1. Community & Culture

April 2025 Update on AHA’s Independence

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AHA Founding Board 2025

[Pictured above: Back row, AHA founding board members Gary Glass, Drew Beechum, and Greg Roskopf; front row, Sandy Cockerham, Shawna Cormier (chair), and Julia Herz (AHA executive director).]

By the American Homebrewers Association Founding Board

Hello Homebrewers!

Happy April. We hope you have been brewing some AMAZING beverages this spring. We’re thrilled to continue to update you on the AHA’s transition to becoming an independent 501(c)(3) organization. Since our January 22 announcement, we’ve been busy building the foundation for a more agile and member-focused AHA.

Member Takeaways

  • Independence = More Innovation. New funding paths (grants/donations) and tailored benefits.
  • Your Voice Matters. Members now have direct representation via the new Founding Board of Directors and soon to be formed committees.
  • Benefits Stay the Same in 2025—with improvements to come based on your feedback.
  • National Homebrewer Representation. This is needed now more than ever. 

Looking for the AHA to do more? We’re updating our ingredients as an association, and things will need time to ferment and condition before you feel big changes as members. Thank YOU for being part of this historic and unfolding journey and for helping bring AHA into a new future.

What’s New

  • AHA has hired an Association Management Company (AMC) to run membership operations and support our events and your benefits —onboarding is underway!
  • We’re in a 3-month transition phase to full AMC support. More on this and team intros are coming this summer.
  • In April, our board created an executive committee comprised of Shawna Cormier (chair), Drew Beechum (vice chair), Greg Roskopf (treasurer). The board also discussed necessary foundational documents, future staffing, and meeting nonprofit requirements.
  • A board task force was created to outline 2025–2026 goals and finalize our vision statement and strategic priorities tied to considering recent member comments and surveys.

Recent Events

  • Feb: AHA Forum Founding Board Q&A—493 views, 93 likes and counting…
  • National Homebrew Competition First Round Judging (March and April): We hosted 7 different locations (Chicago, Indianapolis, Longmont, New York, San Diego, Seattle, and Tampa!) because of AHA/BJCP volunteer competition leaders who ensured we judged more than 3,000 first-round entries with live awards streamed June 28 from Kansas City.
  • March 22: Zymurgy Live with the Board—covered member questions and the independence journey. Watch the replay here.

More to Explore

And hey…while this is all happening, the AHA continues to deliver unmatched reasons, recipes, rewards (discounts), and resources to our 20,000+ member community.

Still Brewing Strong

Cheers and please join or renew today. The more AHA members, the more we can do. Association models are very different than other businesses, and investing back into the members and programming, fueled by volunteer leaders and the member community, is our top priority.

AHA Founding Board

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