Paul Garrett: Dean of American Winemakers

Paul Garrett, dean of American winemakers in the first two decades of the twentieth century, became a millionaire making and selling wine, particularly his Virginias Dare label. Garrett established his first winery in North Carolina in 1900. By 1903, he owned vineyards and facilities in the Finger Lakes Region as well as Mission Vineyards and Winery in Cucamonga, California. He added wineries in Missouri, Ohio and Virginia. By 1919, he owned seventeen processing plants with a capacity of ten million gallons. He had to add other products during the Great Depression; however, when Prohibition was repealed, he was the only vintner capable of selling wine in every Wet State.

Emerson Klees of Rochester, NY

Emerson Klees is the editor / publisher of Cameo Press. He is also the author of thirty books, half about New York State and the Finger Lakes Region and half collective biographies of role models of human values, such as perseverance, motivation, determination, resilience, and creativity.  He has a B.S. in electrical engineering, Penn State University, major: electronics, a M.B.A. from New York University, major: management, minor: statistics, and a M.A. in English literature (creative writing track) from the State University of New York at Brockport. For six years, he was an adjunct professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology College of Business teaching courses in entrepreneurship and business organization.

      He is a member of the New Society of the Genesee Historical Association, past member of the New York State Historical Society and the Rochester / Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission, as well as past member and vice president of the New York State Regional Publishers Association. His awards include two first places and two second places in the E.  H. Corron National Historical Essay Contest.