December 2025

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503

Tuesday, December 9, 2025, via Zoom

Directors Present

Liz Koh, Marc Cervellino, Stephanie Youngquist, David Merenbach, Dan Thatte, John Schwartz, Dana Shelley, Geraldine MacDonald, H. Paul Davis and Dianne Giancarlo.

Directors not Present

Alex Narasin

Others Present

Dede Barsotti and Alan Templeton

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

Dianne G. announced that the minutes of the November 11, 2025 Board Meeting were approved via email.

Celebrity Seminars  

Liz K. and the Board thanked Dede Barsotti for doing an excellent job as Celebrity Seminar Coordinator over the past year. Dede presented a summary of her accomplishments this year which included running five seminars, four of which were conducted online and one in person at the bridge center with Robert Todd. The seminars were very well attended, attracting a total of 520 attendees (which counts some people multiple times for attending different seminars) and a total of $8500 in profit for the Unit. Dede has agreed to continue to act as Celebrity Seminar Coordinator in 2026 and has asked the Board to provide any feedback or suggestions for future topics, formatting and speakers. Dede has also asked for support, specifically in marketing. H. Paul Davis has volunteered to help create a survey/questionnaire to gather information that can help Dede determine how to target future seminars.

Financials Update

Marc C. reported that recent attendance at our weekly games has been impressive, with some days attracting the largest games we have had since Covid. The Unit will incur a loss in 2025 and is projected to continue to do so through 2026 mostly because our rent is increasing. 

2026 Budget Proposal

Marc C. distributed a budget proposal for 2026, which he created with the help of Liz K. and Dana S.  The budget projects a sizable loss for 2026. Marc explained that our goal is to maintain financial viability. Because much of our revenue comes from tournaments (especially the Firecracker), lecture series, and table rents, we must market these events early. For 2026, the Firecracker has been moved to the end of June for the first time so as not to conflict with another tournament and we cannot predict the impact this will have on attendance. The Board praised Marc, Dana and Liz for doing an excellent job creating the proposed budget.

Marc C. asked the board to approve the proposed budget. M/S/P

Status with IFES

Liz K. reported that we are collecting data on a newly installed water meter to finalize our past and future water and sewer obligation to the IFES. It appears that there is some unexpected usage of water at the Bridge Center on weekends. The board discussed installing a ring camera to help find out who is consuming the water. 

Fundraising efforts with PBEF

Stephanie reported that our fundraising effort is in its early stages.  

2026 Officers Election

Dan T. proposed the election of Liz K. as President for 2026.  M/S/P

Liz K. proposed the following slate of officers for 2026:

Vice President: Dana S.; Treasurer: Marc C.; Secretary: Dianne G. M/S/P

Liz K. thanked Stephanie for her service as vice president on the Board.

Status on new initiatives

The Unit holiday party will take place on Sunday, December 14. Alex N. is heading the coordination of this event. 

Dana S. has agreed to co-chair our August 2026 sectional.

Liberty Forum

The Unit has been allowing the Liberty Forum to use the Bridge Center about four times per year. We collect a fee from them with the understanding that they will return the furniture to its original location. The last two times they used our space they did not put the furniture back, which caused a great deal of work for Marc C. and Liz K. The Board discussed and agreed that we should increase the fee to cover the cost of moving the furniture.

Moving On

David M announced that he has been invited to join the board of a bridge unit in Southern California. He and his wife have been spending most of their time at their home there. David has agreed to serve on this board and consequently must resign from the Unit 503 board. The board expressed their disappointment but understanding and wished David the best of luck.

The Board meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm.