The North State Brewers' Cooperative

Contact: 315 N. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
nsbc@umich.edu

established 1997

constitution /

North State Brewers' Cooperative Constitution

Article 1: Name of the Organization

Section 1: The name of the cooperative which operates under this constitution is the North State Brewers' Cooperative. Hereinafter referred to as "the Co-op."

Article 2: The Purpose

Section 1: We, the members of the North State Brewers Cooperative, freely associate ourselves in accordance with the spirit of the Rochdale Principles for the purpose of cooperatively providing quality beer. We adopt the following principles:

1. Open Membership: Membership in this Co-op shall be voluntary and nondiscriminatory. Members who can use its services and agree to share in the responsibilities required to run the Co-op shall be eligible to join, pending approval by the membership.
2. Democratic Participation: Each member has exactly one vote. All members together control the Co- op.
3. Neutrality: The Co-op shall remain neutral on questions of politics or religion.
4. Distribution of Result: The costs and benefits of operations will be distributed equally to members.
5. Education: The Co-op shall constantly educate its members and the public in the principles and practices of cooperation, economic, democratic, and in the craft of homebrewing.
6. Mutual Cooperation: The Co-op shall actively cooperate on practical matters with other cooperatives at local, national, and international levels to further serve their members and their communities.
7. Continuous Expansion: The Co-op shall support the continuous expansion of the cooperative movement and homebrewing, in order to best serve the community.

Article 3: Membership Qualifications

Section 1: Any individual who accepts the rights and responsibilities of the Co-op may be eligible for membership.

Section 2: The Co-op will vote on all new members. Individuals may nominate themselves for membership or may be nominated by standing members.

Article 4: Offices and The Procedure For Their Election

Section 1: Co-op offices include:

1. Chief Catalyst
2. Scribe
3. Quartermaster
4. Brewmeister
5. Others as determined by a majority of the Co-op.

Section 2: Officers shall be elected once every four months, roughly corresponding to the academic terms of the University of Michigan. All officers shall be elected for four month terms, except the Brewmeister who shall be elected for a twelve month term of office. In the Brewmeister`s absence, a temporary Brewmesiter must be elected by the Co-op at large. There shall be no limit to the number of terms an officer can serve. Only members can be elected to offices.

Article 5: Provision for an Executive Committee

Section 1: The elected officers shall serve as a standing Executive Committee. Additions to the Executive Committee can be made by Brewmeister appointment and then subject to approval by a majority of the Co-op at a general meeting.

Article 6: Required Number of Organizational Meetings

Section 1: The Co-op shall meet once at least once a year for an Organizational Meeting.

Article 7: Method of Amending the Constitution

Section 1: Amendments to this constitution shall be made in accordance to the following rules:

1. An amendment shall be proposed at a Co-op meeting by a simple majority of those present.
2. The amendment shall be subject to change by a simple majority of members present at the Co-op meeting at which it is proposed.
3. The amendment shall only pass with assent of a two thirds majority of all Co-op members after being distributed to the membership not less than ten days in its final form. A final vote will be taken either at a Co-op meeting or by a referendum.

Section 2: This constitution shall become effective after it has been ratified unanimously by the Co-op.

Ratified on June 2nd, 1997