ONLINE GUIDE

The Annual General Meetings of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Institute of Masters of Wine North America, and Masters of Wine Endowment Company take place on 14 September 2022, 15:00-17:00 BST (please ensure you have checked the time zone in your region).

The AGMs are being hosted from the IMW, London, UK. However, due to capacity limitations, we encourage you to choose the virtual option and join the AGMs via Zoom. You can participate fully via the online version. To attend in person please register here by Monday 12 September.

The AGMs are only available to Masters of Wine.

For security reasons you will need to register in advance using your preferred MW email address (the email you have specified in your MW profile). Once you are registered, the IMW executive team will authenticate your registration, and you will receive a confirmation email with your unique link to join the AGMs.

STEP ONE: Register for the AGMs before midnight (BST) 12 September 2022

You will need to register BEFORE midnight (BST) 12 September 2022, so we can authenticate your email address. We strongly recommend you register as soon as possible to ensure you are ready to log in to the meetings on the day.

a) Go to the Zoom registration page here

b) Enter your preferred MW email address

c) If you would like to ask a question at the AGMs, you can add this under ‘Questions and Comments’

d) Click the register button

You only need to register once, to access all three AGMs. They will all take place on the same Zoom session.

The IMW executive team will manually authenticate each user to ensure only Masters of Wine are able to join the meetings. Please allow 24 hours for this process. You will then receive an automated email with your unique link to join the meeting.

STEP TWO: Check that you have received a confirmation email (allow 24 hours)

The IMW team manually confirms each registration to ensure that only Masters of Wine have access to the AGMs. You will receive an automated email from ‘IMW Exec team’ with your unique link to join the zoom webinar. Please do note share this link, it is unique to you and will only work on one device at a time.

If you do not receive this email after 24 hours please first check your spam/junk folder and or email beaton@mastersofwine.org for assistance.

Once you have completed your registration and received your confirmation email, you are ready to join the AGMs via your unique link.

While Zoom gives the option for you to ‘dial in’ to the meeting via a phone line, you will not be able to interact in the meeting if you select this option. To participate fully, join via the link on a computer or smart device (e.g. laptop, tablet, smartphone).

We recommend joining at least 10 minutes early to ensure you are connected and ready to go when the meetings start. You will be placed in a virtual waiting room until the AGMs begin.

Q&A

When you register for the AGMs, you can ask a question you would like to raise on the registration form. You need to submit this by midnight (BST) Monday 12 September 2022. If you would like to ask something during the meeting, you can use the Q&A feature in Zoom.

The panel/chair will see all the questions raised during the meeting. Due to time restrictions, we may not be able to address all those raised during the session; some may need to be dealt with afterwards.

Council election

The online ballot for the Council election will close during the first part of the AGMs. The chair will prompt all members who have not voted to do so before the online vote closes. The results will be counted and announced at the end of the IMW AGM. If you haven’t already voted, you can do this here.

Voting/approving resolutions

When a resolution requires a vote during the AGMs, the chair will alert you to a prompt on the screen, where you can vote by clicking on one of the following options:

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

The chair will wait a few moments for you to make your selection and for the results to come in via the on-screen poll.

Raise hands feature

When a resolution requires a proposer or seconder, the chair will ask members if they would like to propose or second by clicking the ‘raise hand’ button in Zoom. The chair will select a proposer and seconder from the list on the screen and confirm verbally.

The raise hand button is only for the proposer/seconder feature. If you have a question, please use the Q&A button.

Capacity

The IMW’s Zoom account has more than enough capacity for all members to join. As long as you have received your confirmation email and unique link, and have a good internet connection, you are ready to join the AGM.

Internet connection 

Ensure you have a working internet connection. If the live stream is lagging or disconnects at any point, check that you are still connected to the internet.

Sound

Ensure the speaker on your device is turned on or use headphones. If you are still unable to hear the speakers please direct message the executive team via the Q&A button.

Question function

Questions can be asked via the Q&A button at the bottom of your screen.

Devices

You can watch the live stream from your laptop, desktop computer or smart device (e.g. iPhone/iPad). It is recommended that if you are watching on your smartphone that you test your login before the event and are connected to WIFI, the quality of the video will be determined by the strength of your internet connection.

If you have any questions, please email Belinda Eaton (IMW Events Manager) beaton@mastersofwine.org