On the 8th December, the BWA held its annual Christmas Lunch at the Merchants House of Glasgow.
BWA Chairman, Clive Brady, welcomed guests to the event which had a full agenda and included the launch of the new BWA logo.
This years guest speaker was Patricia Dillon, Manging Director of Speyside Distillers Company Ltd.
Patricia spoke to the audience about some of the challenges that businesses are facing, and also talked about her experiences in the industry.
Patricia also treated the audience to a dram of Spey whisky and raised a toast to Andrew Kirkby, who Patricia had worked closely with during her career.
BWA Company Secretary, Graham Sheen, welcomed representatives from the Institute of Export and International Trade, Amanda Lewis and Ray Burgin, along with Clive Brady to the stage for a review of the BWA Level 3 Certificate in Excise Practices and Procedures.
Clive began by reviewing the past year including the positive feedback on the qualification, student numbers and pass rates.
The certificate has received over 100 students signing up and pass rates include 62% with a Distinction, 21% with a Credit and 4% with a Pass.
Amanda and Ray praised the relationship and work that had been done between the BWA and IoE, and looked forward to expanding on this qualification with proposed plans to create a Level 2, Advanced level 3 and plans to work on Apprenticeship Levy funding.
Clive then introduced Ecaterina Rotaru from Wincanton, who is currently studying the qualification and gave some of her thoughts and a recommendation for the qualification.
Following the annual BWA Christmas Raffle, Clive Brady gave his final thoughts on the past year, reflecting on industry challenges and how the BWA has progressed and evolved. Clive presented the new BWA logo, of which all members would receive a membership version via email. Clive also raised a toast to Chris Lonergan, a long term BWA honorary member who sadly passed away this year.
The event concluded with a networking opportunity for the delegates.
We look forward to welcoming you to the 2024 event.
Thanks to this years sponsors:
