September 2018

Sept. 6, 2018 Meeting of the Unit 503 Board of Directors

Call to Order and Approval of 9 August 2018 meeting minutes:  President Dan Thatte called the meeting to order at 3:44 pm.  The minutes of the Aug 9, 2018 meeting were approved as submitted. Other board members present included Leslie Altick, Kip Kado, Gerry MacDonald, Alan Polish, Dave Puryear, and John Schwartz.   

NLM Regional Status:  James Stuart-Smith has agreed to chair the first Non-Life Master Regional.  He reported that the date has still not been finalized as April 6-7 conflicts with a sectional in Modesto.  He is working with Stu Goodgold of District 21 to make sure we get approval to hold the regional, as the sectional is 90 miles away.  If we cannot secure this date, the regional will be deferred until 2020, so as not to conflict with the Firecracker or other NLM sectionals.  Anne Keyser has volunteered to help James chair the regional.  James has done a rough budget for the tournament and projects that as envisioned, it will produce a profit.  Alan Polish is still working with IFES to finalize parking.  It appears it will be necessary to have a backup plan with the Buddhist Temple on an ongoing basis.  Alan will check with Marilyn Imaoka to see whether she is still the contact with the temple. 

Patty Tucker Seminar:  Dan reported that Agnes Lee has withdrawn the proposal for Patty Tucker seminar.  Dan is scheduling to talk to Agnes to define the next steps for that seminar and the Robert Todd seminar which is scheduled for April 2019.  Dan will report back at the next board meeting.

Bridge Center Scheduling Issues:  Dave reported that the policy for managing the process of scheduling the calendar has been finalized.  He has agreed to be the master scheduler for the rest of this year and next.

Nominating committee:  The committee is looking for two volunteers to run for the Board. John, Kip, Anne, and Gerry have identified some potential candidates.  They will be meeting again to complete a list.  They will have a slate for the October meeting.

Finance committee:  Leslie reported that the 2019 budget is a work in process.  Susan will return before the next Board meeting.  Leslie will hand off to her the next version that she can modify for the October meeting. 

Old Business: 

• Unit tax deductible structure & ability to invest in a CD or money market update:  Dave reported that we are moving forward to incorporate as a mutual benefit non-profit.  All that remains to be done is to name a person or place that could be the place where a lawsuit could be served on the Unit.  John helped clarify what that could be.  It was decided to use the Bridge Center address.  This should facilitate the Unit being able to open some savings instrument.

• Publishing financials on the website:  Dave and Dan followed up on questions from members about whether Unit financials could be published on the website.  The policies for the implementation of the Unit’s Constitution and By-laws state that the duties of the Treasurer include 

• • …submitting “financial reports including a Balance Sheet, an Income and Expense report, and a Budget to Actual Report for each meeting of the Board of Directors.  The Treasurer shall ensure that these reports are available to Unit members who request them. … Financial reports are not to be posted on the Unit website.”

New Business:

At the time of the meeting, the Bridge Center phone was broken.  It should be fixed by September 7. 

Two weekends in September are available for carpet cleaning and it will be scheduled.

The District has asked that we promote the upcoming regionals in Monterrey and Reno, which we will do.  The District usually gives a donation to a nominated charity each year.  In 2019, the amount of the donation will be $30,000.  The District is soliciting nominations for worthy charities in our footprint for consideration.  The choice will be publicized by marketing support.   The November 2019 national tournament will be held at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco.  Each unit in the District, including Unit 503, will be asked to provide volunteers for a day.

Adjournment:   The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 PM.  The next meeting will be on October 11.  Dan will take the minutes as Leslie will be out of town.

Respectively submitted,
Leslie Altick
Secretary