The board, on a yearly basis, establishes committees in order to help with club business. Since the committees serve at the behest of the board, the board also has the final say as to committee makeup, both in committee duties and committee members. Committee membership is open to all MHTG members but there is a limit to the number of members on a given committee and membership on some committees will be limited to those with expertise/experience in that subject. Joining a committee is an excellent way to participate in club governance, so please contact the board liaison to the committee if you’d like to be considered for that committee. Each committee has a board member liaison, whose role it is to report to the board on a monthly basis on the activities of each committee and to take board directives back to the committee. Committees are to elect a chairperson who may be called upon to report committee activity to the board or at club business meetings. The liaison and chairperson are intended to be different people. All committees must adhere to their budgets and can, at their discretion, remove disruptive, nonperforming or noncontributing committee members with a two-thirds vote of the committee members at a meeting. Committees have the authority to appoint task forces (members can be non-committee members) to deal with issues relevant to their committee assignments. It is recommended that the committees post to the members list or get posted to the club calendar when and where meetings are going to occur.
Cider – Organize Apfelfest and technical cider pressings. Maintain the club press. The committee shall entertain proposals from members for locations closer to Madison and report back to the board if applicable. This committee meets as needed.
Competition – Organize and market club home brewing competitions, including club only competitions, the combined Big and Huge/Franco Belgian challenge, MHTG challenge and NHC Midwest Regional. Organize judges to attend other homebrew competitions. Coordinate sending entries for other homebrew competitions including developing a policy for entries to this years NHC. This committee meets as needed.
Education – Conduct MHTG beer school classes to improve member knowledge of beer and brewing. Inform members of any education opportunities. Begin holding classes in preparation for the BJCP exam. Develop and administer future scholarship opportunities. Responsible for making the contacts with regards to locations for the 4th and 5th Wednesday meetings. This committee meets as needed.
Facilities (Club Space) – The facilities committee is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the club rental space and the equipment it contains (brewing system, library, RO water system, tapping equipment, etc). This committee also organizes the club garage sale, which happens every spring.
Finance – The finance committee advises the board with regards to club finances, including drafting the club budget either themselves or via a task force appointed by and reporting to the committee, and reviews the club expenditures with regards to the budget. This committee meets monthly. The nucleus of the finance committee is made up of the Treasurer, President, Great Taste Chair and the prior President if willing serve. The Treasurer is the board liaison for this committee.
Giving – The giving committee shall receive member giving requests, review them, and submit appropriate requests to the board for approval and funding. Preference is given to home brewing or beer related causes and can include donations to charitable organizations, scholarships, or other appropriate giving. The committee shall draft a proposal for the board to consider with regards to memorials for club members.
Great Taste – This committee is appointed by the Great Taste chairperson and is responsible for items related to the festival.
Membership – The membership committee shall be in charge of holding our annual elections, including the nomination and election process. The membership committee is also responsible for reviewing the “Member Information” content on our website and drafting any policies for membership or elections matters. This year the committee is charged with coming up with a policy on membership recognition and a way to better engage newer members to get them involved with the various aspects of the club, including brewing. This committee meets as needed, with most of the meetings occurring around election season. The Vice President is the board liaison for this committee.
Web – The web committee shall be in charge of the club website, the functioning of any club computer(s) and any software the club uses. The committee will aid the officers who utilize club software and/or computers to make sure they are up to date and functioning properly or propose updating the hardware or software. This committee meets on a monthly basis.
Other ad-hoc committees – For the purposes of the Club Goodwill Trip, Holiday Party, Oktoberfest, and other events committees with be formed to plan and execute these events.