You may have noticed posts that include a "challenge coin" that has this group's logo and montra on it. This post is to explain the coin and explain how one earns a coin. I hope it encourages you to get engaged and start to help this community push forward its agenda to connect people together through bourbon.

One time I accidentally joined a Mexican cigar gang. I was at a cigar fundraiser and knew almost no one. I walked past a table with some cool looking guys and there was a real WWE wrestling belt on the table that said "El Presidente". I was curious, so I asked "WTF is that"? The guy said, that's my belt for my cigar club. I'm "El Presidentee"! We made fast friends and he ended up handing me a challenge coin that signified he accepted me as a member of his club. I said "What happens now? You call me in the middle of the night and I show up with a shovel?"...he said "Basically!". It did something to me psychologically. I realized I wanted to do something similar, but not to connect people to my podcast or community. I wanted it to connect them to the mission.

As a result, Lindsey designed this challenge coin with help from Wes. Lindsey had coins made, and we are now giving them out to individuals who do something that connects people. The coins ARE NOT FOR SALE! You must earn the coin! They are not transferable! They will always be given free of charge to individuals who exhibit they are an "Official Force For Good" by helping people get "Connected Through Bourbon".

There are 5 different coins. The black coin is the coin you get the first time you do something kind in the community. The red, blue, and white coins are higher level coins, but we are not publicly disclosing what the recipient did to earn those coins. We do not want to set up a system of payment for kind acts, but instead hope that people look for opportunities to give without expectation so that the coin is a reward and not a payment. The green coin is a little different. Instead of saying Official Force For Good, it says Top Contributor. Facebook tracks how much you are contributing in the community through posts, comments, and reactions. Without engaging content this community would not be very fun, so we believe our TCs deserve recognition. The first time someone makes the TC list they will get a green coin.

If you want a coin, get engaged and start giving to the community. We are watching, and don't be surprised if a coin shows up in the mail. If someone has done something you believe is worthy of a coin please use the below link to nominate them. The spirit of the coin dictates that an individual be humble to deserve it, so they likely would not point out the kind act on their own. It will take the community reporting kind acts for us to collect the names of all those in the community that are coin worthy. The act does NOT have to have been in the BRTC. Any worthy act should be rewarded.If you have already received a coin, we hope it motivates you to continue to look for opportunities to be an "official force for good", and who knows...there may be some higher level coins in the future!