Put me down as saying that I have no problem with TBN winning. They followed the rules and won.
I'm not saying anybody cheated; clearly TBN meets the current AHA criteria for a homebrewing club. What I'm suggesting is that the criteria need to be changed.
Can you suggest what the criteria should be?
As has been mentioned, requiring dues, requiring local members only, etc affect many more clubs than TBN. I think if you want to come at this with a scalpel and invalidate TBN while otherwise maintaining the status quo, you will find that an impossible task. It is easy to say the AHA must redefine "club", it is hard to write out what the new definition should be.
Well, first off, I've never indicated that a club should only consist of local members. I have said that typically, club members are local to each other. But if Jamil (for instance) wants to be a DOZE member (which he has been) and drive 100 miles from Elk Grove to attend meetings (which he has done) that's fine.
I think a club should have regular, physical meetings to discuss club business (not an internet radio show or a yearly party), should have officers and do the things the club is organized to do.