Board
American Cider Association Board Announces New Seats for 2020 Election
With over 900 cider producers and counting, the cider industry is a mosaic of business models, cider styles, geographies and individuals. Since we first earned our non-profit status in 2014, American Cider Association has worked to push forward programming that benefits everybody in our industry’s ecosystem. One way we do this is by making efforts to ensure different types, sizes and regions of cideries have representation on our committees and Board. This requires regular evaluation as the industry continues to grow and our programming adapts to meet the industry’s needs.
Recently, the Board of Directors paused to examine the structure of our membership regions and board. Two changes were the result of that reflection.
American Cider Association Creates Pacific Coast Membership Region for California and Hawaii
Our membership elects regional chairs to the board of directors. The Mountain West region previously included Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Geographically, the region is vast to say the least.
With over 100 cider producers and counting, California is vying for the most-producers-per-state distinction. The American Cider Association board felt that between unique market challenges and sheer number of producers, it was time to carve out a new region that included California. Hawaii, previously in the Northwest membership region, will also be included. We are calling this new membership area the Pacific Coast region. Next January will be the first opportunity for members from this region to elect a chair to the board of directors.
American Cider Association Board Hopes to Recruit Small Producers
The cider industry is comprised of many small operations and a few larger ones. Although we currently have smaller producers represented on our board (45% of our board members produced under 60,000 gallons each in 2018), we want to be sure that the smallest cideries are always at the table. These smaller cideries are a large volume of our membership and the industry, and we want them to feel welcome and listened to. We are adding a new ‘At Large’ seat to the roster, and we are strongly encouraging producer-growers from small-by-design cideries to run for this seat in the 2020 election.
2020 Board Elections
There are new three-year terms starting for the following 5 board positions:
Regional Chairs (4) (under 1M g/yr)
- Midwest (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, KY)
- Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, AK)
- Mountain West (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY, SD, ND, KS, NE, OK, TX)
- Pacific Coast (CA, HI)
At Large (1)
- We are strongly encouraging producer-growers making less than 25,000 gal/year to run for this seat.
Considering running? Please join us for this information webinar on November 20 (11AM PST/2PM EST). We’ll discuss what it’s like to serve on the board and answer any questions. All board positions are volunteer roles.
Representation
Our board is increasingly diverse in some measures, but it remains homogenous in others. We have initiated efforts to address representation on our board, in the industry, and throughout the cider consumer base. Fostering diversity and equity takes commitment, and we’ve just begun our journey to define this goal and its strategy. We hope you’ll join us in inviting our colleagues of underrepresented groups to be involved in the association.
Electronic Voting
Last year we switched our voting to 100% electronic to allow our members to vote regardless of whether or not they can attend CiderCon. The voting will take place as the same time as CiderCon, January 28-31, 2020
American Cider Association Solicits Feedback On Cider Styles
It is the American Cider Association’s mission to move our industry forward and grow a cider community that is successful and inclusive, entrepreneurial and diverse. That’s why the USCAM’s style guidelines are a living document – a work in progress, open to new information and new perspectives. We encourage anyone to provide feedback through our annual style survey [Click here to access], which will be open through July 31st. Additionally, our board has begun to reach out individually to members of our diverse cider community. In particular, we have been hearing anecdotally from Heritage cider producers at CiderCon® and elsewhere about various concerns with that label. These concerns were augmented by discussions raised by a recent article.
In the coming weeks we will be soliciting feedback from all producers who primarily make that style of cider, and will use that feedback to plot a responsive course of engagement and action. It won’t be fast or easy, but we are dedicated to progress for the entire cider community. The American Cider Association is committed to inclusivity, and hope you will join us as we grow.
2019 Board Nomination Period is Open
Every year at CiderCon we honor the service of our board of directors throughout the previous year. We also hold elections for rotating board seats. About a third of the board is up for election each year. Our board is structured such that full members (active cidery level member employees) hold the seats. We have regional chairs and a limited number of designated large cidery seats. The remaining seats are designated “at large.” Service terms are for three years and these are strictly volunteer positions. Meetings are held monthly, via teleconference.
We are opening the self-nomination period for this year’s elections today.
Which seats are up for election?
- At Large Any full member producing under 1M gallons of cider a year qualifies to run. Votes cast by active cidery level members at large producing under 1M gallons. (There is a by law vote happening at CiderCon that would immediately open the At Large seat eligibility to large cideries. See next post).
- Large Cidery Any full member producing over 1M gallons of cider a year qualifies to run. Votes cast by active cidery level members in the large cidery category.
- Eastern Chair (CT, MA, ME, PA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT) Any full member producing under 1M gallons of cider a year with business headquarters in the American Cider Association Eastern Region qualifies to run. Votes cast by active cidery level members producing under 1M gallons in the Eastern Region.
- Southern Chair (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV, MD, DE, DC) Any full member producing under 1M gallons of cider a year with business headquarters in the American Cider Association Sourthern Region qualifies to run. Votes cast by active cidery level members producing under 1M gallons in the Southern Region.
Candidates are encouraged to declare candidacy early so they may connect with American Cider Association’s executive director in advance of the membership meeting in Chicago. Candidates representing view points. currently underrepresented on the board are also encouraged to run.
These documents, always available on our website, may help you when considering candidacy:
To self-nominate, please fill out this form by clicking here.
Reach out if you have any questions!