Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503
Tuesday, December 10, 2024, via Zoom
Directors Present
Liz Koh, Marc Cervellino, Stephanie Youngquist, David Merenbach, Dan Thatte, Dana Shelley, Geraldine MacDonald, H. Paul Davis and Dianne Giancarlo.
Directors not Present
Alex Narasin, and John Schwartz
Others Present
Dede Barsotti
M/S/P = Moved/Seconded/Passed
Call to Order
Liz Koh, President of the Board, served as Chair of the meeting, called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM and announced that a quorum of the Board members was present and that the meeting, having duly convened, was ready to proceed with business. Dianne Giancarlo served as Secretary of the meeting.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
Dan T., who took minutes for the November BOD meeting, announced that the minutes of the November 12, 2024 Board Meeting were approved via email.
New Celebrity Seminar Coordinator
Liz K. introduced Dede Barsotti who is taking over as Celebrity Seminar Coordinator due to Kathy Wheeler’s resignation from the role. Dede expressed her enthusiasm to be in this role and stated that she is open to suggestions as to speakers and whether to offer lectures in person or online. She will research past attendance in both formats and discuss these issues with other intermediate bridge players.
2025 Officers Election Update
Dan T. proposed the election of Liz K. as President for 2025. M/S/P
Liz K. proposed the following slate of officers for 2025:
Vice President: Stephanie Y.; Treasurer: Marc C.; Secretary: Dianne G. M/S/P
Financials Update
Marc C. reported that table counts at weekly F2F games have been favorable over the past four weeks and continue to show a favorable trend. He noted that STaC week in November generated the greatest number of tables in one week at the club since the pandemic. Marc C. plans to ask the PBEF for a grant to cover some of our losses this year but proposed that the Unit record a loss of approximately $2,000 for 2024. M/S/P
Logos for Palo Alto Bridge
Liz K. led a discussion on the logo designs that she earlier sent to the Board on behalf of the Marketing Committee. A discussion ensued with the outcome being that the concept of a table with figures around was not clear, and that we should allow the designer to be creative but use a symbol or a nice shape where the words “Palo Alto Bridge” can be built into the design and not appear as a long separate phrase. Liz K. will pursue this conversation with Rebecca, David M.’s daughter, who has been helping us with the design.
2025 Pricing Decisions
Marc C. led a discussion on the pricing of the following items offered or provided by the Unit to determine if the Board would like to increase prices or keep them the same:
Increase the player table fee from $15 to $17 at our Sectionals. M/S/P
Keep table rent/fees charged to Club Owners unchanged with the proviso that we review this again in about three months. M/S/P
Keep Celebrity Lecture $25 pp webinar price fees unchanged. M/S/P
Keep Licensing Fees charged for use of our space by SIVY and others unchanged except add an additional fee to Liberty Forum for cleaning expenses if cleaning is required after a club game. M/S/P
Increase teacher’s (e.g. Kathy Harper and Frank Smoot) fee for use of our space by $1.00 per student. M/S/P
Keep the price of sodas from our machine at $1.00. M/S/P
Status Updates on Special Games
Liz K. led a discussion on the status of some upcoming special games:
Find a partner game: Liz K. reported that there will be two such games on the mornings of Wednesday, January 15 and 22.
New-X Game: H. Paul D. asked the Board to approve a date for the “Pro-Am” styled game so that he could start marketing it. The Board was fine with any date provided it does not conflict with any large event our landlord may hold. Saturday, February 1 looked fine.
GNTs: Marc C. reported that he was able to get our District to offer GNTs at our location in February. He emphasized that it is important to encourage players to participate so that our location can possibly stay on the schedule in the future. Members noted that the current sign-up page is very difficult to maneuver.
49er game on Thursday: Phil Abrahamson and his committee is planning to start a 49er game on Thursdays.
The Board meeting adjourned at 5:33 pm.