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Chairman’s MessageFrom José R. Garrigó,
Greetings, The International Wine & Food Society™ (The IW&FS) is the oldest and most important wine and food appreciation group of its kind in the world. Ours is a not-for-profit organization and not related to or subsidized by any commercial or wine promotional entity. I am privileged to serve as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Americas (BGA) for this international organization. Our Society spans continents and countries and offers our membership the best of great wines, fine food and warm camaraderie in a truly global sense. We presently have almost 7,000 members and 135 Branches in about 30 countries. Our international headquarters are in London, UK. The International Wine & Food Society has 85 Chartered Branches in the Americas with close to 5,000 individual members. The Board of Governors of the Americas oversees activities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. We offer our support and encouragement to each of our Branches. Much of the work performed by the BGA is done on a voluntary basis by our Board members. Contrary to the practice common in other organizations, attendance to our Board meetings is fully paid by the Governors. Travel and all expenses incurred by Board members while in office are borne by them and no cost relating to BGA meetings is subsidized or paid from members’ dues. All such dues are fully reverted to services to the membership at large. We are at their service, ready to assist local Branches with membership issues, insurance protection, BGA awards and certificates, brochures describing our Society and the benefits of membership, scholarships and publications like our outstanding quarterly newsletter Wine, Food & Friends™. We strive to be a liaison among the various areas and Branches, both regionally and on a worldwide basis. We answer calls and emails from our members with their questions, concerns and suggestions. There are great benefits to our members in belonging to The IW&FS including the opportunity to attend Regional and International Festivals in the best known wine regions with a like-minded group of members, guaranteed to become your friends from around the world, such as the 2002 BGA Chile Experience in Santiago, the Oregon BGA Festival in 2004, and Santa Barbara BGA Festival in May of 2007. Our members are also invited to attend other Branches’ events (on a space available basis) when traveling to cities where our organization has a Branch. In those cities we have a friend who can offer suggestions for places to see and where to dine. All you have to do is use our Directory of Branch Contacts and pick up the phone. Our www.iwfs.org website provides a wealth of information for our members, including wine and restaurant reviews and recommendations, informative articles on current food and wine trends as well as reports of happenings in cities across the globe, updates on IW&FS festivals, harvest reports from the most important wine regions, lists of coming events at various Branches, and other matters. We at the BGA have made our present goal to selectively expand our membership and increase the number of Branches in the Americas. We need our memberships’ help to accomplish this goal. I encourage our members to assist us in this endeavor by recommending The IW&FS to their relatives and friends in places where we do not have a Branch. Our website has information on how to organize a New Branch as well as information on joining the existing Branches who might be looking for new members. As we begin new seasons and events in our Branches, I encourage all of you to remember the principles established by André Simon, our founder. Simon set the official founding date as October 20, 1933, having the Society’s first dinner on November 14, 1933, at Café Royal, London. In 2003, many of our Branches celebrated The IW&FS 70th anniversary with special dinners. It was Simon’s lifetime of tireless dedication to civility and the enjoyment and understanding of wine and food as an essential part of personal contentment and health that created the organization that we have today. As members of The International Wine & Food Society we are united in camaraderie and in the celebration of wine, food and friends. Sincerely, Joe Garrigó
José R. Garrigó |
