The Board
Let me introduce to you the 13th board of Café In de Smitse!
These five individuals dedicate most of their time for a period of one academic year to running Café in de Smitse. Their goal is to provide students with those well deserved and delicious beers after a long day of lectures. Their motto is ‘For students, by students’ and it is due to their voluntary dedication that we as Café In de Smitse are able to serve our drinks for such low prices on campus. They hope that they can make a nice contribution to student life, by creating an open and welcoming atmosphere for students and teachers to meet up after class.
Below, each of the five board members will tell you something about their daily tasks. Take a look at the ins and outs of a boardyear at Café in the Smitse, and find out what each of the different functions hold.
Mart Soetekouw - Chairman
As Smitse’s chairman, you’re an entrepreneurial team player! If you’re a beer-loving visitor of our great bar, you will probably not see every important aspect that keeps the business running! A lot of this happens in the background.
The chairman of the Smitse board is ultimately responsible for the business’ actions and the boards’ decisions. This results into me being the main contact to our supplier and ofcourse, the university!
My day-to-day activities consist of setting up the agenda for meetings, making sure the board can operate freely and with minimal friction, and maintaining a good relation with our stakeholders. In addition, I try to be the glue that keeps my awesome board together, although that tends to be our mutual mission!
Café in de Smitse is currently experiencing near exponential growth and is gaining more impact on the university’s plaza! As both chairman and boardmember it’s your task to make sure this beautiful bar, made by and made for students, thrives even more!
If you have any questions about what I do or if you would like some more detailed information, do not hesitate to ask me at the bar! See you soon at Café in de Smitse!
E-mail address: voorzitter@indesmitse.nl
Finn van der Linden - Secretary
As the secretary of the Smitse, I am in charge of our 3000L tanks of the finest Hertog Jan beer. I make sure we never run out, because if we reach the bottom of the tanks, I get removed from the board. On a busy day, we can sell over 500L! At least 3 times a week I speak with AB InBev, one of the biggest breweries in the world, to order all the delicious beers, soft drinks and wines we have at de Smitse.
I’m the one who is in charge of the variety of beers we have. Often, my job is to meet with new breweries and their accountmanagers, and taste the kind of beers they have to offer. Not the worst job in the world, right? I keep track of the sales, and try to market every beer as well as possible.
The maintenance of the bar taps and supplies also fall under my responsibilities, as well as making sure the website is up to date. Furthermore, all the drinks-requests end up in my mailbox, and I make sure I plan everything accordingly. The invoices afterwards are also made and sent by me.
That’s the best part of being the secretary; I am involved in all of the activities and projects in the Smitse, and I work closely with every one of my fellow board members.
So, would you like to organize a drink at the Smitse? Then I’m the one you need!
See you at the bar!
See you at the bar!
E-mail address: secretaris@indesmitse.nl
Frederieke Bode - Treasurer
As the treasurer of in de Smitse, you are in charge of the financial part of the organization. One of the first things you do as the treasurer, is making the budget for the upcoming year. This budget has to be in line with the long-term strategic policy of the organization and you have to make sure that the money is well divided between the serious matters and the fun things. During the year, you adjust the budget to new expectations of costs and revenues in order to make the right decisions for all projects.
In the end, it is my goal to make sure that every euro spent delivers the intended benefit to the organization as a whole. This requires me to have a lot of contact with all the different committees and, of course, my board in order to get the most up-to-date information. Moreover, I take care of the financial administration and make sure that it is done according to legislation. I am also responsible for timely payment of invoices and debtors and I sign for every outgoing penny. I also identify possible risks and decide how to handle them.
As the treasurer, I have affinity with financial figures and I am able to keep a good overview of everything that’s going on in the Smitse. I can make strategic decisions and have to be able to stand my ground when needed. I have to be able to say “no” to my fellow board members and to the committees, because otherwise they’ll spend all of the money! The intern constantly wants to organize fun activities for the volunteers, the secretary buys enormous amounts of glazes and the extern comes up with about a 100 different marketing ideas that all cost some money.
If you would like to know some more about my function or have any questions, don’t hesitate to stop by sometime and ask me about it, I’d be happy to tell you some more!
E-mail address: penningmeester@indesmitse.nl
Vera Breijer - Internal relations/Vice President
Café In de Smitse is more than just your average bar. It’s a special place on campus which makes it possible for students to relax and forget about their studies for a little while.
As commissioner of internal relations, I’m extremely proud to contribute to that. My function briefly means that I’m the Human Resource Manager of the company. Basically, my tasks are making sure that the bartenders are ready to open the bar and serve the students. Besides that, I also organize great events as well as trips for the bartenders (of course with great help of my committees).
If you’re interested in knowing what my role as commissioner entails, just come and stop by. I’ll be more than happy to tell you about my role.
E-mail address: intern@indesmitse.nl
Björn de Haan - External Relations
The commissioner of external relations is responsible for bringing in partnerships and maintaining contacts and contracts that are related to this. Think of study associations, student associations and other organizations that are on campus. Maintaining the relations between our external partners, such as Coca Cola, Red Bull, Sonnema and local breweries, is also the job of the commissioner of external relations.
The commissioner of external relations is also responsible for the name recognition of In the Smitse, and all promotion and branding involved in this. You manage all social media channels, guide the marketing committee and are responsible for the marketing of parties and events In de Smitse.
In addition, together with someone from Star, JFR and B&R Beurs, you organize the Open EUR Festival on campus. Open EUR takes place at the end of each academic year and is visited by over 2,000 people.
During de coronacrisis, I also keep a close look at the constantly changing rules and emergency ordinances, keep in touch with local authorities, such as the municipality, and look regularly at the financial arrangements from the government.
Have any questions? Feel free to send me an email or meet me in our bar!