The 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Vereinigung ehem. VLBer e.V. / Brewers of Berlin took place in the run-up to the VLB summer party on 5 July 2024 in Berlin. The meeting was hosted by the two chairmen Klaus Niemsch and Jan Biering.

The following points were discussed (short report):

Association members who have passed away since July 2023: Hubertus Mueller (25/10/2023) / Ingo Beyer (11/11/2023) / Siegfried Müller (21/11/2023) / Dr Gunther Schumann (30/12/2023) / Helgi Angebauer (26/02/2024) / Günter Kluge (9/4/2024) / Edmund Hering (4/1/2024) / Honorary member Dr Karl Diether Esser (25/6/2024)

Membership development positive: 33 new members joined in the reporting period. On the other hand, there were 4 resignations and 14 expulsions due to multiple delinquent membership fees.

4 International alumni meetings: Bangalore, India (14.9.2023) / Bangkok, Thailand (17.9.2023) / Las Vegas, USA (22.4.2024) / Bangkok, Thailand (8.6.2024)

The liquidation of the Berlin Brewers' Guild has not yet been finalised: At the General Meeting 2023, it was decided to take over the members of the Berliner Brauer-Zunft e.V., which is currently being liquidated, on request. This process is not yet completed. Burghard Meyer, Obermeister of the Berliner Brauer-Zunft e.V., reports that a cash audit took place at the beginning of July 2024 and that the necessary notary for the entry of the liquidation in the Berlin register of associations can be paid from the current cash balance. The Zunfthaus was available as usual as a meeting place during the reporting period.

The members decided on a modification of the membership fees: The Executive Board put up for discussion a modification to the membership fees. Reason: The administrative effort involved in collecting the annual membership fee of €15 is very high, particularly for international members, and some members remain in arrears for longer periods of time. A new lifetime membership for a one-off membership fee is therefore proposed.
In principle, the members present were in favour of the idea, but there were differing opinions regarding the term and the amount of the contribution. After a lively discussion, the following motion was formulated and put to the vote: "The association of ehem. VLBer introduces an optional long-term membership for new members in addition to the annual membership. The term of this membership is 10 years. The membership fee for this period is 10 times the regular annual membership fee less a discount of 20 %. ‘ At the end of this period, the membership can be extended at the then applicable conditions. This motion was adopted unanimously.

The members decided on a modification of the membership fees: The Executive Board put up for discussion a modification to the membership fees. Reason: The administrative effort involved in collecting the annual membership fee of €15 is very high, particularly for international members, and some members remain in arrears for longer periods of time. A new lifetime membership for a one-off membership fee is therefore proposed.
In principle, the members present were in favour of the idea, but there were differing opinions regarding the term and the amount of the contribution. After a lively discussion, the following motion was formulated and put to the vote: "The association of ehem. VLBer introduces an optional long-term membership for new members in addition to the annual membership. The term of this membership is 10 years. The membership fee for this period is 10 times the regular annual membership fee less a discount of 20 %. ‘ At the end of this period, the membership can be extended at the then applicable conditions. This motion was adopted unanimously.

Miscellaneous: During the discussion, the question was also raised as to whether the current annual membership fee of €15 should also be increased. As no concrete proposal had been formulated in advance, the Board decided to place this item on the agenda of the next General Meeting.

The next general meeting should again take place before the VLB summer festival (probably in July 2025 in Berlin).

The full minutes of the meeting are available to all members of the Vereinigung ehem. VLBer / Brewers of Berlin on request. Contact: ehemvlber@vlb-berlin.org

The current board of the Association Vereinigung ehem. VLBer e.V. / Brewers of Berlin:
1. Chairman: Klaus Niemsch (Planegg)
2. Chairman (executive): Jan Biering (Berlin)
Cashier: VLB Berlin, financial accounting
Auditors: Manfred Staruß (Berlin), Michael Solkowski (Potsdam)