Board Roles and Responsibilities

Last updated 2023. For a list of the current board of directors, visit the Board of Directors page.

About this page
One of the challenges for the incoming Board is that it is often difficult to maintain annual stability because best practices and historical knowledge are not always passed along from the outgoing Board to the incoming Board, especially when there is a high percentage of turnover in the positions. This summary is intended to provide club members with information on each of the Board positions responsibilities and some of the expectations should they be interested in running for one of the board positions. It is also recommended that members should also check out the official Bylaws descriptions.

Members elected to the board will be expected to review this page periodically during their tenure and make adjustments as they feel necessary. While each Board position has certain expectations, every member that serves on the Board provides their own unique perspective, and may offer additional insight. Most iterations of the Board have discovered that collaboration, cooperation (and sometimes delegation) work best! Adding helpful hints will allow future board members to have a more successful term. Choosing to serve the club in a board position deserves the thanks from all of its members.

Basic information about the elections process and Board transition
Annual elections are held both online prior to and during the November Club meeting. Newly elected members assume their Chair positions at the annual Holiday Party in December. The outgoing board introduces the new board and the incoming board assumes the responsibilities of their Chair positions. The first Inaugural responsibility for the incoming Board is to clean up after the Holiday Party. Fortunately, there are many other volunteers on hand assist them including the outgoing board. Officially, the Board Position terms are from January 1st to December 31st. Prior to the Holiday party, there are many opportunities for communication between the outgoing and the incoming Board to enable a proper pass down of duties and responsibilities. In most cases, past Board members are often available after the transition to offer assistance to assist the incoming board.

Getting elected to the Board
In accordance with our bylaws, all candidates must be a member in good standing for a minimum of one year to be eligible to run for a Board position. It is strongly recommended that members thoroughly read the position descriptions below and ask questions before submitting their candidacy . It is also strongly recommended that anyone running for the position of President have served at least one year on the Board in another role. Members considering running for a board position must remember that each of the Board Positions comes with a ONE-Year commitment. Oregon Brew Crew averages between 100-200 members who support the club via dues. These members look to the Board to fulfill their commitment and support the club to the best of their abilities. It is also recommended that interested members reach out to the current and/or past Board Members to discuss the position(s) that they are considering. This may provide members with more details than are listed on the page.

Board Members "Need to Know"

Access to "Ted's Space"
Ted's Space is the area up in the loft at FH Steinbart that they allow us to use for free.This area is both secure and not secure. Board members are allowed access to it at any time FHS is open, but FHS requires an employee escort for insurance purposes. To gain access, politely ask someone at the front desk and they will help you. PLEASE remember that FHS's first responsibility is to it's customers. If the staff is working with many customers, please either wait for an opportunity, or come back at another time. FHS and their staff have supported our club for many years as we do have a symbiotic relationship with them, however we need them far more than they need us. Little known trivia....FHS owner John DeBenedetti is a founding member of the OBC! Board Members will be provided the combination to the Ted'space locks once they are elected.

Budget and Finances
Some Board positions are assigned an annual budget to use for various club events and responsibilities. Please remember that much of the club's funding for the budget comes via annual dues collected from our hard working members. You will be expected to respect it as you would your own.

Board Meetings and Access
Board members are expected to attend the monthly board meetings that are arranged by the President. It is understood that schedules sometimes limit the members from attending every meeting however, keep in mind that 2/3rds of the Board must be present in order for Club business to be conducted. Should a board member miss three consecutive meetings, their resignation is assumed. Board Members are expected to be readily available via email on a frequent if not daily basis. Most Board communications are via email and sometimes time sensitive. Checking email and responding in a timely manner helps the club and it's business run smoothly without delay.

Sharing of Duties
An old proverb reads..."Many hands make the load lighter". Throughout the year, OBC is often provided with new opportunities and projects that were not planned at the start of the year. Board Members are often already tasked with items, and may not be able to take on any new items. In most cases the board will share the load and divide the tasks between the board members that are able to assist. In some cases, it may be necessary to ask the membership for help. This is actually beneficial to the board members to lighten their load, but also allows general members to participate in the process. This will give them insight into how the club functions from a planning level and may lead them into running for a board position.

Benefits and perks of being on the Board
* Contributing to the success of hundreds of homebrewers and allowing them to get the most out of this hobby.
* Meeting new people on an almost daily basis.
* "Inside scoop" on the inner-workings and behind-the-scenes happenings within the Oregon beer world.
* Relationship building by working with other homebrewers on a variety of projects.

The 10 Individual Board Positions

Please note: Starting with 2024, the new board will be consolidating certain positions to reflect the smaller size of club membership post-Covid, as well as the reduced interest in club leadership, leaving us with less candidates for positions. Some of the positions below may be combined at the discretion of the Board officers and members.

President (Executive/Officer)

• Preside at all board and membership meetings.
• Shall appoint chairs and members of ad hoc committees as needed and established by the Board.
• Review the financial records of the club on a regular basis.
• Appoint a liaison with the American Homebrewers Association (“AHA”) and/or other national organizations as needed.
• Responsible for planning and preparing an agenda for meetings of the membership and Board of Directors.
• Responsible for securing the monthly board meeting and membership meeting places.and let the board members know in a timely fashion. What is an "appropriate place"? Any place that has enough room for at least all 10 board members to sit and talk comfortably, preferably with food and/or drink. We have tried to vary the location, alternating between East and West side locations to account for the large geographic area spanned by our Board Membership
• Currently, board meetings are scheduled for the 4th Monday of each month but this can be changed month-to-month as needed for scheduling as long as you let the other members know in time. It is a good idea to discuss this at the first board meeting to get an idea of everyone's general schedules. Of course not every board member can make every meeting, just do the best you can and work with people's schedules.
• As our fearless leader, the buck stops with you. When a need becomes evident it is your responsibility to address it and get it handled. This does not necessarily mean you have to personally handle every issue that pops up, but it does mean that you need to get the problem solved either by handling it yourself, or finding someone who can get it done. You'll have 9 other board members and 200+ members as a resource you can draw upon.
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Vice President (Executive/Officer)

• Preside at all board and membership meetings in the absence of the President.
• Assist the President and perform their duties on their behalf if needed.
• Maintain a record of all property owned by the club and shall supervise its proper use and safekeeping. This includes all tools and equipment located at FH Steinbart and our pilot brewing system. A delegate or volunteer may be asked to assist with the pilot system if the elected Board member does not have sufficient space to store and maintain all the pilot brewing equipment including refilling the propane tanks. Unless a delegate has been assigned, this Position is in charge of scheduling equipment reservations and ensuring it is returned clean and in good working order.
• Organizing club bus trips and other outings like group camping trips. In the past these have been bus trips to OSU's Fermentation Sciences Program in Corvallis with Tom Shellhammer , a club camping trip to Tumalo Park near Sisters, a Wild Beer Camp at Trask River Campground, and tours of breweries and cideries all over NW Oregon like Buoy, Fort George, de Garde, Oregon Trail, Block 15, Double Mountain, Pfriem, Crux, Boneyard, Waltz, Bull Run Cidery, etc.
• Assign Jockey Box and Beer engine use where appropriate during member meetings at FHS and the Holiday Party.
• Assist and guide all other Board Positions when necessary.
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Treasurer (Executive/Officer)

• Has custody of all funds of the club and are responsible for properly accounting of all income and disbursements.
• Submits reports on the current financial condition of the club at all board meetings and/or upon request. Prepares the annual club budget showing expected revenues and expenditures for the coming year and present it to the board for approval prior to the annual elections meeting, and thereafter to the membership for approval at the annual elections meeting.
• Supplies a monthly budget report to each board member so they know what they have to spend.
• Responsible for collecting annual dues, and handling all things financial in the club including reimbursing members as needed, balancing all bank accounts, paying bills, etc
• Responsible for filing any tax returns or related forms that may be required and maintains the club’s non-profit status.
• Files annual reports with the State of Oregon and Department of Justice to maintain the business entity "Oregon Brew Crew"
• Renew the Club website fees.
• Renews the Club insurance policies.
• Regularly check the OBC mailbox and pay any annual fees.
• Submit monthly budget/income statement to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Secretary (Executive/Officer)

• Responsible to take notes and record all votes, actions, and minutes of major proceedings at meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, as well as all regular meetings of the membership.
• Responsible for distributing the minutes to the board in a timely manner.
• Responsible for ensuring that elections are conducted in accordance with our bylaws, including preparation, validation, and counting of ballots.
• Oversees all official correspondence of the OBC.
• Responsible for the maintenance and safekeeping of all records and historical archives of the club (in cooperation with Club Historian)
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Communications (currently a joint effort with the OBC Secretary)

• Responsible for communicating news to the club; this will be in the forms of the monthly newsletter, monthly meeting announcements, periodic blast emails to the membership, updates posted to the Facebook page, etc.
• Meeting Announcements
• Once the next membership meeting location and pertinent details are determined (usually at the prior board meeting),this chair is responsible for creating an "event" on our website and Facebook page and get an email blast out to the membership as quickly as possible.

• Monthly Newsletter - Creating, Posting (on Website and Facebook, and emailing to Membership
• Here's an overview of what it takes to produce the monthly newsletter:
  • You must create and distribute the newsletter by the first week of the month, absolutely before the 2^nd Thursday of the month.
  • Each newsletter should have at least;
    • Burgermeister message (requests for the next meeting/outing)
    • Competitions update
    • Education piece
    • Pilot System info (normally we just use the same page every month unless something changes)
    • List of current board members and their email addresses
    • Volunteer page, usually announcements from the Festival Coordinator who needs volunteers for upcoming events)
    • Any other interesting news or articles.
  • The Comm Chair should also keep track on what’s going on within the club and solicit articles to be written by members. Look at the archived newsletters for ideas. This position does not have to write all the articles for the newsletter, but only to compile and present articles. This requires reminding Board members to get their articles submitted in a timely fashion as well as seeking submissions from club members.
  • Here’s what seems to work well;
• In the second week of the month, send out a deadline reminder to everyone two weeks out. Then a reminder at one week out and then daily reminders until they get their content to you.

Education (currently a joint effort of the entire OBC Board)

• Responsible for coordinating the educational sessions at 6-7 ":in-meetings" (November's election meeting, December's Holiday Party and 3-4 other "out-meetings" do not have formal educational sessions).
• There "out-meetings" include : July - Widmer BBQ, October - Hair of the Dog event; and 1 -2 other "out meetings" at local breweries or brewing related establishments.
• Responsible for helping supporting BJCP members to continue required education.
• You are also responsible for coordinating (whether directly or by delegation/collaboration) our annual 10-12 week BJCP courses in preparation for the BJCP judging/tasting exam. Since these courses are overwhelmingly popular it is strongly encouraged to add more one-night-only educational sessions (tasting workshops) throughout the year that focus on specific beer tasting topics instead of specifically studying for the BJCP exam.
• For educational ideas just listen to the membership. What topic would benefit many members in making better beer? Your educational topics need to be diverse and should help beginning brewers and advanced brewers alike as much as possible. Keep your ear to the ground for brewing experts that are willing to do an educational presentation for us. These can be experienced and accomplished members or professional brewers outside our club.
• Also remember that not everyone is an advanced brewer in our club! At any given meeting there are over 30% of the members that have just started brewing within the last year (data from a couple of our member surveys in 2014 & 2015). These members need the basics (and honestly some of our experienced members usually benefit from even the most basic topic or review) This means it's ok to do a rudimentary educational session once in awhile, or even repeat presentations every couple of years. You can also present the educational session yourself, or be a part of it but it is not expected (nor desired) for you to present every topic every month.
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Events

• Responsible for coordinating the recruitment of volunteers for events that the club supports. This will include staffing our club booth and/or recruiting members to help pour beer at festivals and/or organizing on-site brewing demos at these or other events.
• Serves as a liaison to the sponsor and/or management of such events. Typical events are Nano Beerfest in April, Portland Fruit Beer Festival in June, Portland Craft Beer Festival on July 4th weekend, and the Oregon Brewer's Festival in late July. There are documents available to you that go into deeper detail about the specifics of each event.
• Also acts as point of contact for other festivals that are not directly supported by the OBC, but may be looking for advertising and/or volunteers through word of mouth, newsletter and Facebook posts targeted at our club members and the public.
• Responsible for acquiring our propane permit when we brew at a festival, as well as securing insurance certificates for additional insureds as requested at some of the festivals.
• Responsible for maintaining the club's canopy and OBC banner and the contents of our "Festival Box", which is just a large plastic tote that has everything we need at festivals. These items are stored in Ted'space. This includes refreshing grain and hop samples as needed and making sure books and materials are up to date.
• This position is responsible for maintaining the Member of the Year points. These points are reported on the website by the members themselves. It is up to you to tally and provide monthly updates to the Communications Chairman for the newsletter. You are also responsible for letting the membership know well in advance what the deadline for points submissions is. As soon as the date for the holiday party is set, you should set a deadline for submitting points.
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Burgermeister

• Responsible for providing food at meetings so our members have a little something on their stomachs while they are drinking alcohol. The Club relies on supporting members to bring potluck style foods but this position also has an annual monetary budget that can be used to supplement the event.
• Responsible for coordinating the food for all in and out meetings and at various club events and to manage the Chairs budget ensuring that it will last throughout the entire year.
• * Most of the information needed for this chair position is contained in the living Word document named the Burgermeister Manual.
• Familiarize yourself with inventory of club supplies and equipment at your disposal. It is your responsibility to maintain the required inventory of supplies (cups, plates, etc). These are kept in Ted'space.
• Responsible for managing individual annual budgets for in-meetings, out-meetings, food at workshops/demos, the annual Widmer BBQ in July, the Hair of the Dog meeting in October, Mead Day, Big Brew Day at FHS and the Holiday Party in December.
• Work with other chair positions in planning the out-meetings to stay within the food budget, this can be a challenge because many places just charge too much for food to stay within our budget.
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.
• For in-meetings:
• Ask members for food via the newsletter and meeting announcements and “blast” emails when needed, but give them a week’s notice.
• Arrange and coordinate incoming food
• Keep record of who brings food (so they can claim Member of the Year Points)
• For out-meetings:
• Varies per event but we use some of this chairs budget is used to purchase at least one beer (if we are at a brewery) and some snack foods if budget allows. Some places are expensive so this position needs to make arrange for either purchased food or potluck depending on the cost.

Competition

• This position is recommended for members that are highly organized and have some awareness and/or experience with helping organize BJCP sanctioned competitions. You are responsible for finding volunteers to be in your "Competition Committee" that will help you organize our various club competitions.
• Currently we operate the Heart of Cascadia and the Oregon Fall Classic Competitions. This position will be heavily involved in assisting to coordinate the National Homebrew Competition First-Round when it happens in Portland every other year, and to help solicit volunteers to be involved when it happens in Seattle alternating years. There will also be other smaller competitions you be likely to help with like Widmer's Collaborator, Sustainable/Pure Water Brew and any other ad hoc style comps that come our way as warranted. It takes quite a bit of effort to run these competitions successfully so help will be needed.
• This position is responsible for maintaining the OBC Cup points (for those entering and placing at competitions). These points are reported on the website by the members themselves. It is up to you to tally and provide monthly updates to the Communications Chairman for the newsletter. You are also responsible for letting the membership know well in advance what the deadline for points submissions is. As soon as the date for the holiday party is set, you should set a deadline for submitting points.
• Submit any information to Communication Chair by established article due date.

Membership (currently a joint effort of Events, Treasurer and VP)

• Responsible for membership registrations including status, benefits, identification, upgrades, and renewals,
• Responsible for meeting check-in and name badges (with volunteers)
• scheduling of multiple "B" social meetings per year.
• Helping to recruit volunteers for meeting set-up, check-in, and clean-up as well as other volunteer needs from other committees
• This role will also partner with other chairs to lead efforts to increase membership and club participation.
• Managing merchandise and sales (T-shirts, Hoodies, Hats, etc)