April 22, 1938 – a special date for the Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association: The very first meeting and decision to make the association “official”.

The minutes of the first meeting, held at the Astor Hotel in Milwaukee, reported, “It was the general feeling among those present that an association of distributors at this time would be in the best interests of the industry.”

Just two weeks later a meeting was held in Oshkosh for the incorporators where by-laws were adopted; corporate offices were established in Milwaukee; annual membership dues were set at $5; and power was given to hire a secretary at a maximum of $10 a week to do office and clerical work.

A lot has changed for the WBDA since those first few meetings in 1938.
The distribution system in Wisconsin has seen challenges to the three-tier system.

Though the association had its beginnings in 1938, the beer distributor business was long a thriving industry for more than 50 years prior. Families had developed distributorships all over Wisconsin and those family businesses are still operating today.