Regional Barista Competition Dates Announced

We are excited to announce that we've secured the majority of dates and locations for the United States Barista Championship (USBC) & Regional Barista Competitions (RBCs) for the 2012 cycle! Visit the USBC website

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Complete your Customer Service requirement with a webinar

We're excited to present dates for upcoming opportunities to complete the CP103: Customer Service course requirement of the BGA Level 1 Certification program. Read More

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Grow your career opportunities through BGA Certification

The Barista Guild of America offers certification courses at regional SCAA Skill-Building Workshops throughout the year and at our annual Exposition. To see a list of upcoming courses, visit our events page. To learn more about Barista Guild Certification and view the list of certified baristas, visit the BGA website.

Colombian Coffee Hub

Coffee stories from the source. Find out more at www.colombiancoffeehub.com

It's that time of year when we want our members to start thinking about the role they play with and in the Specialty Coffee Industry.

Each year the leadership of the Barista Guild finds itself with some Regional Representatives and Executive Council members meeting the end of their term. As a guild, our process each year is to nominate new potential leaders and hold an election where our membership votes to choose their new leaders. For many of you, it's likely that you don't think you're qualified or don't have anything to bring to the table for the Barista Guild, but you might be wrong. I've always felt that this is a key time in the year to check in with you and make sure we're on the same page. It's not uncommon to meet people interested in the Barista Guild but completely unaware of who we are, what we do, and how we work.

Who are we? Barista Guild Chapter Representatives and Executive Council Directors are Barista Guild Members, like you! You’re probably well-acquainted with these folks. Refresh your memory, or drop them a line about their experiences as a Chapter Rep or Executive Council member via the Contact Page on the official BGA webpage. For a description of how we work, take a few minutes to read our bylaws.

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
This year the Barista Guild is looking for 5 Regional Representatives (Chapter Representatives), specifically in the Northwest, Western, Mountain, South Central, and Southeast regions of the US.

Regional Representatives are the direct connection between their region’s members and the Executive Council. As a Regional Representative, it's expected that your contact members, field questions and requests, and overall act as a support to your region's membership. If you recall from reading the bylaws, the responsibilities of the Regional Rep are summed up as:
  • Serve a term of two years, beginning and ending at the SCAA Event.
  • Assisting in the coordination of BGA/SCAA events.
  • Seeking out and communicating with individual members to serve as part of the Regional Committee with the guidance of the Executive Council.
  • Work with their Council contact to generate membership growth within their region.
  • Attend the annual SCAA Event, Camp Pull-A-Shot, and the corresponding regional barista competition.
  • Execute additional duties and responsibilities defined in the Chapter Representative Job Description

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
This year the Barista Guild is looking for 3 Executive Council members. Executive Council members are self-motivated individuals willing to dedicate time to leading our guild in a forward direction.

An Executive Council member’s role and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
  • Serve a term of two years, beginning and ending at the SCAA Event.
  • Contacting and working with Regional Representatives to assist them in building membership and coordinating regional events.
  • Communicating with the EC group and as a whole and attend scheduled conference calls.
  • Attend the SCAA annual event, Camp Pull-A-Shot, and the SCAA leadership summit.
  • As an EC member, your experience in the coffee industry will likely lead to you developing and working on specific projects related to guild in areas such as certification, events, or membership.
Does this sound like you? Ready to take on the challenge of becoming a Chapter Representative or Executive Council member?

Click here to submit an official nomination

Don't doubt your personal experience in the coffee industry! If you've got some great ideas and can commit to attending the required events and activities you're definitely worth nominating.

With this post, election season is open! The official election timeline is as follows:

December 20, 2011 – January 20, 2012: Nomination submissions being accepted
February 1: Voting begins (only Barista Guild members may vote in this election)
February 19: Deadline to vote in the election
February 27: Announcement to membership of new Chapter Representatives and Executive Council members

Stay tuned!

Scott Lucey
Interim Chair

Special Thanks

Posted by Dan Streetman On 2:04 PM
Jason and his wife April
Over the past five years Jason Dominy has served the Barista Guild.  First as a Chapter Representative, then as an Executive Council member and most recently as the Chair of the Executive Council. Jason has spearheaded our focus on larger member engagement, continuing to build the barista community nationwide.  After nearly a year of serving as Chair, Jason has resigned his position to focus on his family and position at Batdorf & Bronson. 

The membership and the Executive Council will miss Jason’s leadership and dedication.  His enthusiasm and passion have driven his advocacy for the guild, and for the barista profession.  This enthusiasm has been especially apparent in his efforts like the “5 Questions” articles, and organizing Manual Brew Downs.  Jason’s tireless efforts have been a huge contribution to the accomplishments of the BGA.  On behalf of the Barista Guild of America thank you Jason, for your distinguished service, support, and continued participation.

Downtown LA Barista Throwdown and Tasting Event

Monday, December 12th, 8pm

Demitasse
135 S. San Pedro Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

RSVP via Facebook Invite

Who'll be there? LA's talented baristas judged by well-known local coffee media... And, the coffee-loving public!

In addition to the throwdown, baristas are encouraged to use the 2nd spro machine and brew up some of your original drinks for the thirsty masses (for the tasting session)!! Simply contact Bobby Roshan (broshan@cafedemitasse.com), and ask for a 30-min time slot, and the bar will be yours for that time.

This event is brought to you by the fine peeps at Demitasse and Handsome Coffee Roasters!
 

Want to have your event posted on the BGA blog? Let us know about your event!

We're excited to present dates for upcoming opportunities to complete the Customer Service course requirement (CP103 of the BGA Level 1 Certification program). We recognize that baristas have busy schedules and often have limited availability during normal office hours, so we are offering this webinar four (4) times over the next few months at various times. With no travel expenses or the need to take time off of work, baristas will be one step closer to Level 1 Certification!

In order to complete your BGA Level 1 Certification, you must complete this course in addition to CP 190: Level 1 Certification Exam. Recommended prerequisite classes and more information about Level 1 Certification can be found here.


Webinar Information

CP103: Customer Service
Description: Required class for BGA Level 1 Certification. Outstanding customer service is a critical component of creating the specialty coffee experience. In this course, students will discuss customer service strategies with a focus on the specialty coffee barista but relevant for all members of the specialty coffee community. Students will be prepared to identify common steps of customer service, including differentiating between good and bad service, and discuss strategies to improve customer service interactions.

Wednesday, December 7: At 10 pm Eastern (7 pm Pacific, 11 am Seoul, 1 pm Melbourne, 4 pm Auckland) | Instructor: Dan Streetman | Register Now

Saturday, January 7: 3 pm Eastern (12 pm Pacific, 5 am Seoul, 7 am Melbourne, 10 am Auckland) | Instructor: Sarah Dooley | Register Now

Monday, February 6: 11 am Eastern (8 am Pacific, 5 am Auckland) | Instructor: Dan Streetman | Register Now

Saturday, March 3:
7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific, 8 am Hong Kong, 11 am Melbourne, 1 pm Auckland) | Instructor: Sarah Dooley | Register Now

IMPORANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO JOIN THE WEBINAR WILL BE CONTAINED IN YOUR REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS VALID AND CHECK YOUR EMAIL SPAM FOLDER IN CASE THE EMAIL IS BLOCKED BY YOUR FILTER.