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| President’s
Notes
Greetings Fellow Brewers, I hope everyone has had a good summer and is ready to return to brewing form. This summer has been different than past. Most of us stayed in contact during various events. Since our last regular meeting we have had:
Some events over this summer have caused the Officers to reevaluate our organizational structure and our status as a not for profit organization. The original intent of our club was a loosely formed grouped of brewers who shared a common passion. We now we have revenue-generating events with “The Taste of the Stateline” and have been offered financial incentives to work at events like “Gourmet Alley.” We turned down the Gourmet Alley offer because we could not guarantee our status as a not for profit organization. Gourmet Alley was looking to use our NFP status to procure a liquor license for their one-day event and have us work their beer tent. For that privilege, they would have paid our club $250. Recognized NFP organizations can obtain special event liquor license annually. To that extent, the Officers have recommended that we apply for federal tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(7) of the United States Internal Revenue Code as a social/hobby club. This recognition will allow our club to make money without paying income tax. More importantly, it will also show public recognition of our tax-exempt status to other businesses and NFP groups. This will help in the future when conducting business in the club’s name. However, along with the tax exempt status comes the requirement of structural organization. In addition to filling a very detailed application form, the IRS requires that we have By-Laws and Articles of Association. Each must be written with the IRS in mind and cover a variety of items. Unfortunately, along with club growth and added events, it is no long possible to simply “relax, don’t worry and have a homebrew.” At our next meeting, we will vote if we should apply for federal tax-exempt status. Its costs $150 to apply and obtain a Letter of Ruling from the IRS. If we agree, then we must adopt By-Laws and Articles of Association prior to the application. The proposed By-Laws are ten pages in length. They were modeled after the By-Laws of the Worts of Wisdom in California, who where thoughtful enough to post them on their website for other clubs to use. The legalese is mind numbing, but each Article and Section is written to satisfy IRS requirements. The Articles of Association is a supporting document that details the Clubs purpose and organization. So here is the plan. In September, we vote whether to apply for federal tax-exempt status. If agreed, then the members have one month to review the By-Laws and Articles of Association. In October, we have discussion and subsequently vote on adoption of the By-Laws. If the By-Laws are adopted, we can then apply for federal tax exempt status. The By-Laws will be emailed in advance so you may have time to review. Pat Cunningham, President
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Secretary’s
Notes
Hello kiddies and welcome back to another year of beer brewing and tasting fun. As was mentioned by our esteemed president in the above article, we officer-types met at a not-to-be disclosed locale somewhere in the Rockford metroplex in order to conduct some official business. Yes, there was beer. After the mysterious sanctimony and live sacrifice that has become a beloved part of these officer’s meetings we got down to brass tacks. One of the things covered was a fleshing out of officer’s titles and duties. It was the titles part that got my brain racing. Despite my vociferous lobbying for the title of Generalisimo Secretary it was decided to stick with the more common and communistic sounding title of General Secretary (although I am currently surfing the net in search of a suitable uniform, something with gold epaulets and an ostrich-plumed hat and French cuffs perhaps. mmmmmm) Anyway, back to the meeting. While discussing the duties of the officers it became painfully clear to me that the party was over. What with the proposition of new by laws and all I was beginning to see that the position of secretary, indeed that of each officer of the club was being rigidly defined and a set of duties was being laid out. Duties? In the beer club!? Why, I never… Well, I’m here to tell you folks that this General Secretary shall not shrink from my duties, I am up to the task. I will henceforth be putting more effort into the newsletter and taking more seriously those responsibilities of General Secretary of The Forest City Brewers. One of the things that I will be doing more of is including pictures in the newsletter. So be warned, if you stick pencils in your nose and chug a beer while playing God Save the Queen on your armpit at the next meeting you may just earn a spot in the next newsletter. By the way, does anyone know where I can get a pair of those curly toed genie shoes for my Generalisimo’s uniform? Richard Theyerl, Secretary |
Study:
Beer Builds Strong Bones Mineral In Ale May Help Prevent Osteoporosis
for years. Now, a new study has raised the bar on the list of nutrients that could have benefits. Television station WCVB reported that the good news is pouring out -- beer builds bones. A new study shows beer is rich in the mineral silicon. Researchers said that learning which parts of our diet have high concentrations of silicon may be key to preventing osteoporosis. "Animals that are deprived of silicon have poorly developed skeletons and the muscular system is also poorly developed," Hebrew Rehabilitation Center's Dr. Douglas Kiel said. The study found that men get up to 33 percent more silicon in their diet than women. The source for men ahead of most of the others is beer, researchers said. As for women, the highest dietary sources included green beans, cereal and mineral water. But it's the grain in beer that appears to provide an easily absorbable form of silicon. Boston Beerworks Brewmaster Herb Lindtveit said that locally micro-brewed varieties have the purest grains, but any beer will do. "All beers have some barley in them," Lindveit said. "The enzymes in the grain actually convert some of the starches into sugars and the sugars are what ferment to create the beer." Others agree that this recent research is refreshing. But some warn the real benefit is in the combination of nutrients, such as calcium, and vitamins D and K. "Silicon is not a magic bullet in bone health. It's just another key player in this effect that helps us have healthy bones," Tufts Nutrition School's Dr. Ann McDermott said. So keep drinking that milk. But raise your glass to a new ally for an old ale-ment. Non-alcoholic beer also is made from barley, so there is reason to suspect it also would be a good source. The study appears in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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