May 2015

Jody Williams, President, called the meeting to order at 4:05. Other Board members present were Paul Davis, Kevin O’Leary, and Dave Puryear. Also in attendance was Gill Barsley, Firecracker chair.

The minutes from the March 31, 2015 meeting were approved.

Firecracker Sectional: Gill Barsley reported that plans are on track for a successful event. There are no competing events at the Convention Center or at Levi Stadium during our tournament, so parking should not be a problem. We have enough caddies, enough volunteers for set-up and Partnership, but we still need to complete staffing for the Hospitality Desk.

Email Blasts: Some members report that they are not receiving our Unit emails. The Unit uses a service called Mail Chimp which is able to bypass most spam filters, but some members have spam filters which automatically unsubscribe them from our list. ACBL policy does not permit us to reinstate a member unless we have explicit consent. Any member who is not receiving these emails should check their spam filter.

SiVY Fundraising: There continues to be some confusion regarding SiVY fundraising. The Unit is supportive of SiVY and facilitates its activities, but SiVY is a separate organization and its fundraising is done on a personal basis, not as part of any Unit activity. David Puryear will draft a policy statement for the Board’s approval at its next meeting to clarify the relationship between the two organizations.

Skills Survey: The Board is developing a skills survey of Unit membership so that the many tasks in need of volunteers can be targeted to those with the required skills. In the future, this survey will be included in the new member packet so we can continue to match tasks with skills.

North American Pairs Hosted in 2016: The Board voted to approve the financial arrangement needed to host the District Finals of the North American Pairs on January 23, January 24, and February 6, 2016. David Puryear agreed to draft an amendment to our fee policy to allow for different financial arrangements for events such as these, subject to Board approval.

Volunteer Recognition: The Board decided name badges were not the most appropriate way to recognize all the work our volunteers do. They will be acknowledged on the website and a list will be posted at the Bridge Center. All of us owe them many thanks.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:45.