Consumer or Participant? Guild members come in both flavours. Some just like to come out to our events as if they were commercial offerings. Others come out to share in the camaraderie of the event and tap into the knowledge and experience of their peers. Which kind of member are you?

One of the goals of the Board this year is to engage Guild members in a more participatory way than simply attending a dinner or tasting. Some events, such as the highly successful Women in Wine series are intended to be as much social as informative. Here are a few ways in which you can be more than just a consumer.

• Offer to do a short write-up for the newsletter of an event you attend. It doesn’t have to be Pulitzer worthy, just a couple of paragraphs about the wines. If food was served, did the wines match well? What worked and what didn’t? How did you feel about the overall experience?
  
  
• Bring along a digital camera or camera phone to the event. Snap a few pictures and send them to the editor.
  
  
• Have you attended a wine event outside the Guild, visited a winery, or traveled to a wine region of the world recently? Send a short note to the newsletter editor sharing your experience with the rest of us.• Consider volunteering for one of the many jobs that can help the Guild. Some skills we can use include marketing and promotion, computer expertise, creative writing, graphic arts, sign making, travel agent, accounting and bookkeeping, to mention just a few. Let us know what you would like to do.

Mark Monday, May 5 on your calendars because that’s our Annual General Meeting. This year’s gathering is an important one as the Board has proposed changes to our Bylaw that needs your approval. Elections will be held for the 2008 Board of Directors. More information and a call for nominees to the Board are in the Guild Business section of the newsletter.
In an effort to encourage more participation at the AGM from our members, we are making some changes. This year the meeting will be short on speeches and business will be kept to a minimum. It will be more interactive. We are there to listen to you, not the other way around. This will be as much a social event as it is a business meeting. Food will be served along with a selection of wine donated by last year’s board members. Best of all it is FREE for members. Costs are covered out of retained surpluses from past events. I encourage as many of you as possible to attend. See you there.

Cheers,

Jay Hunt