Rock Hoppers Brew Club By-Laws

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ARTICLE 1 – ORGANIZATION

SECTION 1 – Name

The name of this organization is the Rock Hoppers Brew Club, hereinafter referred to as RHBC.

SECTION 2 – Purpose

RHBC is the premier Colorado homebrew club dedicated to pursuing and pushing the limits of creativity, art and science of brewing through continuing education, collaboration and the development of community.  We always strive for brewing excellence and encourage the development of all brewers in our club in the pursuit of a most excellent brew.

ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1 – Qualifications

Standard Members

Membership into RHBC is open to any adult 21 years old or older with an interest in brewing beer and who are actively brewing home brewed beer.  Members are expected to attend at least one meeting and/or event per year as well as be actively creating homebrewed beverages.  RHBC officers have the authority to accept or reject any potential applicant.

Honorary Members

Honorary Members are those who have been accepted into RHBC by any term of RHBC officers and have been given access to the RHBC website.  Honorary members are not dues paying members and are not eligible to serve as an officer or vote in any club matter.  Honorary membership is subject to the same standards as described in Article 2, Section 5.

SECTION 2 – Membership Term 

The term of membership is March to February, one full calendar year.  Dues are paid in March for the full year or prorated quarterly for new members only (see Dues).  A member in good standing is one who is current in dues and not under suspension.

SECTION 3 – Participation

Members are expected to take an active roll in club meetings and events.  Members are expected to help with the set up, maintenance, and/or clean up of a club meeting or event.

SECTION 4 – Voting

Each regular member in good standing of RHBC shall have the right to vote on all matters that come before the membership. 

SECTION 5 – Revocation or Suspension

Membership to RHBC may be revoked or suspended by a unanimous vote of RHBC officers for the following reasons:

  1. Failure to pay dues (will only result in membership suspension).
  2. Failure to abide by club by-laws.
  3. Conduct that is detrimental to the image or purpose of RHBC.

SECTION 6 – Reinstatement

Paying, in full, any annual dues owed can reinstate any member whose membership has been suspended due to the failure of paying their dues.  Any member whose membership was revoked or suspended for other reasons may be reinstated by a unanimous officer vote. 

SECTION 7 – Guests

Members are welcome to bring guests to club meetings.  Some events may require the guest to pay a fee for materials used or consumed.  A guest may only come to three meetings and/or one event before dues are required.  Members will be held responsible for the actions of their guests.  Restrictions are not intended to apply to a spouse or significant other of a member in good standing.

ARTICLE 3 – DUES

SECTION 1 – Annual Dues

The annual membership fee (subject to yearly membership review) is $25 per person per year and are due in March, coinciding with RHBC’s fiscal year.  Annual dues will be pro-rated on a quarterly basis for new members in their first year of membership only. 

The fiscal quarterly intervals are defined as follows: Q1: March–May; Q2: June-August; Q3: September-November; Q4: December-February.  After the prorated period, new members will pay the full annual due in March.  Existing members do not have the option to pay partial or pro-rated membership fees.

The amount of annual membership dues will be determined at the RHBC January officers meeting and can be changed with a unanimous vote of the RHBC officers.  Any changes to the annual membership dues will be announced at the February meeting.

ARTICLE 4 – CLUB OFFICERS

SECTION 1 – Officer Commitments

Each officer must fulfill the following commitments:

  1. Conduct officers meeting prior to the monthly meeting to coordinate, strategize, and plan for the upcoming meeting.
  2. Be an AHA member.
  3. Make every effort to attend the National Homebrewers Conference during or the year following their tenure as an officer to further RHBC’s visibility in the national arena.
  4. Attend one major beer-related event (such as Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines, GABF, NHC, HopUnion Hop & Brew School, etc.) while representing the club and / or collecting eductional materials for the benefit of the club. The club will provide up to a $75.00 one-time stipend to be reimbursed for the cost of the event, to be paid at the end of the membership year. Reimbursement must be approved by a majority of fellow officers, and receipts must be provided for payment. Every attempt should be made to attend an event as a group of officers.

SECTION 2 – Positions

Elected Officer Positions:

  1. President
  2. Event Director
  3. Communications Director
  4. Treasurer
  5. Competition Director
  6. Education Director

Non-Officer Positions:

  1. Webmaster
  2. A/V Master

SECTION 3 – Officer Duties

President

The president of RHBC is the public representative – the “face and voice” of RHBC.  This person is the de facto leader in all club meetings, activities, and events.  To be nominated and/or serve as president, a member must have served as an elected officer for at least one year during the previous term or has served as an elected officer at least once in the previous three years and has remained heavily involved with the club’s activities as judged by the current officers before the upcoming election.

President
  1. Responsible for facilitating consensus among club members and officers to provide execution of the club’s goals.
  2. The liaison between the American Homebrewers Association and RHBC.
  3. The leader of all meetings, including general club meetings and officer meetings.
  4. Gives notice to previous officers to state eligibility for President as described in Article 5, Section 2.
  5. Active in communication with other area clubs.
  6. The public “face” of RHBC.
Event Director

The Event Director researches, coordinates, and facilitates all club events including, but not limited to:

  1. All AHA sponsored events (Big Brew, Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day, etc.).
  2. GABF coordination including volunteering opportunities and meet-up locations.
  3. Tours of local breweries, meaderies, and wineries (works with Treasurer)
  4. Meet-ups at local establishments.
  5. Procurement of guest speakers at clubs (works with Competition Director and Education Director).
  6. Facilitation of accommodations and transportation for group events, tours, etc. (as needed). 
  7. Work with Webmaster in updating the events calendar on the RHBC website.
  8. Fundraisers.
  9. Responsible for all group happenings – Big Brew, AHA Rallies, Barrel Brews, etc. 

The Event Director should work closely with both the Treasurer and Competition/Event Director to resolve any financial and/or educational needs for an event. 

Communications Director

The Communications Director is responsible for all club information dissemination.  Including:

  1. All communications (emails, newsletters, etc.) on behalf of RHBC.
  2. Formulation and distribution of the meeting agenda and any related meeting materials. (works with Webmaster)
  3. Maintenance all official RHBC documents.
  4. Taking of both officer and general meeting minutes. Coordination with Webmaster to post general meeting minutes.
  5. Take club meeting attendance.
Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for all financial aspects of running RHBC.  Including:

  1. Dues collection.
  2. Annual budget and forecasting.
  3. Banking and accounting.
  4. Cash inflow and outflow.
  5. Payment of all bills.
  6. Tax issues.
  7. Verification and provision of election ballots.
  8. Granting and revocation of website privileges based upon current fiscal year due payment.

In addition, the treasurer should work closely with the Event Director in assessing and collecting any costs incurred during an event (e.g., money above and beyond what club dues cover, etc.). 

Competition Director

The Competition Director is responsible for competition coordination.  Ideally, the Competition Director should be either studying to be or is a BJCP judge.  If not, the person should work closely with those in RHBC who are.  Responsibilities include:

  1. Coordination of the club’s annual competition.
  2. Creation and Maintenance a checklist for running the club’s annual competition, including dates by which actions need to be taken (Submission to Zymurgy, purchase of Trophies, Purchase of Gift Cards, etc.). This checklist should be passed from year to year to aid new officers.
  3. Coordinate club member entries into local/national competitions.
  4. Coordinate the judging of the AHA Club Only Competition to select the club’s representative brew. Is also responsible for sending the entry to the appropriate party.
  5. Be the main resource for BJCP and AHA related competitions.
  6. Coordinate monthly tasting and feedback sessions at meetings.
Education Director

The Education Director is responsible for beer and brewing education.  Ideally, the Education Director should be either studying to be or is a BJCP judge.  If not, the person should work closely with those in RHBC who are.  Responsibilities include:

  1. Coordination and/or facilitator of educational sessions at meetings.
  2. Be the main resource for general brewing, BJCP, and AHA related education.
  3. Work closely with the events coordinator in obtaining guest educational speakers.
Webmaster

The Webmaster is not an elected officer position.  However, their responsibilities for maintenance of the rockhoppersbrewclub.com website and all other website-related items are important club functions.  The Webmaster position is appointed by the current President.  Responsibilities include:

  1. Posting to the RHBC website all informational articles and news (meeting minutes, etc.).
  2. Sending blast emails on behalf of officers and members upon request.
  3. Maintenance of the RHBC website – the website should never be out of date or stagnant.
  4. Periodic updates to the website’s content management system platform (Drupal).
  5. Maintenance of the Biere de Rock Competition website.
  6. Maintenance of RHBC’s BrewBlogger installation.
  7. Maintenance of the RHBC Facebook page and any other social medium deemed appropriate.
A/V Master

The A/V Master is not an elected officer position.  The A/V Master is responsible for:

  1. Providing/coordinating the audio and video systems for every general meeting. 

The A/V Master position is appointed by the current President.

ARTICLE 5 -OFFICER ELECTIONS

SECTION 1 – Nominations

Nominations for officer positions will take place annually at the February meeting.  Any member in good standing can be nominated for an officer position.   Members can nominate another member during the meeting or nominate themselves.  Members are not compelled to accept a nomination. 

Any nominee for president must a) have served as an elected officer for at least one year during the previous term or b) have served as an elected officer at least once in the previous three years and has remained heavily involved with the club’s activities as judged by the current officers before the upcoming election as described in Article 5, Section 2. 

To be nominated for an officer position, a member must be an AHA member, or become an AHA member within one month of election.

SECTION 2 – Notification of Intent for President

A member who qualifies to be nominated as President as described in Article 5, Section 1, subsection b must notify the current officers in writing one month before the upcoming nominations of their intent.  The officers will then determine the member’s eligibility for the role of President at the Officers meeting prior to the nominations meeting.  The determination will be communicated in writing to the potential nominee prior to the nominations meeting.

SECTION 3 – Elections

All nominated members for each position will have time during the March meeting to explain to RHBC why they should be elected to the desired position.  Additionally, campaigning is encouraged.  However, “negative” or “attack” campaigning is strictly prohibited and will result in the revocation of a member’s nomination.  Elections will be via secret ballot.  All members in good standing may vote in the election.  There is no proxy voting or absentee voting; members must be present at the March meeting to cast their ballot.  Winners will be announced at the March meeting.  In the event of a tie, a “runoff” election between the affected members will ensue.  The election results will be counted by the existing Treasurer and two non-running RHBC members in good standing.

SECTION 4 – Term

Terms of office shall be for 12 months for all elected positions except for Treasurer, whose term is 24 moths. Terms begin April 1st and end March 31st.  Newly elected officers will become trainees immediately following the elections and will remain trainees until their term starts on April 1st.  Trainees will have a transition meeting with their respective outgoing officer and will attend all officer-related functions in order to learn the responsibilities of the position they are going to fill.  Outgoing officers will serve as mentors for the newly elected officers for a period of two (2) months after their term has ended. 

SECTION 5 – Term Limits

The president of RHBC can serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms as president.  All other positions may serve up to three (3) consecutive terms in the same position.

SECTION 6 – Vacancies

When a vacancy exists, the remaining club officers will appoint a new officer within 30 days. 

SECTION 7 – Removal of an Officer

If an officer has not performed or is unable to perform their duties, the remaining officers can remove and/or replace the officer by a unanimous vote of the remaining officers.

ARTICLE 6 – MEETINGS AND EVENTS

SECTION 1 – Regular Meetings

Regular meetings will be held monthly on the second Thursday of each month.  Members are asked to bring homebrewed beverages to the monthly meetings.

SECTION 2 – Club Events

Club events will be held throughout the year as determined by the Event Director.  Members who would like to create or host a club event should confer with the Event Director for approval.  This does not include brew with me events.

ARTICLE 7 – ETHICAL CODE

SECTION 1 – Consumption

All RHBC members are responsible for themselves to obey Colorado laws regarding the consumption of alcohol.  Members are responsible for portraying a positive public image for RHBC and shall not act in bad taste while in public.

SECTION 2 – Liability

Individual members of RHBC shall not be personally liable for the debts or obligations of RHBC, nor shall RHBC be liable for the actions of any member outside the guidelines of RHBC by-laws.  Each club member as a condition of membership shall sign a liability waiver each year.

SECTION 3 – Values

Honesty and respect are values that are required of RHBC members.  No member shall steal, be violent, or engage in behavior that is disrespectful to others or themselves.  Such behavior is punishable as described in Article 2, Section 5.

ARTICLE 8 – BY-LAWS

SECTION 1 – Changes

The RHBC officers can modify the By-Laws at any time with a majority vote. 

SECTION 2 – Effective Date

These revised By-Laws become effective February 1, 2011.

Updated May 15, 2013.

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