Written by Kimberly Powell
Beer is hard work! Just ask Rachel DeLine, Greater Atlanta Chapter Leader.
The Greater Atlanta area has been steadily growing in the craft beer industry with more and more breweries opening each year. Rachel seeing this trend seized the opportunity for the NFXF Greater Atlanta Chapter to hop along with it. (Pun intended)
For the last three years, Rachel has organized and hosted a Fragile X BrewFest to benefit and support the mission of the NFXF, supporting families through community, awareness, and research, both locally and nationally. The event has grown in popularity each year and many have attended all three years.
The most difficult thing in Georgia when pulling together a BrewFest is deciding which brewery to hold the event at and taste testing is the most tasking part of the job. Good thing Rachel has a dedicated group of volunteers to join her on these outings!
The attraction to this event is that each year, the BrewFest is held at a different brewery in the area featuring a new flight of craft beers. Continually moving the event not only creates a fresh experience each time for your committed supporters and provides the opportunity to draw in new attendees from the brewery’s regular crowd and local area. Each year, you grow your loyal supporters and participants while increasing attendance with new folks.
Of course, beer alone is not the only ingredient necessary for a successful event. In the south, you must have barbeque! Beer, barbeque, and great entertainment is the perfect recipe for success. After that, you can add more fun and games with a silent or live auction, raffle, corn hole tournament, or other lively activities. Enhancing your event with local sponsors is another way to increase revenue or cover costs before you sell any tickets, and often gives you an office full of folks who will attend.
This past weekend the 3rd Annual Fragile X BrewFest was held at Dry County Brewing Company in Kennesaw and because it was family friendly we had some young adults with Fragile X join in the fun, playing pool, and upping their parent’s bids in the auction. We have already set the date for 2019 and are going to start scouting breweries next month.
Rachel encourages other Chapters to consider hosting a BrewFest as an easy fundraiser, “It is easily duplicated in any area where there is a brewery. All you need is a fun venue, good food, and live music. Add in an auction and the rest falls into place.” The NFXF provided all the branding, marketing tools, and resources and using an online auction platform was key streamlining the logistics, everything from guest check-in to check-out and all payments. Rachel plans this yearly event while also wearing her many other hats as a wife, mother of two boys with Fragile X, daughter of father with FXTAS, friend to many Fragile X carriers, a business owner, and has a full-time job.
Rachel continues to do an outstanding job throughout Georgia, educating and supporting families as they begin their Fragile X journey. This is the reason she hosts the BrewFest. It is the means to deliver the support our families need. The revenue raised provides the resources necessary to give unwavering and continued support to the Greater Atlanta Fragile X community through the work of the NFXF.
