ACBL Unit 503 Minutes, Tuesday February 2nd, 2010
Present were Mike Atherton, Terry Lancaster, Phyllis Gaffney, Eric Mayefsky, Susan Griswold , David Wheeler, John Mattis, Lu Isaacs, Elinor Tanck, and Grant Spaeth. Jeannette McNeil also attended while Steve Barasch was absent.
NEW BUSINESS:
Bridge Center Rehab, Status Report – Mike Atherton reported that Alan Templeton, Alan Cummings, and he met with the Attorneys last week. Two companies, agreeable to Twister’s, will visit the Bridge Center next week to determine the extent of the work and to formulate bids. Then it will be up to Twister’s. It now appears unlikely that the work will be completed during the San Mateo Regional.
2010 Annual Unit 503 Meeting – Unit 503’s Constitution requires that there be an Annual Meeting before April 1st, 2010 with at least 3% of the membership attending. As a result, the Board has scheduled the 2010 Annual Meeting for Sunday March 28th, 2010 at 1PM, prior to the start of the Swiss Unit Game.
Report on Kibitzer Request for Volunteers – Valerie Baldwin and Fran Bennett have agreed to handle the Unit Librarian position. John Mattis will make sure they receive keys to the Unit’s library collection.
ADMINISTRATIVE:
Januarys’ Minutes were approved.
Kibitzer Report – Elinor indicated that the content for the 6 to 8 page February issue was still being worked on and will highlight articles on introducing players to new games and 2009 Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney results.
Treasurer’s Report – Preliminary Bridge Unit Net Income for January was $16.5K, primarily due to class fees of $16.2K for the Intermediate class beginning in February. Expenses for the class are not included to date. The Unit currently has $76.6K in total assets. Bridge Center net income for January was $3.3K, up from a loss of $3.4K in December. The difference is largely due to an extra month of rent paid in December ($6.8K), which continues as prepaid rent. The Bridge Center assets were $40.9K at month end, up $2.3K from December. Table count for 2009 was 8,017, down 3.9% for the year due to the drop in February when the club was closed.
Unit Games Report – dates for the upcoming Unit games were announced by Phyllis and Eric:
Sunday February 21 1PM IMP Pairs
Monday March 1 6:30PM 199 Average Swiss
Sunday March 28 1PM Swiss – Open and 199 Sections
Monday April 5 6:30PM 199 Average Swiss
Sunday April 25 1PM Charity Pairs – Open and 199 Sections
Monday May 3 6:30PM 199 Average STAC Swiss
Sunday May 23 1PM Swiss – Open and 199 Sections
We would appreciate the unit games being announced at upcoming daily games. There will also be an upcoming club competition with the San Mateo Unit featuring 15 teams from each club with 5 teams in each stratification level; levels TBD. The first match will be held in San Mateo on Saturday, April 24th. The Palo Alto home match will be held in September.
Mentors – Mentees – Jeannette McNeil announced that she had added 2 additional mentors, but there is still a need of at least 10 more mentors. She continues to look for willing participants and wants potential mentors to know that their obligation is to play with their mentee just1 time per month.
Report from John Mattis, Liaison Representative with Club Directors –the behavioral issues mentioned in a number of letters received by Mike in December were discussed, with John Mattis providing additional details including follow up emails and conversations. The Board reviewed a number of suggestions to make sure that the individuals involved are treated fairly, with courtesy and respect, that these incidents are dealt with in a more timely manner and that we all learn from these situations so that they occur less frequently in the future and the Unit is better equipped to handle them. We need more cooperation from both directors and players to make sure the game is enjoyable for all. The Board thanked John for all his time and effort on this subject.
John also reported on a day in the life of a director. Each director will usually spend about an hour making up boards, two hours purchasing and preparing food, be at the game one hour early to do set up (including unpacking the dishwasher, make coffee), 3 1⁄2 hours running the game and 45 minutes of clean up. The director must also do a month end report for the ACBL and the Unit.
Computer Projector and Screen – David presented his research results and recommended his “Best Buys”, the Epson EX51 Multimedia Projector and a pull down screen, for use by teachers and lecturers at the Bridge Center. The board authorized the purchases.
ITEMS INITIATED BY BOARD MEMBERS:
Report on Slow Play – John Mattis provided a number of suggestions regarding Slow Play. Bridge is a Timed Event! Games should start on time and the directors should keep the games on schedule by enforcing the time limits during a game and enforcing the rules of bridge. All players at the tables should cooperate with the directors in making sure each round finishes in the time allocated. Ideas to make the game smoothly include leading before writing the contract on your score sheet, not discussing previous boards, North being in charge of the table, and promptly passing boards to next lower table.
New Directory – Over 600 copies of the Palo Alto Unit 503 Directory of Members and Friends February 2010 will be available beginning Friday February 5th. The directories are free to members and are available to non-members for only $2.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:20PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry Lancaster
Secretary