Club Français du Tire-Bouchon
The CFTB was conceived in April 1996 by M. Gérard Bidault, backed up by Philippe Songy and Guy Olive, two collectors Gérard had met at flea markets in the area (Anjou and Bretagne) . The idea had germinated in his head following a CCCC meeting which he attended. He then went about searching for some corkscrew related material which he thought would be appropriate for the Newsletter of the proposed club and be called: L’EXTRACTEUR. Having announced the formation of the Club through the appropriate press and other means, the membership stood at 27 by the end of the first year.
After a year in existence, despite the difficulties in attracting members’ participation in the publishing of the L’Extracteur, things developed very well. The first Annual General Meeting organised by the late M. Philippe Songy in Saumur was a great success and the members decided to incorporate the Club under the 1901 laws of France applicable to such organisations. Today, the Club boasts of 71 members from 10 Countries.
The 2nd AGM took place in Champagne in 1997, the 3rd in Burgundy in 1998. Both were very successful and built up strong bonds between members. Lots of corkscrews are exchanged at the AGM, and some are presented that have never been seen before. The Annual General Meeting for 1999, the fourth such event, was held in Narbonne on March 27 and 28. The fifth Annual Meeting was held in Paris on April 2, 2000. The "Bon Vivant" atmosphere is always "de rigueur". The list of all AGMs of the past took place in:
1996 Saumur
1997 Reims
1998 Chassagne-Montrachet
1999 Narbonne
2000 Paris
2001 Bruxelles
2002 Gigondas
2003 Angers
2004 Saint-Malo
2005 Nancy
2006 Paulliac
2007 Chablis
2008 Kayserberg
2009 Romanèche-Thorins
2010 Reims
2011 Sancerre
At the present time, there are no criteria that a prospective member
must meet before s/he can become a member of the CFTB. But, at the 1998 AGM, the
suggestion that the number of members be limited to 70 was made, in order to ensure that
only members who are truly interested in corkscrews be allowed in. The proposal was
rejected. Membership fees are 70 Euros for 2010.
The newsletter, L’Extracteur, is published every three months all in a four-colour format. The L'Extracteur is arguably the best and most informative of all the corkscrews related newsletters produced today.
Here are some excerpts from the Club’s Constitution:
Objectives: The Club was formed to provide corkscrew collectors an
organisation where knowledge can be disseminated, research conducted on patent history and
different ways to manufacture the pieces, different models can be studied and a listing of
French corkscrews can be completed. Thus, the newsletter, the meetings, the corkscrew
displays and the buying and selling are major parts of this organisation.
Member Responsibilities: No member of the Club is personally responsible for the engagements and contracts the Club makes. Only the entire Club will respond to any such issues.
Officers: The Club is administered by a Board of Directors consisting of 5 members of the Club, elected for a one year term by the membership at large at the Annual Meeting. The past members are eligible for re-election each year.
Websites in
French
Do see the Club's website at:
http://tire-bouchon-cftb.com/index.htm
There are a number of other
French language based websites on the Net:
A French Collector produced one:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/collec-tirebouchons/collec_tirebouchons/
And a 4 language (English, French, German and Italian terminology list for
corkscrews and their parts produced by Hajo Turler:
http://www.corkscrewlexi.com/dokumente/terminologie.pdf
Officers and Members of the CFTB since 1995
2009-10 President: Loïc BAHUET, Vice president : Thierry POIRIER, Treasurer : Philippe VADEE, Secretary: Jean-Pierre LAMY, Keeper of the books: Pierre LENNUYEUX
2005-08 President: Maurice DANCER, Chief editor: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer: Hajo TURLER, Secretary: Alain GRONDEAU, Keeper of the books: Pierre LENNUYEUX
2004 President: Marc PONCELET, Honourary President: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer: Michel WACKSMANN, Secretary: Pierre LENUYEUX, Members: Bernard BOUSQUET and Marc OUVRARD
2002-03 President: Marc PONCELET, Honourary President: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer: Michel WACKSMANN, Secretary : Pierre LENUYEUX, Kepper of the books: Alain GRONDEAU, Members: Bernard BOUSQUET and Marc OUVRARD
2000-01 President: Marc PONCELET, Honourary President: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer: Michel WACKSMANN, Secretary: Pierre LENUYEUX, Kepper of the books: Alain GRONDEAU, Members: Bernard BOUSQUET and Gérard TEYSSIER
1998-99 President: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer : Philippe SONGY, Secretary: Daniel JALLAGEAS, Members: Guy OLIVE, Marc PONCELET and Jean-Pierre HIRT
1997 President: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer: Philippe SONGY, Secretary: Daniel JALLAGEAS, Members: Guy OLIVE and Daniel KISSLING
1996 First President: Gérard BIDAULT, Tresurer: Philippe SONGY, Secretary: Daniel JALLAGEAS, Members: Guy OLIVE and Daniel KISSLING
1995 Creation of the club by Gérard BIDAULT, Philippe SONGY and Daniel KISSLING
2010 - 2011 Officers
President:
Loïc Bahuet
Past President:
Maurice Dancer
Vice-President
Thierry Poirier
Treasurer:
Philippe Vadée
Secretary:
Jean-Pierre Lamy