A (final) Word from Bazza / May 2018 Round-up

[Bazza]

Hi All,

With the AGM tomorrow signalling the official changing of the guard, there's just enough time for me to squeeze in a final round-up in my capacity as president.

It's typical exam weather outside at the minute so I'll keep this short and to the point, and hope to scrape by with a C grade and mild but lingering parental disappointment.

Well, it's been a pretty busy couple of months since the last summary. We've had the rescheduled Nationals, BrewCon, a handful of competitions, and yet another trophy-less Eurovision Song Contest. So here's a brief run-down of what's been and what's coming up (after reading my soppy sign-off at the end it hopefully won't be your lunch).


Past competitions / Events
24th March 2018 – the Nationals – Urban Brewing, Dublin
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/members-only-area/2018-national-brewing-championships/  [members only thread]
Despite the entry numbers and the elements seemingly against us, this was a very successful completion and ran like clockwork. Big thanks to all involved in helping this run so smoothly, from organisers to judges, stewards, hosts and helpers on the day. Carrying numerous buckets full of discarded beer in and out of the Urban Brewing kitchen is an experience that will stay with me, personally.
Congratulations to all our winners and, in particular, Daniel Jordan, Richard Lubell, Cronan McDonald and Colm Quinn. Great work all round!

12th May 2018 – Brewcon – Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin
Another immensely successful BrewCon event came and went. Feedback has been extremely positive and encouraging. Big thanks to all who attended. Thanks also to all the speakers, organisers, sponsors, hosts and helpers on the day. Carrying numerous buckets full of discarded beer in and out of the Smock Alley kitchen is an experience that will stay with me, personally.

While it's encouraging to hear such positive feedback, the reality is that BrewCon has been running at a loss the last 3 years. It's never easy to balance the books with such variation in costs, with everything from venue hire to speakers' flights and hotels, to equipment hire tipping the balance of costs vs income. This year, however our biggest hit was the lack of ticket sales; had we managed to sell as many tickets as previous years we'd have at least broken even. We need to weigh up the appeal, relevancy and costs involved in BrewCon to see if it's still a viable enterprise in its current guise, or at all, going forward. More to come...

19th May 2018 - Garden County Brewers "We're Not Bitter About Brexit" Traditional English Ale Competition - The Harbour Bar, Bray, Co. Wicklow
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/competitions/gcb-we're-not-bitter-about-brexit-traditional-english-ale-competition/
Another highly successful competition in the NHC calendar and congratulations in particular to Adam Clarke and Colin Bolton.

19th May 2018 - Annual Midlands Beer club Comp - Tanyard Lane pub in Tullamore
https://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/competitions/3rd-annual-midlands-beer-club-comp/
3rd instalment of this popular competition. Congratulations to Conor Hammill, Brendan Kenny, Tom Coughlin and Roger Rotheroe.


Future Competitions/Events
26th May 2018 - NHC AGM - J.W. Sweetmans, Dublin
12:30 sharp with a packed agenda covering subjects such as Finances, the Nationals, BrewCon, BJCP, Membersip, etc. Keep an eye on the forum for updates.


Other Topics
GDPR
(Nnnnnggggg...... make the pain stop)
Just want to thank Phil, Mick, Kellie, etc for taking the necessary steps to make sure the NHC is GDPR compliant with any Members' personal data.
Further details can be found here (members only) https://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/members-only-area/nhc-member-data-and-gdpr/msg180122/#msg180122

NHC Merchandise
Over the next few weeks I'll try and resurrect this, see if we can stir up some interest in more glasses and t-shirts for starters.

As ever, please add your ideas for future merchandise items to the following thread:
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/chit-chat/merchandise-ideas/

Club Membership / NHC Groups / Competitions
Membership is still only 10 euro.
Let us know if you need any help growing your club, organising a competition, or anything else you think may be of benefit to your brewing group and club-wide, and we'll help make it happen.

Affiliate Discounts
Please help to continue making it worthwhile for both our affiliates and yourselves by visiting our membership benefits thread and using your discount:
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/members-only-area/membership-benefits-2015/

Member Group Buys
As members you are able to take advantage of any group buy savings that might come your way, either by your suggestion, or someone else's. Bear in mind, it has to be something brewing-related. I've been advised that match tickets for Kiev tomorrow night are a non-runner 

The Club Needs YOU!
Another topic for this year's AGM is how to increase member involvement in the running of the club and its many events and activities. For the Nationals and BrewCon I've witnessed folk knocking their pan in trying to make them a success. In a lot of cases it's the SAME individuals who are involved. This doesn't seem right in a club with over 400 paid members. We should be spreading the work and responsibilities to a wider reach of members. I know there's some great efforts being made at group level but we can't overlook what needs to be done for the club as a whole.


Lastly...Bazza's final thought
It is heavy heart, and a lump in my throat with which I tell you all that I never really liked you; not one single man-jack of you. Aaaaa- just joking; I tolerate a handful of you.

Seriously, though, the last 12 months has been an experience I'll never forget and I'd like to thank everyone who's helped me along the way, given me laughs, sleepless nights and numerous, ahem, interesting posts to respond to. It was a very tough decision not to stand as president for a second term but life outside of the NHC has been steadily claiming more of my time to the point that it would be unfair to the club and its members to treat it as something akin to an afterthought. I'm extremely pleased that Kellie and Mick have taken up the roles as president and secretary for the coming year; the club is in extremely capable and competent hands going forward. Huge congratulations (and thanks) to both Kellie and Mick.

So there you have it. That's all from your soon-to-be former president. You will, however, be mildly irked to know that I won't be going anywhere; I've recently tapped into a whole new seam of Swedish Darkwave that I know you'll just love to hear next time I've had a few 


Cheers,

-Barry


P.s. If I've omitted or wrongly stated anything above, please take it up with the president