Sommeliers Australia 2020 AGM announced

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions of the 2020 calendar year, the Sommeliers Australia 2020 Annual General Meeting which would ordinarily have been held in-person in late 2020, was postponed.

In consideration of the ongoing uncertainty around COVID-19 restrictions and border closures, the 2020 AGM has now been scheduled for Monday 15 February from 11.30am-12.30pm AEDT and will be conducted online (via Zoom) so that all interested Sommeliers Australia members can actively participate.

As a member of Sommeliers Australia, the AGM is your opportunity to have a say in how Sommeliers Australia will be structured for 2021.

In addition to reviewing the association’s business from the 2019/2020 financial year, a new National Executive Committee will be elected during the AGM, so it is important that as many members as possible attend.

Both current Professional and Enthusiast members (whose membership is current for the 2020/2021 period) are encouraged to attend and vote at the AGM. However only Professional members have the right to appoint a Proxy to vote on their behalf.

To confirm whether your membership is in fact current, please login to sommeliers.com.au to check your membership status, or contact [email protected] for assistance.

If your membership is not current and you would like to participate and vote in the AGM, you have until 5pm, Thursday 11 February to renew or purchase a membership via sommeliers.com.au.

** AGM attendance – registration is required **
All current Sommeliers Australia members intending to participate in the AGM are required to register their attendance by 5pm, Thursday 11 February, so that all members eligible to vote can be confirmed.

All members registered to attend will receive the Zoom link via email, or they can connect via the link included on the email sent to all members announcing the AGM.

Please email your registration via this link, including your name and the level of membership you currently hold:

Members of the NEC are nominated from current State Event Committees. All NEC nominees must be able to support Sommeliers Australia activities within their own state, in addition to managing the future vision of the association and working on national projects, such as the Best Sommelier of Australia competition and Education Scholarship, and hosting the ASI Best Sommelier of Asia Oceania competition.

During the 2020 AGM a new National Executive Committee (who will manage the association until the next AGM) will be elected from the nominated State Event Committee members.

Candidates for the 2021 National Executive Committee are:

Voting for candidates
The election of National Executive Committee members will be conducted anonymously via the Zoom ‘Polling’ function, whereby all eligible AGM attendees will be asked to vote online for each of the abovementioned candidates.

All candidates will be voted on, and where they receive a majority of votes, that candidate will become a member of the National Executive Committee.

Office Bearer roles (President/Co-President, Vice President, Treasurer) will be decided by the NEC members during the first meeting of the National Executive Committee.

Please note: Only Professional members have the right to appoint a Proxy to vote on their behalf, if they are unable to attend the AGM. A Proxy form is available for download below. Completed proxy forms must be received by Executive Officer/Public Officer Imbi Knappstein via [email protected], no later than 5pm, Thursday 11 February.