Held on Wednesday, 12th November, 1963. At The Hotel Billia, St. Vincent, Val d'Aosta, Italy

Present:
Mr. Kurt Sörensen - Denmark
Mr. Raoul Suarez - Argentina
Mr. Ernst Bardorf - Austria
Mr. Gustave Tops - Belgium
Mr. John Durlesser - California
Mr. Björn Brandtberg - Finland
Mr. Felix Cotto - France
Mr. Fred Friede - Germany
Mr. Yoshiaki Sawai - Japan
Mr. Charles Tuck - Great Britain
Mr. Simon Sigurjonsson - Iceland
Mr. Remy Mille - Luxembourg
Mr. Arne Norman - Norway
Mr. Louis Nota - Holland
Mr. Sven Eric Winhult - Sweden
Mr. Roger Lebet - Switzerland
Mr. Angelo Zola - Italy

Agenda:
1. (a) Address of Welcome by the President of the A.I.B.E.S., Mr. Angelo Zola.
1. (b) Official opening of the meeting by the president of the I.B.A., Mr. Kurt Sörensen.
2. Minutes of the I.B.A. meeting 1962 in Hamburg.
3. The President's report.
4. Financial Report.
5. (a) Iceland applies for membership of the I.B.A.
5. (b) Discussion of questions brought forward by Mr. L. F. Nota, President of the N.B.C.
(Questions circulated with agenda). I.B.A.-meetings in 1964 and 1965.           
6. Offers from the U.K.B.G. and the A.M.B.A. to hold the I.C.C. 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the I.C.C. 1965 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
7. Election of President, Vice-President and Treasurer of the I.B.A
8. Any other business.

The meeting was opened at 4 p.m.
Mrs. K. G. Halmann, secretary of the U.K.B.G., who was elected assistant to the chairman, read the agenda of the meeting. 

It was at the same time decided to advance point No.5 (a) for discussion before the competition, "Iceland applies for membership of the I.B.A.", so that if The Bartender's Club of Iceland was accepted as a member of the I.B.A. this new association would be able to take part in the I.C.C. 1963.

Point 1 (a) Mr. Zola addressed on behalf of the A.I.B.E.S. a hearty welcome to all the participants in the I.C.C. ‘63 and said that the A.I.B.E.S. was very happy and proud to have been given the privilege of arranging this year's meeting. 
It was a great pleasure said Mr. Zola to see so many old friends and also so many new ones.  Mr. Zola bid a special welcome to Mr. B. Paul and to the participants who had come a long way from overseas countries such as U.S.A., Argentine and Japan. Mr. Zola said that since the foundation of the I.B.A. in 1951 in Torquay the organization had steadily strengthened its position, but that it was necessary to move still further and on a more international basis to the benefit of barmen all over the world.

Point 1 (b) The president of the I.B.A., Mr. Kurt Sörensen, extended to all the delegates a most sincere welcome to the 12th annual meeting of the I.B.A. meeting and I.C.C. 1963.  The President also bid a special welcome to the participants from far-away countries.
An special word of welcome was expressed to the participants from Iceland who were present for the first time so far only as observers because during the meeting the application of the Bartenders' Club of Iceland for membership of the I.B.A. was going to be considered.
Furthermore the President expressed on behalf of the I.B.A. the most sincere thanks to the President of the A.I.B.E.S., Mr. Angelo Zola and to the organizing committee for all the work they had taken upon themselves in connection with the arrangement of the I.B.A. meeting and the I.C.C. 1963.  Also to the d'Aosta Valley and the town of St. Vincent the President addressed a hearty thank you for the hospitality extended to the participants.
Finally the President expressed the sincere hope that the discussions would be carried on in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere and that much benefit would be derived from the negotiations also on this occasion.

Point 2.
The minutes of the meeting in Hamburg 1962 had been distributed to all the member-guilds and they were accept by all the delegates.

Point 3.
The President gave the following report:
The year 1963 has been a very active year within our trade as such. Arrangements within the individual organizations have been plentiful and it is a great satisfaction to see that whenever an event takes place in a country guests from other countries are invited to take part:
On behalf of the I.B.A, I myself have been fortunate enough to attend quite a few arrangements. 
In November 1962, A.I.B.E.S. kindly invited me to take part in their national gathering which was held right here at
St. Vincent; in April 1963 the U.K.B.G. kindly asked me to be present at their annual meeting in England, and I went to Iceland in June to assist at the foundation of the Bartenders' Club of Iceland. I have found all these arrangements most successful and useful, and I only regret that it has been quite impossible for me to participate in all the arrangements to which the various guilds have so graciously invited me.
In May we had our Scandinavian meeting in Oslo, and in September the Danish Bartenders' Guild arranged a 3-day tour to Reims and Paris for members of the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Bartenders Guilds.
You will already have read about these various events in the I.B.A. News, so I need not here give you a detailed description. However, on mentioning our publication I want to express my regret that it has not been possible to publish the two annual issues quite on time.  I am afraid I am repeating myself when I say that the delay has mainly been due to the fact that I have not received the necessary contributions from the individual countries, and even if things have improved to some extent in this respect I feel I must once more stress the importance of a closer co-operation on the part of the various member-guilds in this connection.
I have also been a little disappointed to see that so few member countries have made an effort to obtain advertisements for the I.B.A. News from companies in their own countries.
During the past few months I have had a very fine and close co-operation with our Italian friends, especially with Mr. Angelo Zola with whom I had very useful preliminary talks regarding the I.C.C. 1963 during my summer holiday trip to Italy. 
I realized already then that the whole arrangement could be in no better hands than those of Angelo Zola, and the following months have clearly confirmed the impression I got already then.  For the hard work which you and your committee have put into the preparations for our gathering here in the wonderful d'Aosta Valley, please accept our most sincere thanks.
As you all know my presidency of the I.B.A. is coming to an end, and though during the coming few days I shall probably have plenty of opportunity to say thank you, I would very much like to have included in this report my grateful thanks to all the member-guilds for the confidence which you have shown me during the past three years and for the support which you have given me and on which I felt that I could always count. 
I trust that you will transfer your loyalty to my successor, and I wish the coming I.B.A. president the best of luck.
I would also like to have put on record my cordial thanks to all our friends within the wine and spirit trade for their willingness to help us every time we have called upon them, and personally I want once again to express my gratitude to the firm of Peter F. Heering for the secretarial help which has been placed at my disposal, and which has meant so very much to me.

Mr. Ch. Tuck thanked the President for his report and for the work he had done for the I.B.A. during the 3 years of his presidency.
With reference to what the President had said about the arrangements within the various guilds Mr. Tuck asked the members kindly to answer whenever they got an invitation whether they could accept it or not.
Mr. Zola expressed his thanks to the President for his kind words to the A.I.B.E.S. and said that they had just tried to do their best in the hope that everybody at the meeting would be satisfied with what they had done for the I.B.A. in this connection.

5. (a)
The President, Mr. Kurt Sörensen, stated that he had been asked about 5 months ago to come to Iceland to help the Icelandic bartenders -to start their own organization, and to give them information about the rules that existed for the other Scandinavian guilds.  Since then The Bartenders' Club of Iceland had been founded, and the rules of this new organization had been distributed to the I.B.A. member-guilds. The President also pointed out that the last 2-3 years Iceland had been represented at the I.B.A. meetings by observers which proved the interest which the Icelandic bartenders had taken in the I.B.A. even before having formed their own guild, and that he was very pleased to support their application for membership of the I.B.A.

Mr Simon Sigurjonsson, President of the Bartenders' Club of Iceland, stated that at this moment the B.C.I. had 18 members with 6-7 years of experience as bartenders.
The application was put to the vote and was accepted by all the delegates.
The President of the I.B.A. extended a hearty welcome to The Bartenders' Club of Iceland as a member of the I.B.A., and Mr. Sigurjonsson expressed on behalf of his guild his thanks to the I.B.A. member-guilds for having accepted the B.C.I. as a member of the T.B.A.

Friday, 14th November
Mr. Lebet opened the meeting at 9.30 a.m. by giving the financial report:
The cash balance as of 31st December 1962 Sw. Frs. 16.274,75.
The cash balance as of 30th September 1963 Sw. Frs. 18.866,45.
Mr. Lebet stated that all member countries had paid their subscription except Japan, and Mr. Sawai, the Japanese delegate, informed that this was due to the fact that according to Japanese legislation money could not be transferred from Japan to another country except in dollars, and he asked for a statement of the subscription due in dollars after which the amount would be paid immediately.
Mr. Lebet also suggested that the guilds should pay their subscription at the annual I.B.A. meeting to avoid any difficulties in connection with transfer of money from the different countries into Switzerland which proposal was accepted by the delegates.
The question of the expenses of the I.B.A. President was brought forward, and Mr. Kurt Sörensen stated that during his presidency the D.B.L. had been supported by different firms in Denmark and that also a small profit had been derived from the I.B.A. News.  In spite of that it had cost D.B.L. quite some money, and the President asked the delegates whether they could accept that his travel to St. Vincent was paid by the I.B.A.  It was unanimously agreed that the expenses of the I.B.A. President and Treasurer should be paid by the I.B.A.

5. (b)
The following questions already circularized to the member guilds with the agenda were brought forward by
Mr. L. F. Nota, of the NBC.
(a) We advise that several member-countries would submit as their candidate for the Presidency and the Vice-presidency a member from some other guild than their own; for instance the French would submit the president of the Italian guild, the Dutch the president of the German guild, etc. After that the I.B.A. president could informally ask the submitted candidates if they want to be nominated. In this way it will be possible to know at the meeting, which candidates could be nominated and an election could be held if necessary.

(b) At the meeting in Oslo, the abdicating president has donated all costs pertaining to the presidency to the I.B.A. We think that in the future such costs should be collected from the I.B.A. treasury in the normal way, because a small guild could feel inhibited to take the I.B.A. Presidency, naturally not being able to make such a gesture.

(c) In Holland we have a proverb, which states:
"He that binds the young people has the future in his hands". We think that the I.B.A. should do more, specifically for our young colleagues. They should have the opportunity to work and learn in other countries besides their own.
Then, when they grow up, they will have a better understanding of international problems and will more appreciate people of another nationality. This in turn will make them better barmen and also more suited to work in and for the good of the IBA.

(d) Maybe the most important thing I have to say is that all members of the I.B.A. should not only discuss these things once a year, but put a really big effort in making them come true, as often as possible.
As a last point I would like to see that the committee which is responsible for the organization of the I.B.A. meeting will see to it that there is enough time to really discuss the various points at the meeting, thus making it a really worth-while manifestation. 
I would regret it very much if the meeting should turn out to be something that could only just be squeezed in between a lot of “extra curricular" activities and Mr. Nota further added the following points that were circulated and discussed at the meeting:

re point 4.
At the meeting in Hamburg the question of the South-American countries has come up.  It was said there that they did not pay their subscription to I.B.A. because they did not want to.  It was also said that, and I quote from the official minutes: “it would be very difficult for the I.B.A. to do anything about this situation even if everybody felt sorry about not to be able to establish a closer contact between Latin American Countries and the I.B.A."
I think that it is not in keeping with the goals of our I.B.A. to put this serious matter aside in this way.  If Latin-American countries do not want to be members of the I.B.A. any more, it is possible that the fault may lie partly with us, and I think that it would be highly advisable to look into this matter more closely.  I.B.A. was never meant to be strictly a European guild, and measures should be taken to prevent it from becoming just that.

re point 5 (a).
The question of Uruguay was also discussed in Hamburg. 
Mr. Lebet stated that it had been a mistake to let this country attain membership without knowing anything about the set-up and rules of their organization.  Mr. Lebet also stated that owing to this discrepancy in our knowledge about them it was difficult to understand from a European.
Though I agree that a member that does not pay its contribution cannot continue membership I also think that we owe it point of view why they did not want to be a member to our organization to try at least to attain a better understanding.
I think, that the present point of view of the I.B.A., could very well explained by all Latin American Countries as lassitude and disinterest.

Re point 5 (b)
The question of Japan.  In Hamburg last year Japan has been accepted as a member. I am very glad that at least a part of our Japanese colleagues are now joined in the I.B.A.  However, the various problems that have delayed their membership are still awaiting a solution, so I wonder why the question of Japan has not been placed on the agenda. Also Japan has volunteered to hold the I.B.A. meeting 1964 in Japan. Because this cannot either be found on the agenda I ask if Japan has retracted its offer, and if so, why was this done.

re point 4.
The Financial report by the treasurer.
Up till now the only financial report to appear in the official minutes of any meeting has been the balance, or the amount present in the bank.  I think that a financial report should be circulated beforehand to all member countries, so they have the ways and the means to study it and make their comments at the meeting prepared, if necessary.
I don't think that this is impossible even if some countries pay their contribution at the last moment.

Mr. Tuck stated that according to British laws they were not allowed to employ young foreign assistants in their bars, but that they would have been very pleased to do so.
In Paris, Mr. Cotto said, a special permission have been given by the French Government for foreign young people, to work for a limited period of time in the French bar-and hotel business.
This was also the case in Germany, Italy and Denmark, and it was suggested that the presidents of the different guilds should co-operate also in this respect and help the young barmen who wanted to go abroad.

Point 6.
The offer from the U.K.B.G. to hold the I.C.C. 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland, was accepted by all the delegates, and Mr. Tuck said that he and his colleagues were ready to work very hard to make this arrangement a successful event.

The offer from the A.M.B.A. to hold the I.C.C 1965 in Buenos Aires was discussed, and Mr: Suarez informed the meeting that the A.M.B.A was already working on the arrangement, and that at this moment he could state that a 30 per
cent discount on the transport expenses would be possible.  He realized that it would be expensive for the guilds to send participants to Argentine but hoped nevertheless that their offer would be accepted.  All the delegates were of the opinion that Argentine should be given a chance, and that it was a pleasure to see that a far-away country like Argentine was willing to undertake the arrangement of an I.B.A. meeting. It was thus decided to accept with thanks the offer from the A.M.B.A. to hold the I.C.C. 1965 in Buenos Aires.

At the same time it was noted that Sweden would apply for permission to arrange the I.C.C. 1966.

Mr. Yoshiaki Sawai, the Japanese delegate, said that the A.N.B.A. would also like to arrange the I.C.C. 1966 but it was decided to take up this question at next year's meeting.

Point 7. 
Mr. Angelo Zola, president of the A.I.B.E.S., was unanimously elected President of the I.B.A.
Mr. Zola said he was willing to take upon him this task, and that he and his committee were prepared to work very hard, but he also needed help from all the I.B.A. countries, as it was evident that all the work could not be done by one man or by one guild.  Among other things Mr. Zola mentioned that the aim of the I.B.A. should be to have members from all parts of the world. We already count Japan, California and Argentine and Venezuela from Latin America amongst our members representing countries outside of Europe, said Mr. Zola, but we should move still further.  Mr. Zola mentioned also the questions concerning the I.B.A. News. 

This publication should, said Mr. Zola, appear 4 times a year and should reach every head-barman.

Mr. Kurt Sörensen congratulated the new president and said he knew that he had all the member guilds behind him when he said that the presidency could be in no better hands than those of Angelo Zola.

For the vice-presidency there were 3 candidates, namely Charles Tuck, U.K.B.G., Felix Cotto, G.A.B.F., and Fred Friede, D.B.U.
The result of the vote was that Charles Tuck, U.K.B.G. who was elected vice-president with 10 votes, against 4 and 3 votes for Fred Friede and Felix Cotto respectively.

Roger Lebet was unanimously re-elected treasurer.

Mr. Felix Cotto stated that Spanish bartenders had formed their own guild, and that this new organization would apply for membership of the I.B.A.

Point 8.
The meeting was adjourned at 12.30 p.m. and Mr. Charles Tuck thanked Mr. Kurt Sörensen for the excellent way in which he had conducted the meeting.