| Author |
Message |
    
Little Dipper
Intermediate Member
Username: Littledipper
Post Number: 428
Registered: 02-2004
Posted From: 206.114.61.199
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 02:31 pm: | 
|
Well, after missing out on another NHC this year, I've committed myself to attending next year in Oakland/SF. Does anyone know when the info. (exact location) is to be released? Thanks. |
ChriSto
Intermediate Member
Username: Christo
Post Number: 388
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 216.176.226.154
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 03:27 pm: |
|
Gary Glass said at the Banquet dinner that they are still working out the logistics. They have a preliminary site/hotel, but sounded like it will be a couple of months before anything is posted officially. |
Tom Meier
Advanced Member
Username: Brewdawg96
Post Number: 814
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 198.91.8.12
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 04:27 pm: |
|
I have some second hand intel that points to a certain hotel, but they are still negotiating.
Its in Oakland, and very near the BART. Put two and two together on that, its not hard to figure out. |
Patrick C.
Advanced Member
Username: Patrickc
Post Number: 820
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 70.43.202.222
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 04:49 pm: |
|
Is the date set? |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6810
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 140.211.82.4
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 05:42 pm: |
|
I'm told the hotel contract has been signed, but I'm not at liberty to say which hotel.
Dates are June 18-20
(Message edited by denny on June 27, 2008) |
Bob G.
Intermediate Member
Username: Brewerbob
Post Number: 441
Registered: 06-2002
Posted From: 75.60.60.49
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 06:44 pm: |
|
Don't worry Denny, I hear the security team is good at holding the fans back as you exit your Limo  |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6811
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 140.211.82.4
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 07:36 pm: |
|
Have you been talking to T&T???? |
Tom Gardner
Senior Member
Username: Tom
Post Number: 1111
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 162.119.64.100
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 07:52 pm: |
|
When's it gonna be in Portland? |
Tom Fries
Junior Member
Username: Tfries
Post Number: 70
Registered: 12-2003
Posted From: 208.83.194.89
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 04:44 am: |
|
Denny wrote... Have you been talking to T&T????
We told him nothing! Honest! |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6812
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 140.211.82.4
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 04:03 pm: |
|
Tom, likely a long time to never....there was a group of us who were trying to get it at least in Seattle, but the apathy among local clubs was pretty overwhelming. Everybody wants it here, but nobody wants to do anything about it. |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 9014
Registered: 01-2002
Posted From: 24.57.225.170
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 05:12 pm: |
|
As anyone who has been to the NHC can attest, there is a tremendous amount of work that must be put forth by the clubs in the area. The AHA provides guidance and assistance, but very little in the way of financial support and hands-on effort. Clubs that have helped host the conference report that it has been very good for boosting interest and membership, but there is also some burnout on the part of those who have done most of the work. |
Tom Gardner
Senior Member
Username: Tom
Post Number: 1113
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 71.56.208.229
| | Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008 - 01:33 am: |
|
You said it. I ran the NHC competition last year. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6813
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 140.211.82.4
| | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 04:33 pm: |
|
And did a great job, Tom! |
Bob G.
Intermediate Member
Username: Brewerbob
Post Number: 445
Registered: 06-2002
Posted From: 76.252.248.82
| | Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 08:51 pm: |
|
Maybe it needs to come to Eugene in the next three years or so. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6815
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 63.114.138.2
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 06:39 pm: |
|
Yeah, fat chance...guess which club was the most apathetic about getting involved in NHC? |
Chumley
Senior Member
Username: Chumley
Post Number: 5481
Registered: 02-2003
Posted From: 63.118.227.254
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 07:39 pm: |
|
The BrewRats? |
danno
Advanced Member
Username: Danno
Post Number: 735
Registered: 03-2002
Posted From: 71.222.108.141
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 05:21 am: |
|
You mean a club was worse than the OBC? |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6817
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 140.211.82.4
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 04:01 pm: |
|
Yeah, the Brewrats might beat our club, but I was specifically speaking of PNW clubs....;)
Danno, OBC is a model of activism compared to CBS! |
Tom Fries
Junior Member
Username: Tfries
Post Number: 72
Registered: 12-2003
Posted From: 208.83.194.89
| | Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 03:06 am: |
|
I can hardly get support for our CBS club comps. |
Paul Hayslett
Senior Member
Username: Paulhayslett
Post Number: 1704
Registered: 02-2002
Posted From: 71.234.46.245
| | Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 03:44 pm: |
|
My club failed to host its own comp last year. Huge embarassment. No one was willing to do the work. We've got it on the calendar for this year, but I haven't seen anyone start working on it. Nor have I been able to get anyone to help me update the web site. How do active clubs get people motivated? |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1591
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 24.248.74.254
| | Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 05:02 pm: |
|
Paul,
Our club started out with two guys running the whole show. No elections, No dues, No officers. It has been going pretty good for the last 6 or 7 years, but it is time for a change. The leadership is starting to fade and this year I had to step up and organize the Brewmasters Open. I had lots of help and it was a success due to all the help I got, but our club is no doubt going to have to make some tweaks to keep folks active and stay alive.
I have noticed that participation is cyclical. One thing we are doing in the next week or so is a pub crawl. we are all going to meet at the LHBS and get on a bus. We will no doubt have homebrew on the bus, but we will also be going all around the metro area visiting brewpubs and beer bars. this is in lieu of our July meeting.
Not sure what I can recommend for your club, but finding ways to inject fun and camaraderie certainly cannot hurt. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6819
Registered: 01-2001
Posted From: 63.114.138.2
| | Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 05:59 pm: |
|
Roxanne Westendorf had a great presentation at NHC about fun club activities and how to get people involved. It'll be posted on the AHA website soon, with all the other presentations. But, as good as her ideas were, I kept thinking that there was no way most of the people in our club would get involved. Our club is having its annual Iron Brewer comp. in about a week, which is a really fun event. We limited entries to 5 teams and only have 3. I'll be really surprised if we get any more. |
Paul Hayslett
Senior Member
Username: Paulhayslett
Post Number: 1706
Registered: 02-2002
Posted From: 71.234.46.245
| | Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 09:11 pm: |
|
Bob, I think I know exactly what you mean.
My club has been "no elections, almost no dues, no officers" since 1975. (Pat Baker, who went on to found the BJCP, started it back before homebrewing was legal, hence the name "Underground Brewers of CT".) The one and only club rule in all that time has been that no club business may be discussed at meetings. Infractions of that one rule are dealt with harshly.
Somehow, this worked for 30 years. The club organized both a public and an in-house competition each year, a big party at Christmas and a picnic in the summer, plus 8 or 10 other meetings annually. The lack of structure a good thing; it was a big part of the reason I chose to join. And club business got done, somehow.
But it rode on the back of the same 4 or 5 people doing most of the work year after year. Now, those people are burning out and choosing not to do so much and no one else is stepping in to take over. The lack of structure is making it tougher to get new teams in place.
I'm sure we'll be able to get things together again, and I sure hope we can do it without becoming rules-based with minutes and elections and all that crap. But right now, the club is looking ropey.
The best way forward is probably the one you recommend -- lots of fun activities. That will get people invested in the club and willing to work a bit more. |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 9027
Registered: 01-2002
Posted From: 24.57.225.170
| | Posted on Friday, July 04, 2008 - 01:30 am: |
|
It's difficult not to think of the famous quote from Groucho Marx: "I wouldn't care to belong to any club that would accept me as a member."
That said, it does a lot of good for a homebrew club to encourage participation by spouses and families. Guys who like to drink beer will always find an excuse to indulge themselves, but doing so with the support of family members goes a long way toward keeping a club healthy and active.
I didn't attend Roxanne's session at the NHC, but I heard very positive things about it and I look forward to the material appearing on the AHA site. I understand she mentioned things such as cooking (chili, ribs, wings, etc.) with homebrew, and competitions for soda made (and judged) by family members. Planning activities that involve families in addition to the the usual boys' nights out for beers will foster more participation and keep a club going. |
Tom Meier
Advanced Member
Username: Brewdawg96
Post Number: 817
Registered: 03-2003
Posted From: 70.157.58.33
| | Posted on Saturday, July 05, 2008 - 02:08 pm: |
|
Paul, the lack of dues and business is both a blessing a curse, but I see it more as a blessing.
Regarding officers. There is nothing formal about homebrewing, no need for an elected position. just need someone who is interested enough step up to do the work.
Bottom line on dues; the danger of having dues is alot of people paying for the benefit of a select few.
A club I quit sent a friend of an officer to a conference while raising dues and complaining they could not fund a van for a club pub crawl for the unwashed masses of their regular membership to benefit from.. They are still doing this, and their member dues funded a contest that sent one person to go to the GABF last year. And this year they paid for several people to go to the NHC.
on revitalizing your club; get new members. In order for a club to continue to be vibrant, you need to always bring in new faces who are on the learning curve, and excited about the hobby. It takes nothing more than holding an all-grain or extract brewing class.
The second is comraderie building, and this depends on the type of members you have. Could be a pubcrawl, family bbq, formal beer-food pairing dinner, campout, etc. Another is having a goal of some kind. doing a barrel beer, a steinbier, entering a competition or series, etc.
But the fundamental rule of HB clubs seems to be no matter the size of the club, whether its 20 or 120, there will always be 6 to 12 people who do most of the work. So they key is to recruit and retain (by keeping interested) those 6 to 12 people. |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 5683
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 65.29.223.32
| | Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 - 01:46 am: |
|
The Bloatarians were highly unorganized for years. At about 10:00 on a Thursday night , we would get a call from the "Primary Fermenter," Ray Spangler, telling us that there was a meeting the following night and where it was. Nothing predicted this besides Ray's whim. We stopped that a long time ago with more organization.
More than once, Ray interrupted the Mrs. and me.
(Message edited by listermann on July 07, 2008) |
Paul Hayslett
Senior Member
Username: Paulhayslett
Post Number: 1707
Registered: 02-2002
Posted From: 71.234.46.245
| | Posted on Monday, July 07, 2008 - 11:23 am: |
|
Thanks again, folks.
It appears that part of the solution for my club is, uh, me. I've been "volunteered" to handle the shift to online registration for our next competition, I'll be hosting the summer picnic this year, and a number of the guys are looking to me to organize a pubcrawl through Brooklyn in September. I guess I've become one of those "6 to 12 people who do most of the work". |
ChriSto
Intermediate Member
Username: Christo
Post Number: 390
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 216.176.226.154
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 - 11:14 am: |
|
Ask not what your homebrew club can do for you, but what you can do for your homebrew club.
Our club was down to 5-6 regulars meeting at a local pub once a month, just basically having a few pints among friends with maybe one homebrew brought in to share between us. I made the stupid mistake of saying that maybe it was time we actually did something - like a style talk. Later, I went to the bathroom and came back and found that the now past president had decided to "retire" and they had held a hasty election as me as new Pres. (moral of the story is never go to the bathroom during an SBL meeting).
It is very true that you may feel alone with only a few folks willing to help out, but I enjoyed my stint (3.5 years before I could get someone to go to the bathroom during a meeting!). We organized two BJCP classes/exams, went through all 80 substyles of beer at meetings w/ samples, technical talks, started group barrel brews and a number of other brew/social events while membership increased to about 60 and another 60 "moochers" - those who like to try beer but never get around to joining - on our email list. So the effort is worth it from that point of view. |
Brews and Views Archive 2008 
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page