The LA Times Article Says Members are Responsible & Educated!
Beer Drinkers of America has been around longer than many of the BDOA members have been alive. Unfortunately something happened in the early 2000s resulting in the organization going dead. Although the original vision was abandoned, doesn’t mean the values of the organization should be as well.
An LA Times in article from Oct. 27th, 1988 described the members as ‘Responsible, Educated’. These are the very values that should be continued into the new era. This blog will highlight the findings of the LA Times article, and discuss what it means for the future of the association.
What The Article Said About BDOA
The L.A. Times article discusses a survey conducted by the Beer Drinkers of America (previously a nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization).
The survey reveals that the typical member of the organization is a responsible, educated, and family-oriented individual who owns a home and has a college education.
The article went on to state that BDOA had over 20,000 members at one time. Moreover, the member list was made up of a wide range of professions, including business executives, doctors, and skilled laborers.
The demographic survey of BDOA members consisted of 403 members (353 men and 50 women). All graphs are based on the 403 respondent answers from 1988.
Age Distribution:
A small segment, 4%, are young adults between 21 and 24 years old. The largest group, comprising 24%, falls within the 25-34 age range, A notable 36% of respondents are between 55+.
- 21-24 years old: 4%
- 25-34 years old: 24%
- 35-44 years old: 19%
- 45-54 years old: 17%
- 55-64 years old: 22%
- 65 years and older: 14%
Demographics:
Demographic of Respondents:
- Sports Fans: 87% are sports fans, 73% frequently watching football.
- Homeownership: 77% of respondents own homes.
- Marital Status: 69% are married.
- Education: 56% have college degrees or have completed some college.
- Family Orientation: 82% consider themselves family-oriented.
- Outdoor Orientation: 86% describe themselves as outdoors-oriented.
- Patriotism: 91% describe themselves as patriotic.
Occupations:
Occupations of Respondents:
- Other Occupations: 31% (police officers, firefighters, farm managers, sales reps, and clerks)
- Retirees: 25%
- Skilled Laborers: 16%
- Managers and Executives: 10%
- Teachers and Nurses: 7%
- Attorneys, Doctors, and Accountants: 8%
- Unskilled Workers: 3%
Reasons for Joining:
- Preventing Beer Excise Taxes: 24% joined for this reason.
- “Party Smart” Education Project: Another significant reason for joining.
Why This Matters Now
The survey (although small in sample size) demonstrated that there is a wide interest for the organization. Specifically across different age groups and occupations. As a side note, only a small portion of the respondents were women – something that the Founding Fathers hope changes.
With the new BDOA just beginning, we want to grow a community full of unique, interesting, and diverse people. As beer lovers, we should always extend a cold beer to a fellow drinker. We want to be an inclusive association that can drink, learn, and grow as people!
If you are a member, and care to voice your thoughts about the organization in the past, the association now, or how we can be a better, cooler, and more inclusive group – then jump in the conversation on our forum and make a suggestion! Eventually, we will start a stand alone forum for discussing these topics (we will update here accordingly).
Party Smart <– This is a great initiative!
Education and drinking responsibly was an important aspect of the organization. Both of these are elements that we want to carry over, and further develop.
Drinking is a culture that continues today where peer pressure, bad decisions, and the idea that over drinking is cool. In 2022 alone there were 13,524 deaths due to drunk driving. This is only one example of how drinking can be dangerous.
In the future we would like to see the association organize educational events and programs with colleges. With many classes and punishments being outdated or not productive, there is room to improve upon these.
This is not the time or place to elaborate on the educational aspects of the association. Once that is written, we will edit this to incorporate the page (last edit: Aug 29, 2024).
How Can We Carry On This Legacy?
By remembering it, and adapting it for modern times. From what we have seen, and read, the old BDOA was considered a respectable and well renowned organization. We would like to continue to be seen as an association that is trustworthy and doing good in the USA.
For that we will continue to stand for responsible drinking and the ‘Party Smart’ theme. We will look to expand upon this idea by bringing in our portion of it creating the: Party On –> Party Smart! approach.
People love to party, and so do we. That is why we will not push for not partying – so Party On!. But as BDOA knew before, it is important to Party Smart!
We envision that this blog will be edited and updated as time goes on. Our goals, visions, and initiatives will change in the future and we want our content and information to convey the same message. We will keep a record of the original document, so members can track the developments of BDOA.
Party On. Cheers!