about Southern Draw Cigars, a list of retail partners and reviews, please visit us at www.southerndrawcigars.com.
Soli Deo Gloria!