August 2013

The meeting was called to order at 3:49 PM by Brian Samuels, President. Present were Board members Brian Samuels, Valerie Baldwin, Margot Livenspargar, Todd Makler, Susan Griswold, Sue Barkley, Kevin O’Leary, and Steve Barasch. Also attending: Elinor Tanck, Kibitzer. Absent were James Stuart-Smith, Bob Horowitz, and Lee Haze.

The minutes of the July Board meeting were approved.

Reports from the President

• Fran Bennett resigned as the newly appointed head of the Education Fund.
• The nominating committee for the next Unit Board Election will consist of Valerie (Chairman), Brian, and James.
• The Unit Game Chairman will attempt to avoid scheduling Unit Games on the same day as a nearby Sectional or Regional Tournament.
• Brian is working on a Kibitzer article, “From the Board”, which will detail things the Board and other people have done to the Unit’s benefit this year so far.
• As for the restriping and resurfacing the parking lot, the IFES is financially liable for all maintenance of the parking lot. They are working on getting bids. The Unit should be able to lend them the money to pay for the repairs, the repayments to be deducted from the rent due them.

A calendar was presented for the upcoming Unit Elections as follows:

• Aug 1 – Nominating Committee Formed
• Sept 15 – Nominating Committee announces the nominees
• Oct 1 – Nominees submit bio & photos
• Nov 24 – Final Day of Voting for the Candidates and Announcement of the Winners
• Dec 5 – New Board members come to Unit Board meeting and 2014 Officers elected.

The budget for next year should be available by November.

Brian approved an expenditure of about $350 for blinds for the three small windows. They should be installed any day.

Todd presented the Treasurer’s report. He noted that $4000 had been owed for the chairs, but by agreement, $2000 paid the balance due. The difference is due to the problems the Unit had with the glides on the chairs. He also noted that the loan made to IFES for construction purposes of the Bridge Club facility has been paid in full.

General Account – $85651
Education Account – ($5276)

The June table count was down in part due to the Firecracker being held all in the month of June. The total loss for the Tournament was approximately $3000.

Val reported on the Bergen lecture event. It was well received. 18 people attended. The A/V equipment displays “fuzzy” hands. Kevin will look into this problem.

Elinor reported that the next issue of the Kibitzer will be 6 pages.

Previous Business: The Committee of Sue G., Brian, and Bob Horowitz met to discuss the idea of downsizing the Board to seven members. The Bylaws state “The Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of seven (7) persons elected from the membership of the Unit.” so it is not necessary to have a membership vote to reduce the size of the Board. They reported that they were in favor of such a move, feeling it would be better to have a smaller Board and not require members in charge of projects to be members of the Board. Also, members have been very willing to take responsible positions helping the unit without being on the Board. Sue G. moved that the Unit Board be reduced to seven members. Motion passed unanimously.

Todd moved that the change take place over two years. Four candidates would be elected to serve for 2014 & 2015 to replace the six members whose terms are expiring this year. At the end of next year, three candidates would be elected to serve for 2014 & 2015 to replace the five retiring members, bringing the makeup of the Board down to seven members. Motion passed, Brian and Val dissenting.

Lee was not available to discuss the Board of Director’s Manual. It will be brought up next month.

Kevin is looking for the right parts for a test of the bidding box mounts. He will have 2 or 3 tables ready to test before the end of the year.

Sue G. announced that the Youth program started by Debbie Rosenberg has applied for a “dba” (doing business as). It is titled Center for Bridge Education dba Silicon Valley Youth Bridge (SiVY). That allows SiVY to accept tax-deductible gifts.

The next Youth Bridge event will be a pizza party on August 23 from 4 PM to 7 PM. Isha Thapa will be the featured speaker. Sue G. moved that the rent for this event be waived. Carried.

The next meeting will be at 3:45 PM on Thursday, September 5.

Meeting adjourned at 5:45.

Respectfully submitted,
Margot Livenspargar, Secretary