UNITED KINGDOM 17th August 2010

The SCAE's new Board of Directors, elected earlier this year, met for the first time at the Association's Annual General Meeting for 2010, held in early August at SCAE Headquarters in Essex.

The meeting included a report by Executive Director Mick Wheeler about progress during 2009, and a review of the current state of the Association by President Nils Erichsen.

Mick Wheeler said that although the smaller Cologne event held in June 2009 was disappointing financially, it had been a successful event for its 3,550 attendees. He also charted the progress of the SCAE's educational programme, which by the end of last year had brought produced 92 authorised trainers, 1,946 certified baristas and 176 Gold Cup Brewmasters.

Also continuing to be developed were the Association's communications projects, including Café Europa, the website and social media, he said, while the SCAE was represented at a number international meetings, and organised two successful origin visits (to Costa Rica/Panama and toHawaii) during the period. With a growing membership, the SCAE has a bright future and is expecting continued growth in 2010, he concluded.

Nils Erichsen reported that the Association's nearly 1,500 members now incorporated 35 growing national chapters, showing that even the recession had not reduced membership levels.

He introduced new Board Members Magnus Adamsson, Lina Chiodo, Drewry Pearson, Grant Rattray and Jens Henrik Thomsen, and said that Drewry Pearson had been elected as the Association's new Treasurer, to allow former Treasurer Marc Käppeli more time for his duties as Second Vice President. (You can see the full new Board of Directors for 2010-12 by clicking here).

Mick Wheeler then gave notice of some of the SCAE's upcoming activities, including Events planned for Maastricht in 2011 and Vienna in 2012. He also invited members to help plan the strategy for the Association's next two years of growth, in preparation for a planning meeting of the Board in October.

The SCAE is now developing a coffee diploma, to include courses across all coffee areas, in association with a European university, which is expected to start in 2011, he announced.

He also highlighted the current work on the Gold Cup, aimed at verifying whether the 50-year-old standards are appropriate with modern equipment and today's broad range of available coffees. This long-term project, he said, would either reintroduce or expand the existing 1950s parameters.

The SCAE's AGM is normally held at the Association's Event, but this year had to be delayed because the accounts had not yet been finalised. It was confirmed that next year's edition would be held at the SCAE Event in Maastricht, and that all members would be welcome to attend.  

Pictured: Mick Wheeler reports on the Association's progress at the AGM (photo by Charles Prager)