Held on October 22nd, 1954
at the Hotel Hooge Vuursche, Laren, Holland

Present were:
Mr.G. A. Baker U.K.B.G., President 
Mr.Comm. P. Grandi, A.I.B.E.S.
Mr.A.Zola, A.I.B.E.S.
Mr.F. Cotto, G.A.B.F. (L'Genevoise Association de Barmen de France),
Mr.F. Friede, D.B.U.
Mr.G. Sievi, S.B.U.
Mr.H. Jansson, S.B.G.
Mr.Normann, O.B.C. (Oslo Bartender Club)
Mr.A.V. Christensen D.B.L.
Mr.J. Platteschorre, N.B.C.    
Mr.H. W. Roberts, U.K.B.G. (General Secretary,).

Observers present:
Mr. G. Tops, L.B.U. (Luxembourg Bartender Union)
Mr. K. Sörensen, D.B.L.
Mr. E.Brantberg, Mr. Brunius, F.B.S.K. (Finish Bartender and Supporters Club),
Mr. A.B. Paul, U.K.B.G.
Mr. S. Cox, U.K.B.G.
Mr. J. Van der Horst, N.B.C.
Mr. W. Lanz, S.B.U.
Mr. U. Grandi, A.I.B.E.S.

The Meeting was opened by J. Platteschorre, acting President and Secretary of the N.B.C., welcoming the delegates and expressing his Guild's pleasure at being able to act as hosts to their various countries. 
He sincerely hoped that they would have a good meeting and then asked their President of the IBA to take the Chair.
President Baker then asked that the Minutes of the previous meeting at Venice in 1953 be taken as read in view of their publication in full in the I.B.A. Bulletin.  On the proposal of H.Jansson, seconded by V. Christensen, it was agreed that these be accepted and confirmed as correct.

The next item on the Agenda was to receive the President's Report. 
In this Mr. Baker said: "Colleagues of the I.B.A. It gives me the greatest pleasure to be with you this afternoon, firstly because I am able to personally thank our hosts, the Nederlandse Bartenders Club, for the wonderful hospitality they have extended to the Members of the I.B.A., and secondly because I was unable to take the chair and be with you in Venice last year. So, as it is possible I may not be in the chair again, I have the chance on this occasion of meeting and speaking with all the Members of he I.B.A. I think we should be well satisfied with the progress of the I.B.A. in the last few years-it is going along quietly and steadily and news of our Association and its ideals are spreading around the world, as is borne out by the applications for Membership from Finland and Argentina.

Mr. George A. Baker.  
I think we are wise to make our progress slow but sure. We can have our ambitions for the future, but do not let us be too ambitious.  And let us bear in mind, as I have said before, that the I.B.A. is a link between us all, in our national guilds and not a body formed to control what we can and cannot do within our own organisations.
We have quite a large Agenda to get through today and I hope you will all give it your fullest attention and that our discussions will be happy and harmonious.  May we leave the meeting with the feeling that it has been worthwhile.
The UKBG has had the honour of being President of the I.B.A. for three years now-and our Guild is proud of the fact that it supplied the first President of the I.B.A.  We have done our best to make it a living organisation from the foundation meeting at Torquay in 1951.  I hope the I.B.A. will continue to go quietly but steadily on to greater success in the future and that it will be responsible for strengthening the bonds of friendship and goodwill between the Guilds and the countries they represent. May that always be the primary object of the I.B.A. Thank you, Gentlemen”.

On the proposal of A. Zola, seconded by H. Jansson, the President's Address was unanimously adopted.
The Financial Report was then presented and was as follows.  "For the past year there has not been a great deal to report on the financial side.  Delegates will remember that at the last Meeting in Venice in 1953 a full statement was given of the finance since the I.B.A. was formed in 1951, so that a full picture of the position was given up to that date.  To bring us up to date now we have only to take the past twelve months and we are pleased to report that this shows a further slight increase in the credit balance. 
At the last Meeting our balance was £75.18.or, with outstanding debtors of some £62. These outstanding amounts have now all been made good and the present position is as follows".  Here the receipts and payments for 1954 were given in detail, showing that the main income had been from subscriptions and advertising in the Bulletin.  The main expenditure had been for the printing of the Bulletin.  The credit balance in hand was £186. or, which was considered a satisfactory position.  The detailed balance sheet and statement was then circulated to the delegates.
Mr. Sievi (S.B.U.) raised a query on the subject of advertising in the Bulletin, but the President ruled that this was a point for "Any other business
On the proposal of Mr. Zola, seconded by Mr. Normann, the Financial Report was unanimously adopted.

The Meeting then considered applications for Membership of the I.B.A. 
The application by the Finnish Guild was read and the Representative present was asked to give details of his Guild.    
Mr. Björn Brandtberg said the Club was only young but they felt that if accepted to the I.B.A. it would be a great step forward for them and would improve their standing with the Management side and with the Trade, it would also help them in recruiting more suitable members. He said drinking was in a young stage in Finland and they had to help educate the public to drink properly. They had increased their membership in the last year and now had approximately 20 Members including Associates.  Their Guild had been formed with the same rules as the Swedish and English Guilds.
After a short discussion it was agreed that the Finnish Bartender and Supporter Club be accepted as a Member of the I.B.A.

The application of the Argentine Bartenders Guild was then considered. 
The Secretary read the application and reported that they had also obtained a book of rules. These showed that the Association was on similar lines to their own Guilds. 
He also reported that the Argentine Membership was 500. 
Comm.Grandi (AIBES) said he had seen the Argentine magazine and it appeared to him that the Argentine Guild included street cafés, snackbars, etc.in their Member- ship. He felt they should first ensure that the Members of this Association were all Cocktail Bartenders of the standing they had in their Guilds in Europe. He was supported in this by Mr. Christensen (DBL) and it was agreed that the application be put back to the next meeting in order that information could be obtained on this point.

The next item on the Agenda to be considered was the proposal from the Danish Bartender Laug on International Cocktail Competitions. Cocktails Competitions.  After a brief discussion it was agreed the eleven-point proposal should be taken point by point with explanation from the Danish delegate. These were as follows:
(1). Only one International Competition to be held and approved by the I.B.A, each year. This was unanimously agreed.
(2). The Competitions are organised by the IBA and are held alternately in countries, which are Members of the IBA.
The UKBG and A.I.B.E.S. delegates did not agree with this. They suggested that the competition should be organised by the Guild in whose country the competition was held, with IBA approval.  The German delegate supported this but suggested that there should be a small IBA committee appointed of two or three to help and advise.
The Danish delegate said his Guild had suggested this method of organisation by the IBA, as it would help the smaller Guilds to hold a Competition with the support of all the Trade in different countries.  It was easier for the UKBG or Italy to hold such an event because of the big Trade help in their countries. 
It was agreed that this item be accepted as amended by the UKBG, AIBES and DBU suggestions. 
(3). The Competitions to be supported by firms interested in the I.B.A. The Danish delegate said it was their idea that a committee in each country should contact firms in that country and get amounts for sending to the Guild organising. 
The German delegate pointed out that in his country it was forbidden to receive money from firms for such a purpose. 
The Swiss delegate said they had to be careful about asking too much of the Trade it was already a little difficult in his country.  He did not agree with the proposal. The opinions of the delegates were divided on this point and there was some discussion. The General Secretary suggested the Guild organising the Competition should get the support of the Trade generally in its own country. 
If it was a smaller Guild and they found that they could not get enough help, then they should report this to the IBA and ask for assistance. This suggestion was unanimously agreed.
(4).  The association of smaller countries will therefore have occasion to hold an international competition. 
It was felt this should have been included in the previous item and had been dealt with in the previous discussion.
(5). Each year a sum be provided for this purpose, either a fixed amount each year or at the discretion of each firm.
The meeting agreed this was already covered on the agreement under item 3.
(6). A committee will be established comprising two bartenders from each country. This point no longer necessary as the Meeting had agreed that only a small committee of two or three I.B.A. Members be formed to help the organising Guild.
(7).  Each country may hold a National Competition each year in order to choose the winners to attend the International Competition.  It was suggested that the first six automatically enter the final Competition. The UKBG delegate said his Guild did not agree. If there was to be only one World Competition it should be open to individual bartenders all over the world in the same way as their Competition at Olympia. Italy agreed with Denmark but suggested that it should not be the first six but the first three. There was some discussion on this point and it was eventually put to the vote. Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Holland agreed with the Danish proposal as amended by Italy.
The UKBG, Germany and France with the UKBG proposal. The Danish proposal as amended by Italy was therefore carried.

The next two items in the proposal were taken together:
(8). The establishment of a filing cabinet comprising the most popular international cocktails, which must not be entered in the Competition.
(9). Only the winning Cocktail recipes will be registered as international cocktails,
The Danish delegate said the idea was that the IBA arrange a list of international Cocktails and add only winning recipes in the Competitions.  Every country would then be interested in selling the cocktails.  Comm. Grandi pointed out that the UKBG had such a file and it had taken a long time to compile. He thought the matter was too difficult to discuss today. 
It was agreed that on this point the delegates should get the ideas of their own Committees and reply to the IBA before the next Meeting.
(10).  In connection with the yearly international competition the IBA will convene its meeting.  This suggestion was unanimously agreed. The Secretary pointed out that the Rules stated once every three years and that these should now he amended to once a year. This was agreed.
(11).  The travel and hotel expenses during the Competition will be paid by the IBA. It wasnot agreed by the delegates and this was amended with unanimous agreement to be the responsibility of the Guild organising the Competition.
The next item was to consider the UKBG proposal that there should be standardization of the method and the Rules for organising and running International Competitions.  This suggestion was unammously agreed.  It was also agreed unanimously that the rules and methods of the UKBG Competitions be adopted for the I.B.A.
In connection with International Competitions, after seeking permission from the Chair,
Mr. Paul, UKBG, suggested that all announcements at Competitions should be in both the language of the home country and English.  It was agreed that this suggestion should be borne in mind.
The Meeting then considered the position and progress with the proposal that the I.B.A. should seek permission through its various Members to be able to organise an approved Exchange Scheme for Apprentice Bartenders. 
The UKBG, AIBES and DBU delegates stated that their Governments had been approached and a reply was awaited.
The SBU delegate said it was not an easy thing to arrange, he explained the position in Switzerland and said they would see what they could do. The GABF Delegate said he thought they were already in a position to do such a scheme. 
Other delegates reported the position and difficulties and it was eventually agreed that each Member Guild should continue to ascertain what could be done and report again at the next Meeting.

The next item to be considered was the proposal from the A.I.B.E.S. that the I.B.A. issue an approved standard quantities card. The Italian delegate said that now-adays in Italy the quantities for spirits, etc. varied from establishment to establishment and proprietor to proprietor.  There were complaints from customers and he felt it was very difficult for the bartender. If they issued a standard measure card it would help.  The Norwegian delegate said thast it was already covered by law in his country at 2/2 centilitres.  The DBU delegate said the measure was approximately 32 to the bottle in his country and he did not see how they could agree to such a proposal.  The UKBG delegate said it was an extremely difficult problem, which there was not much hope in solving. 
They would have to persuade all employers to agree. 
Sweden, Denmark and Holland all stated, that it was already controled by law at different measures. 
Switzerland stated that they had obtained a standard measure after many years of negotiations with the proprietors and they would be glad to give Italy details of the arrangement if it would help.  It was agreed that whilst the proposal was a most desirable one there was nothing that could be done by the IBA in such a matter.
The President then stated that they should now deal with the Election of Guild Officers. 
Each Guild had been asked to bring their nominations to the Meeting and he proposed that each Guild in turn should give its nominations for the President, Vice President and General Secretary. 
Those with the most nominations, to be elected for an office for the next three years.
The DBU delegate said he did not quite understand the arrangement and pointed out that it would be necessary for the President and Secretary to come from the same country. 
The President replied that the delegates had the choice of deciding this as they were free to nominate who they desired. 
There was some considerable discussion on this point and also on whether the nominations should be made public at the table or by secret ballot. The Secretary pointed out that the rules stated it should be by a show of hands.  After further discussion it was agreed that it should be by secret ballot with one of the independent observers counting the papers. 
As a result of this the S.B.U. received the most nominations for the Presidency, the A.I.B.E.S. for the Vice-Presidency and the UKBG for General Secretary.
The President said that he now presumed these Guilds would be elected accordingly.  Mr. Sievi (SBU) objected, he said that he did not see how the IBA could be run with the President in one country and the Secretary in the other. In such circumstances he was not prepared to accept office for his Guild. The President said the election had been carried out in a proper manner and agreed by everyone.  There was a further considerable discussion and the General Secretary suggested that although it was not entirely in order with normal procedure, that a further secret Ballot should be held. 
As a result of this second ballot, the S.B.U. in fact Mr. George Sievi was elected as President, the Nederlandse Bartenders Club, Mr. Jacques Platteschore, as Vice President, and the S.B.U. Mr. G.Sievi as General Secretary for the next three years.   Mr Sievi thanked the delegates for electing the S.B.U. as President and Secretary. 
He would certainly do his best in every way and he hoped the S.B.U. would receive the support of all Member Guilds.

Under ''Anyother Business'' the Meeting considered a suggestion from the UKBG that only Full Bartender Members of the I.B.A. Guilds would be eligible to be President or Vice-President of the I.B.A. 
This was unanimously agreed by the meeting and that the Rules be amended accordingly.
The Meeting then considered a personal application from the President of the Luxembourg Bartender Union, Mr. G. Tops for his Union to be made a Member of the I.B.A. 
He said their Union was only very new and very small with 5 Full, 15 Apprentice and 24 Associates. 
He would like the meeting to know that his Union would do their best to maintain the IBA standards in every way. 
After discussion it was agreed unanimously that the LBU be accepted as a Member of the I.B.A.

Mr. Sievi then asked whether delegates knew what was happening in regard to the Belgium Bartenders Guild, he had addressed letters to them but these had been returned. He felt that they did not show enough interest.
The President pointed out that the Belgian Guild was not a Member of the IBA and he thought they should let the matter rest.

Mr. Sievi then spoke of the S.B.U.'s complaint about the UKBG running an International Competition in London at the same time as the Swiss Competition at The Hospes Exhibition. They had been very upset about this. They also regretted that UKBG had not sent any representatives to the Swiss competition, as had the other Guilds. 
The President said in reply for that he did not think it was a matter for this table, but a personal one between the two Guilds. They had given a written explanation of the circumstances, which he thought were quite reasonable.

Mr. Sievi then raised the question of individual overseas Memberships of the various Guilds.  He said the SBU did not agree to the various Members paying and they didn't like the collecting of overseas Memberships by other Guilds.  In the S.B.U. they had done away with overseas Membership.  He pointed out that in Switzerland some bartenders who were not Members of the SBU were Members of the UKBG.  He said the SBU did not want to interfere in any way with other Guilds but those were their views.

Mr. Jansson for Sweden said the General Secretary had made mention of the fact in the last Bulletin that they had agreed at the last Meeting that no new overseas Members should be made without the consent of the Guild of the man concerned.
The Secretary had stated this was not being carried out and he would like to point out that a man in Sweden had been made an Overseas Member by D.B.U. without the knowledge of the Swedish Guild.
The D.B.U. delegate said he would look into this.
Comm. Grandi for Italy said that bartenders should not join other Guilds as Overseas Members but join their own Guild and have their Membership Card marked that they were Members of the IBA through their Guild. The SBU delegate and the Swedish delegate supported this. Other delegates did not and the President pointed out that they should not interfere with the freedom of the other Guilds or of the individual bartender to do as he chose.  It was agreed that the matter of overseas Members should be left entirely to the individual Guilds to do as they chose in the matter.

The Finnish delegate said he would like to suggest that each Member Guild should incorporate the IBA initials on their I Guild Pennants. The President said he did not think this would be possible as the older Guilds already had many hundreds of pennants out to their Members.

Mr. H.W. Roberts, the IBA-General Secretary, raised the question of dates of International Competitions.
It had been agreed at the 1953 meeting that Sweden and Holland should be given permission for Competitions in 1955. 
The Swedish delegate stated that his Guild would not be in a position to run such a Competition and it was agreed by the Meeting that Holland be allocated the International Competition for 1955. 
This, to be the last under the old arrangements, and the Danish proposals agreed that they come into force with the 1956 International Competition.

The President prior to closing the meeting said he was very happy that he had been able to be with them today and pleased at the way they had worked together. As the retiring President he was now handing over the "new born baby,' of the IBA to their Swiss friends.

They all knew what care must be taken of a young baby and he hoped they had brought it up safely. He hoped it would continue to go well when handed to Switzerland and that they would all keep their international friendship. They had all been good friends before the IBA existed and he hoped they would all stick to that good will.  He hoped they would bring up the IBA in the same way as the older Guilds among them had been and he felt sure it would then prosper.

He concluded by extending a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Platteschorre, the N.B.C. and all its Members for providing such a fine meeting place and wonderful hospitality.

Mr. Platteschorre in reply said they were all very glad in Holland that they had been given the Vice Presidency of the IBA and also that they would meet all together again next year in Holland for the International Competition and Meeting. 

It would be the first time there had been an International Competition in Holland and they would do their best.
These things meant a lot of work, but they were very happy to do it and he would assure all their visitors that if they came next year they would be given an even more friendly welcome than at present.

Since being no further business the President then declared the Meeting closed.