Let’s keep in mind that the effort required to do this is minimal, a couple of phone calls, and there is no extra cost for the member that does not want to use the benefit. The survey and its tabulation will take more time.
Plus there’s the self selectivity of responses. If you are into it you are motivated to respond. If not, unless it would mean increased fees or less services, why bother. Also, what does an individual member have to lose?: " Do you think you would regularly post in a new topic called ‘Homebrew Weddings’?", Sure, why the hell not?
I’m not saying this (access to journals) isn’t a good idea worth looking into, just agreeing that surveys where participation is optional are essentially worthless.
Given the express charge to GC members in the bylaws I find this both highly surprising and concerning.
Would you explain why? We can certainly bring it up to the AHA and explain why (if) it’s a good idea, but that’s about it.
From the AHA website:
“The members of the Governing Committee are elected by the members of the AHA and charged with shaping the policy and activities on their behalf.”
I can see how someone would think that the GC members would be conduit that brought ideas like this from rank and file members like us on the forum here to the AHA.
It would be interesting to see a chart of organization for the AHA. What I’m hearing from the GC members and some wording in the by laws is that the GC and the AHA are two entities rather than the GC being part of the AHA. It explains that the GC members say things along the lines of “well we could talk to the AHA…”. I had previously thought that the GC kind of was the AHA, in a sense.
If that’s what you thought, I can see why you’d be confused. The GC function is pretty much advisory. We can bring issues to the AHA and advocate for them if we want to. They can bring issues to us to get our thoughts on them. But we have no power or budget to actually enact anything. We do take on some duties, like me with this forum, or the subcommittee work we do.
Yes, and I see the website calls the GC “advisory”.
I assumed it was more like a Governing Committee on a board of directors. I work for a non profit and our BOD has a GC that is responsible for the most essential decisions: hiring an ED, large purchases of land or building projects, moving money around etc.
Denny sums it up well, the GC is an advisory board. The AHA Staff (what, 8 people?) have a buget, assigned work with objectives, and lets face it, performance reviews. It is a hobby for us, it is a job for the AHA staff. What we propose needs to come out of the budget and manhours. The AHA is also a division of the Brewers Association,so the AHA operates under the auspices of the BA.
This can be brought to the attention of the AHA staff for consideration.
Thanks for the info Jeff and Denny. I’m embarrassed by how much I don’t know about an organization that I am a member of. I wonder if others are as ignorant as I am. I have never had a beef with the AHA or a desire to share an idea so I haven’t had a need to learn.
You got to admit though, Governing Committee is a funny name for a committee that doesn’t govern. I would have gone with " Holy Roman Empire" 
Just a few days left to cast your ballot in the AHA Governing Committee election. Ballots must be submitted by midnight Pacific Time to be counted. With six seats on the GC in contention, this is a particularly important election.
Candidate statements and ballots can be found here: AHA Committee - American Homebrewers Association.
Vote NOW!
I’ll also weight in on this thread. I think Denny and Jeff are being modest about the role the Governing Committee members play. The GC plays a tremendously important role for the AHA. Every year, I depend on the Governing Committee to set the agenda for the AHA’s annual plan. The GC is the source of new ideas and a conduit for what is happening in local homebrewing communities around the country.
Much of the Governing Committee input for the AHA staff takes place at the Subcommittee level, where the discussions are much more focused on specific topics. Those subcommittees are led by members of the GC, but since not every GC member is on every subcommittee, individual GC members may not be as aware of the overall contribution to the organization that those subcommittees are making. I can tell you that the AHA staff is very much aware of the contributions of the GC and grateful for the input we get from these dedicated volunteers.