March Meeting, Looking Ahead to Elections

Our March meeting saw a couple of new whiskered faces. Our encounter with Raspa last month resulted in an energetic new member that brought two others with him. Thanks Justin!

First-timer Daniel put the Gentlemen52 cards to work and explained some strategy for blackjack.

In addition to the cards, we also spent time discussing beard care and holding elections to share some of the responsibility for the club. The following structure for the Executive Board was proposed:

President - runs meetings, seeks sponsorships/partnerships

Vice President - schedules meetings & hang-outs, runs meetings in the absence of the President

Secretary/Treasurer - keeps attendance minutes of business, maintains funds

Historian - takes photos at meetings, makes posts to social media (blog, email, Facebook, etc.)

We would like to hold elections at the April meeting, so please make sure you're there to vote and stand for election!

Don't forget the weekly hangouts and upcoming potluck in the park.

Second Meeting & Progress

ABMC club held its second meeting on January 10. Though slightly less well-attended, we were happy to see new faces!

In addition to a boisterous game of Settlers of Catan, we took a few minutes to revisit the business of the club. Jon brought the World Beard and Moustache Association definition of a club for review, and the group voted to pursue a club structure that would satisfy these requirements:

Definition of a Club

1. Minimum of ten registered members.
2. Executive board consisting of president, vice president and secretary/treasurer.
3. Established bylaws stating the purpose of the club, the executive structure, member descriptions including qualification, fees and meeting structures.
4. Regular meetings a minimum of four times per year.
5. Registration with the government where it is required, naming the board members and announcing changes in the president and bylaws.
6. Annual general meeting with election of officers.
7. Membership fee.

For a club to qualify as a member of the WBMA, that club must have been established for at least two years, submit a “club statement” and meet four of the seven items listed above.

 In particular, we decided that items 1-4 were eminently doable. We also decided to wait until the club was better established before considering the issue of dues.

Two members volunteered to draft bylaws for review at a future meeting, and we also decided that we should add a position of historian to the executive board structure.

We determined that our regular meeting should remain on the first Thursday of the month at The Village Cafe, but that we also wanted to meet more often to socialize, so the members will post these hangouts to the Facebook page as they are scheduled.