Rhode Island Brewing Society New Member Agreement & Bylaws
Club Goals
- To mature as brewers and beer enthusiasts;
- To promote the dissemination of knowledge in the art of brewing;
- To encourage and reward individuals dedicated to the brewing arts;
- To educate the home brewer on the different methods and components of beer and other fermented beverages;
- To foster the responsible use of the products of our craft;
- To evangelize to the community at large homebrewing and craft beer;
- To celebrate the fruits of our labors.
- To be an inclusive and welcoming community to all, and not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age (21+), religion, or physical disability.
Club Membership
- Must be 21 or older.
- Any member must be an active home brewer, actively seeking to start brewing, or has a general interest in homebrewing.
- Meeting attendance is not mandatory, but highly encouraged.
- All members are interested in the same common goal of enjoying the hobby of home brewing, therefore a mutual respect for all home brewers beginner or advanced is expected with no exceptions.
- Members are expected to compose themselves in a manner that is in line with the club and its bylaws
- Members are eligible to participate in club activities, elections and events.
- It is each member’s responsibility to work with the other members and officers for the betterment of the club. This includes but is not limited to submitting new ideas, hosting events or participating in events.
- Members will be required to sign in each meeting to ensure accurate record keeping.
Club Dues
- Club dues are $30.00 collected yearly and this ensures a membership for 1 year (12 calendar months).
- Dues are to cover club operating costs, marketing, events, and supplies.
- Dues will be collected in October. New members that miss the enrollment date will have their dues prorated until October of the next calendar year.
- Any persons interested in joining the Rhode Island Brewing Society will be allowed to attend 3 meetings before having to pay dues.
- Dues must be paid in full on the last day of October. If any member fails to pay dues for 3 months this will result in a revoked membership. Only when dues are paid in full will the membership be reinstated.
- Any club member that does not adhere to the bylaws or conform to the club’s ethics will have their membership revoked even if dues are paid in full with no refund.
- Under no circumstances will club dues be refunded.
Elected Officials and Voting
- To be eligible for office the candidate must be an active RIBS member in good standing for a minimum of 4 months.
- Candidates can either nominate themselves or be nominated by other members.
- Candidates Must hold over 50% of the votes, ties will be broken by the existing President.
- Office will be held for 1 year but can have multiple terms.
- The RIBS officers will pick a member or trusted guest who is not running for an office to conduct the election. They will be designated “Election Officer” for the duration of the meeting. The Election Officer will ensure that the elections are conducted in a fair manner.
- Candidates will be allowed to make a speech as to their qualifications and goals.
- Voting will be done by a secret ballot. All members will vote by writing their preferred candidate on a piece of paper provided and placed into a box. The votes will then be tallied by the election official.
- The elections will be held in December at the monthly meeting and transfer of power will occur on January 1st of the following year.
- If no member challenges an executive seat, that seat will continue to be occupied by the current Executive member.
- If any Executive member is unable to perform their duty they are to inform the leadership and step down. The other Executive members will organize an election at the next meeting.
- Members must be active and in good standing to participate in any of the election processes. This includes both voting and running.
- In the event the club is unable to meet in person due to events outside of the clubs’ control (natural disaster, pandemic, road ban), and a reasonable rescheduling or relocation cannot be met, the Officers will, to the best of their ability, conduct meetings and votes virtually, using an appropriate tool to collect anonymous ballots.
Offices of the Rhode Island Brewing Society:
- President – The President is responsible for providing direction of the group’s mission and activities. For monthly meetings, the President will work with the other officers to provide an agenda for topics to be discussed. In the case of a tied group vote, the current President will serve as the tiebreaker and act in the best interests of the group.
- Vice President – The Vice President is meant as a backup and peer to the President. If the President is unavailable or unable to discharge his office the Vice President will act on the President’s behalf. The vice president will also assist in the planning of events and creating direction for the group. The Vice President will be responsible for handling club finances including reimbursing members for pre-approved club related expenses and collecting membership dues.
- Secretary – The Secretary will be responsible for maintaining meeting minutes and assisting the Vice President with tracking shared financial expenditures for the group. The Secretary will also be responsible for recording general meeting member attendance, club vote results, and keeping track of members missing meetings or no longer active in the group.
- Social Media Officer – The Social Media Officer will be responsible for maintaining and having an active presence on the RIBS social media accounts, as well as coordinating the marketing and advertising for RIBS meetings and events. Specific duties include, but are not limited to, maintaining (posting, updating, replying, etc) all RIBS social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), event advertising (social media event pages, making or commissioning event posters/flyers), and being the social media point of contact for RIBS. The Social Media Officer will take and/or collect pictures from meetings and events for posting and archiving. Additionally, the Social Media Officer will coordinate at least 1 RIBS website (or blog) post per month aside from meeting and event recaps.
- Technology Officer – The Tech Officer will be responsible for maintaining the clubs technological services including but not limited to maintaining the website (such as updating content, ensuring site availability, finding and maintaining adequate hosting, etc), maintaining online/cloud services utilized by the club (Google’s GSuite, etc), communication services (Slack, etc).
- Any additional responsibilities not listed above that fall upon the executive board (President, Vice President, Secretary, Social Media Officer, Technology Officer) shall be delegated by the President to the Officer that the responsibility best suits.
- The Officers of the club are directly responsible for the outward appearance and presentation of the club, including but not limited to events, social media, website, blog, and merchandise.
President
Active President
Rich S.
rich@ribrewingsociety.com
Vice President
Active Vice President
Josh F.
josh@ribrewingsociety.com
Secretary
Active Secretary
Patrick C.
pat@ribrewingsociety.com
Social Media Officer
Active Social Media Officer
Mike G.
mike@ribrewingsociety.com
Technology Officer
Active Technology Officer
Tim H.
tim@ribrewingsociety.com
Club Ethics & Conduct –
- All members are expected to adhere to state and federal laws regarding production and transportation of alcohol.
- All members are to respect the property, rules and staff of the host meeting site before, during and after any club meeting or event.
- Any members that appear to be impaired by alcohol shall, when asked, surrender their car keys. The club will make arrangements to have that member transported home that evening.
- Failure to surrender car keys or outright belligerent acts while impaired will result in disciplinary action and possible termination membership.
- Any members exhibiting violence, intoxicated or otherwise, or representing the club in an unacceptable/unbecoming manner can and will be dismissed from club events or functions.
- All members are responsible for their own actions/decisions during club events or meetings.
- Electected officials of the Rhode Island Brewing Society, 3rd party venues and vendors are not to be held liable.
- All members are expected to treat one another with respect and to refrain from using discriminatory language or hate speech.
Member Discipline
- Any member can be suspended or have membership revoked for the following reasons:
- Failure to abide by the Rhode Island Brewing Society bylaws.
- Other actions detrimental to the Rhode Island Brewing Society as determined by the executive council.
- Members can file complaints through the executive council to be reviewed. The executive council will determine if corrective action is needed.
- If there is a serious breach of ethics or of the bylaws an executive council meeting will be called to discuss.
- Members accused of breaches in protocol will be informed by written letter and have the right to a hearing before the executive council.
- Hearings are open to non-executive members only they are direct witnesses of the event in question.
- Any member will be granted 1 appeal hearing. General members are expected to vote on the final decision. Vote will be anonymous and will require ⅔ majority of attending members.
- Member suspension duration will be determined by the executive council and is based on the severity of the infraction. Suspension includes but is not limited to club events, club competitions, club participation, and voting.
Liabilities of members
- No individual, general member, nor any member of the Board, nor any authorized representative of Rhode Island Brewing Society shall be personally liable for any debt or obligation of the club.
- No member shall receive compensation for services rendered to the club except as otherwise approved by the officers of the club.
- Any member that has to make reasonable purchases on behalf of the club will be reimbursed only with receipts and approval from the executive council.
Updated on October 14, 2020