Organizational Goals, Agendas, and Tasks
This section will chronicle ongoing topics that are under discussion...
The following items could be discussed at the April 2008 CBC meeting.
To expedite decision making, only the members present at the meeting will be eligible to vote.
Please feel free to send your discussion ideas in too.
1. Decide and vote on the conditions or requirements for membership: women working in brewing and fermenting at a commercial brewery of any size was the criteria I originally set up.
However, I am only the founder. YOU are the members. The Pink Boots Society is YOUR group, so you must decide what form the Society takes.
I have had requests to include women brewery lab techs and packagers. I have also received requests from women suppliers (ie: yeast and other brewing raw materials) and women beer writers.
Perhaps an auxiliary membership group that could help us with our goals? Women suppliers may be willing to sponsor meetings or someday, a scholarship for new women brewers to attend formal brewer training. These people want to be involved in the group. How can we involve them while maintaining the integrity of the core membership?
We have to draw the line somewhere. Currently the list includes women brewers/fermenters working at any size brewery. Do you want the list to include women working at breweries of any size, or just craft brewers? How will we define that line? Also, will only the current-boots-wearers be able to vote? Or will the former-boots-wearers have voting rights too?
2. A suggestion was made to form a Boots Sourcing Committee. This committee would look for steel toe pink rubber boots. If none was found, this committee would contact manufacturers and work on commissioning a custom batch of pink steel toed wellies for any members or supporters who wanted some. (More committee ideas are listed at the bottom of this newsletter.)
3. Organize the Society. Perhaps a Queen instead of a President? Perhaps a Board of Mavens instead of a Board of Directors? Let's keep it fun!
Other agenda items for the first meeting (if there is time to discuss them) could include goals of the organization. Here are some ideas for goals:
4. Advance the cause of women in brewing.
5. Mentor new or younger women brewers.
6. Promote formal brewing education for women brewers.
7. Connect women brewers with each other.
8. Encourage brewing as a career choice for women.
9. Encourage women to become homebrewers.
10. Encourage women to become beer drinkers.
11. Encourage respect: Ensure that women and beer can be taken seriously together in association (vs. The "Swedish Bikini Team" effect).
Other suggested topics:
12. Institute annual "Pink Boots Award" to be awarded during the GABF meeting to the woman who has done the most to advance the above goals (4 - 11) of the Society during the previous year. Members would nominate and vote on candidates via email prior to the GABF meeting.
13. The GABF meeting would include elections or election results for Officers (or Mavens, or ?) for the following calendar year.
14. More? Let me know your ideas. It will take time to iron out what you, the members want. It would be great if we can expedite some of these decisions via email before the April CBC meeting. So please stay involved!