BJCP President's Corner

This page is an opportunity for the President of the BJCP Board of Directors (currently Ron Bach, representative for the South region) to communicate directly with the membership.

July, 2005

Did you know that the BJCP has a Grant program which allocates up to $1,000.00 annually to fund Educational Enhancement Grants? These grants are intended for use in educational programming, competition development and academic scholarship. Examples of grants include competition registration fee waivers, financial assistance to educational events, the development and publication of educational materials, etc. The Grant Policy and requirements for applying for a Grant are listed here.

May, 2005

I am pleased to announce that a new and more equitable Grand Master Service Requirement has been passed and will take effect on June 1, 2005. This was been a major project over the past few months with many differing views by directors and Representatives on what should be implemented. I welcome any members to contact me if they have questions concerning this policy.

March, 2005

Currently under review are the Grand Master Service Requirements (GMSR). The goal is to clearly define the paths to fulfill a GMSR. When completed, this is expected to be posted to the website, so members can clearly understand what is required to complete a GMSR. Following completion of this review, the next area to be tackled will be the awarding of past due credit for participation on committees, which has been overlooked during the past several years.

February, 2005

I am pleased to announce that within the next month to six weeks, a new Continuing Education Program should be approved and implemented. The new Director, Kris England and his team have formulated a very aggressive and dynamic program which the Directors and Regional Representatives are currently reviewing.

November, 2004

Search is on for a Director of Continuing Education Program and 2 Assistant Directors:

I am extremely excited about the creation of a Continuing Education Program. Full details are posted on the Current Events section. This will open new horizons for the BJCP and it members.

The search is on for a results oriented Continuing Education Program Director and one or two assistants.

This will be a challenging position with a major emphasis on establishing specific programs and getting the new CEP up and running quickly. The new Director will be working closely with the other directors in getting this program underway.

A background in training and education is a plus and special consideration will be given to members of the CEP Committee as well as National and above judges. Deadline for submission is midnight on November 29, 2004. Those who are interested in being part of this exciting new program may submit your brewing resume to Ron Bach, President of the BJCP at president [at] bjcp.org. In lieu of a brewing resume, a detailed description of your brewing background, judging experience, training and education background will be accepted.

Join the new BJCP on the move.

Ron Bach
President, BJCP

October, 2004

As the first posting in the Presidents Corner, I am announcing that the BJCP Board has approved the BJCP Merchandise including polo shirts, caps, steins and Baseball jerseys. This line of merchandise could be increased in the near future depending on inputs from Members. The items may be purchased on line at http://www.cafepress.com/bjcpstore. There is no mark up on these items and the BJCP is providing this opportunity to members at cost.

The BJCP has a lot of business underway and progress is starting to be made. There is an Exam Committee currently reviewing the BJCP Exam format and other related items. Results are expected out by early 2005.

The new HTML style guidelines are completed and posted on line. Feed back so far is very positive on this significant update to the style guidelines which includes ten new sub styles.

Pins for National and above Judges have been severely backlogged but are on order and are expected to start arriving shortly. We expect a phased in order schedule. We apologize for the delay on this but the backlog should start to be eliminated over the next six months. These are hand made pins and take considerable time to produce. There is also an initiative under way for Pins to be available for Recognized and Certified Judges, a source for these pins is being worked on and I will report back on this as soon as there is something to report.

Hot issues being brought up to the Board includes long overdue action on a new Continuing Education Program and an update and clarification to the Grand Master Service Requirements.

If you have any issues you would like to bring up to the BJCP, I urge you to contact your region representative for assistance.