Don’t forget about the Summer Membership Drive! If you refer three new member-owners (a couple counts as two) during May and June, you get a free Black Star t-shirt or cap. As a reminder, we have a goal of 2,000 member-owners before the doors open and we’re getting close. At the time of this post, we are just over 1,750 strong and growing everyday.

I’ve been keeping track of referrals and will contact you to claim your prize. So remember to make sure your friends, loved ones, family members, neighbors, and strangers list your name in the “referred by” section of their membership application.

Here’s member-owner Allison in her sweet new shirt!

Our offering of Member-Investor Shares is well under way. If you haven’t yet made an investment, now is the time!

A printed prospectus was mailed to all member-owners, and we’re following up with phone calls and emails. However, we always love meeting our member-owners in person and are holding weekly Investment Q&A Forums to talk about the offering, answer questions, and sign contracts (bring your checkbook!).

The Investment Q&A Forums take place each Thursday from 5-7 PM. Please join us for the next forum on June 3rd at our development office, which is across the parking lot from the brewpub location at Midtown Commons. For more information, email invest@blackstar.coop or give us a call at (512) 452-BEER.

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Our offering of Member-Investor Shares is well under way. If you haven’t yet made an investment, now is the time!

A printed prospectus was mailed to all member-owners, and we’re following up with phone calls and emails. However, we always love meeting our member-owners in person and are holding weekly Investment Q&A Forums to talk about the offering, answer questions, and sign contracts (bring your checkbook!).

The Investment Q&A Forums take place each Thursday from 5-7 PM. Please join us for the next forum on May 27th at our development office, which is across the parking lot from the brewpub location at Midtown Commons. For more information, email invest@blackstar.coop or give us a call at (512) 452-BEER.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the new Black Star Co-op logo!

About 2 months ago we announced that we were looking for a new official logo and assembled a group of volunteer members to come up with the design. To accomplish this task in a co-operative manner, we used a series of design charrettes. This means that at the first meeting we had a ton of various designs and over the course of the next few meetings we whittled the designs down to the ultimate choice. The design team agreed on a logo and recommended it to the Workers’ Assembly. The WA unanimously accepted the recommended logo.

Members of the Graphic Design Team:
Jeff Young–WA member
Luke Miller–PTARMAK & Assoc.
Brady Clark–m. Brady Clark
Matt Nesbitt
Jake Carter
Jo Hunter
Alan VanDyke
Mili Villarreal
Jon Airheart
Clay Delk
**A special thanks to our professional graphic designers (and member-owners) Luke Miller and Brady Clark! Be sure to check out their websites.

We’re not going to “roll out” the new logo and theme until we’re ready to open. However, we’ll be working behind the scenes to prepare for the incorporation of the theme onto things like the website, merchandise, and signage.

We want to hear what you think! Comment on this blog with your thoughts and feelings.

Another proposed by-law change for the coming Membership Assembly meeting.  It’s primarily a name change and rolls the existing standing committee and a committee defined in Policy into a single standing committee.

Current:
3.5 Nominations
The Board shall establish a Leadership Development Committee responsible for finding and cultivating competent candidates to fill open positions on the board. All candidates for Board positions must fill out an application, present themselves at the applicable meeting of the Members’ Assembly, disclose all possible conflicts of interest they may hold, and comply with any other requirements of the Leadership Development Committee for inclusion among the Board candidates.

Proposed:
3.5 Nominations
The Board shall establish a Membership Linkage Committee responsible for finding and cultivating competent candidates to fill open positions on the board. All candidates for Board positions must fill out an application, present themselves at the applicable meeting of the Members’ Assembly, disclose all possible conflicts of interest they may hold, and comply with any other requirements of the Membership Linkage Committee for inclusion among the Board candidates.

Grain has been broken and construction has officially kicked off!

There’s a flurry of hard-hatted activity going on now on the future brewpub site. I’d like to subtitle this blog post with “First-Things-First: Out with the old and in with the new.” This week it’s all about demolition! Saw-cutters, jackhammers, and wrecking balls…well, maybe not wrecking balls. Concrete is being removed to make way for plumbing. In addition to plumbing, once the concrete is re-poured, the brewery floor will have to be sloped to allow water draining.

This Saturday, May 22nd, at 3pm Black Star Co-op will hold a Members’ Assembly Meeting at the Scoot Inn on the East Side (1308 E. 4th, at Navasota).

Black Star Co-op is a democratically operated business, and our Members’ Assembly meetings are a reflection of that co-operative principle.

Here’s why you should come to the Members Assembly Meeting this Saturday.

1. Free beer! The first 50 people to walk through the door at the Scoot Inn will receive a free pint of beer.

2. We need at least 50 people to officially begin the meeting (see #1).

3. Get updated on the build-out of our brewpub from the Workers’ Assembly.

4. Learn more about investment in our Member Investor Shares.

5. Vote on proposed changes to the Bylaws to make them easier to understand.

6. Meet fellow Co-op Member-Owners.

by Colin Clark

While in start-up mode the Black Star Co-op has experimented with different classes and types of membership. Now that we are months away from opening we need to clarify and slightly redefine memberships. Below are the proposed changes to be voted on at the Members’ Assembly meeting on May 22nd.

Current:

1.2 Cost of Membership

All applicant members, except Neighborhood Members as described in section 1.4.3, must pay a nonrefundable joining fee and make a capital investment in the Co-op. The capital investment assessed for membership shall be set by the Board and may be adjusted from time to time.

Proposed:

1.2 Cost of Membership

All applicant members, except Neighborhood Members as described in section 1.4.3, must pay a nonrefundable joining fee and make a capital investment in the Co-op. The joining fee and capital investment assessed for membership shall be set by the Board and may be adjusted from time to time.

Explanation: The only change here is allowing the Board to set the joining fee. The fee is not set anywhere in the by-laws or policy so this just ties up a loose end.

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Current:

1.4 Types of Members

There shall be four types of members – Invested, Joining, Neighborhood, and Business.

Proposed:

1.4 Types of Members

There shall be three types of members – Individual, Neighborhood, and Business. All types of members may be referred to collectively as “member-owners,” “members,” or “owners.”

Explanation: There has always been a little confusion between Invested and Joining members. This change collapses the two into a single membership type of Individual, while still allowing people to buy into their membership at a lower level and pay over time. The next section details the benefits (or lack of benefits) between fully invested members and non-fully invested members.

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Current:

1.4.1 Invested Members

All natural persons who have paid the joining fee and fully contributed their assessed capital investment shall be known as Invested Members. Invested Members are entitled all the benefits of membership.

Proposed:

1.4.1 Individual Members

All natural persons who have paid the joining fee and contributed to their assessed capital investment shall be known as Individual Members. All Individual Members hold the same voting power whether they are fully invested or not. Individual Members who have not fully contributed to their assessed capital investment shall receive no other benefits of membership and may not serve on the Board.

Explanation: This section declares that members who have not fully paid their capital investment are only allowed to vote. It also changes the membership type from Invested to Individual.

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Current:

1.4.2 Joining Members

All natural persons who have paid the joining fee but contributed only a portion of their assessed capital investment shall be known as Joining Members. Joining Members hold the same voting power as Invested Members, but shall receive no other benefits of membership and may not serve on the Board.

Proposed:

Stricken

Explanation: Joining members will be rolled into Individual members.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Current

1.4.3 Neighborhood Members

In accordance with the principle of participatory self-management, all natural persons residing within a 100-meter radius of the brewpub’s location, and meeting the requirements of section 1.1, may claim a voting share without paying a joining fee or making a capital investment in the Coop. Neighborhood Members hold the same voting power as Invested Members, but shall receive no other benefits of membership and may not serve on the Board.

Proposed

1.4.3 Neighborhood Members

In accordance with the principle of participatory self-management, all natural persons residing in Phase I of Midtown Commons and meeting the requirements of section 1.1 may claim a voting share without paying a joining fee or making a capital investment in the Co-op. Neighborhood Members hold the same voting power as Individual Members, but shall receive no other benefits of membership and may not serve on the Board.

Explanation: Black Star has always wanted to include all of its stakeholders in the Co-op but before we had a location it was envisioned the general area around the pub would take care of this. Now we have a location and can clearly and easily define the residents of Midtown Commons as the local stakeholders.

Your humble Co-op was featured on KXAN’s six o’clock news last night. We invited the press to cover the “grainbreaking” ceremony, and they ran with a MetroRail angle to the story as well.