AHA Governing Committee Meeting Summary: April 2023

The following is a summary of the April 2023 meeting of your American Homebrewers Association Governing Committee (GC).

GC Members Present: Matt Bolling, Sandy Cockerham, Shawn Cormier, Chris Frey, Chris Hummert, Annie Johnson, Jill Marilley, Amy Martin, Gail Milburn, Doug Piper, Goose Steingass, Roxanne Westendorf

AHA Staff: Julia Herz

Absent: Jen Blair, Melissa McCann, Cassie Salinas

Approval of March Meeting Notes

• There were no additions or corrections to the meeting notes for the March meeting, and those notes were approved. 

AHA Mission Statement

• The GC provided input and approved the following external mission statement for the AHA: Dedicated to protecting, uniting, and educating homebrewers while empowering an equitable homebrewing culture and showcasing the fun of fermenting. 

AHA Governing Committee Recognition Award=

• The votes have been tabulated, and winner will be announced at Homebrew Con.

Subcommittee and Working Group Briefings

• Education and Events
  • ext online webinar is on April 25 featuring Ken Grossman on how homebrewing led to the opening of Sierra Nevada.In May the webinar will feature Sarah Flora on Creative Recipe Design.Justin Crossley will be the speaker for the June webinar.Ashley Carter is the tentatively scheduled speaker for the July event.The Subcommittee is looking for an additional GC member to assist in selecting speakers for future webinars.
  • Speaker bios and future webinar presentation topics need to be submitted to three months before the webinar.

• On March 30, the AHA sent out a letter to its list of retailers inviting them to the Homebrew Con Coalition meeting. 
  • The invitation to the coalition meeting will require an RSVP.
  • The Industry Survey is currently under review with the AHA staff and is planned to be sent out on April 18.  It is tentatively set to run for 3-4 weeks.  The results will be reviewed at HBC at the coalition meeting.

• First-round judging is now underway.  The judging is going well.
  • Final round of the NHC will be on Wednesday, June 21 at HBC.
  • The electronic method of scoring has worked very well in the first-round judging sites, and there were very few score sheets filled out.
• HBC Sessions Working Group:
  • Presentation outlines for HBC speakers due on April 19.
  • Draft of session presentations due May 19.
  • Final draft of session presentations due on June 14.

• DEI
  • “#Not Me” is available to BA members with a 20% discount.  It depends on the size of the organization.

• Looking for GC members to lead on each day to get the sessions going. 

HBC Schedule and Overview:

• Early Bird Registration ends on May 1.   
• Homebrew Club Officer Bootcamp will be on Wednesday at 5:00 – 7:00 PM.  This is also the time that the Homebrew Industry Reception occurs.
• GC members will attend an outing with the Brewers Association Board of Directors on 6/21.
• The HBC Schedule is on the Homebrew Con website www.homebrewcon.org/lineup/general-schedule/
• Andy Carter, past president of the California Homebrewers Association will be the Day 1 headline speaker. 
• There is the new Saturday Only Social Package which allows attendance to the Expo, Awards Ceremony, and Knockout Party.
• The Town and Country block of rooms is now full.  A block of rooms has been set aside in an overflow hotel.  If there needs to be additional rooms Events will probably be able to work this out.
• GC Meeting is on Saturday morning from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM and will be a strategic meeting.

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