February 2016

The meeting was called to order at 3:36 pm. Directors present included Dave Puryear, Leslie Altick, Gil Barsley, Peggy Chen, Paul Davis, Jim Harris, Marilyn Imaoka, Todd Makler, and Jody Williams. Alan Cummings was also present. The Board approved the minutes of the January 2016 meeting as submitted.

There were no highlighted updates on the Firecracker. We are still in need of a few chairpersons. However, we have reached all the milestones that needed reaching by this point in time.

Alan Cummings reported on January’s Non-Life Master sectional (NLM). Of the Unit’s 988 members, over 600 are not Life Masters. Results: 45.5 tables on Saturday, 45 on Sunday, and 42 rounds were played by juniors. Net proceeds — approximately $3,200. Alan noted that NLMs are not required to use ACBL directors, keeping costs lower than for a regular sectional. The Board received positive feedback about the event, and all agreed it was a success. The Board voted to find a date for another NLM in January or February of 2017, depending on IFES’s event schedule. Leslie will follow-up with IFES to see if they have set a 2017 schedule.

Paul reported that the North American Pairs (NAP) District Finals went smoothly as well. There were 15.5 tables in the A section, 21.5 in B, and 17 in C. The unit will net approximately $1,000. Paul believes the District will be happy with the event’s results.

2016 Priority Goals: Dave culled the following list of 2016 Board priorities from the January discussion.

• Successful Firecracker – Dave will champion this effort.
• New Directors – Paul has started a list of people who expressed interest in becoming a director. A local national director has volunteered to help us with training. Pam Hughes of District 21 is willing to provide teaching materials. Marolyn will champion this effort.
• Pianola/Online Directory – Discussion zeroed in on the savings from not printing the directory offsetting the annual cost of Pianola. The Board decided to sign up for Pianola. Jody and Marolyn (who already uses Pianola) will co-chair this project.
• Website backup plan – As part of exploring the functionality of Pianola, Jody and Marolyn will experiment with Pianola’s website’s capabilities.
• Calendar ‘reform’ – As part of the evaluation of Pianola, Jody and Marolyn will experiment with it’s calendar functionality.
• Financial Records securely online – Leslie and Gill will follow=up on QuickBooks’ functionality and online capabilities.
• Outreach/New Members – Gill will contact Jennifer Sheppard

Carpet Replacement Committee: It is not too early to begin researching replacements for the flooring in both the playing area of the Bridge Center, as well as the food court. Discussion centered on the many options now available that will provide the durability, sound damping, and ease of cleaning that we require. Peggy will coordinate with Kevin and Lori Spaeth on this effort.

Spring Cleaning: The Board approved free plays for the volunteers who help. Dave will identify a volunteer to coordinate cleaning and investigate hiring an agency for some of the heavy lifting for items in the kitchen, etc.

Reports:

President: The Board elected not to follow-up on the email from funbridge.

Audit process – The accountant who has reviewed our financial processes in the past will not be able to do this in 2016. He has volunteered to recommend someone who will and the Board was happy to have his recommendation.

Valerie Baldwin had requested a decision on whether the Unit would offer a youth discount (for full time students under 26) for the Larry Cohen seminar. The Board agreed to a 25% discount (same as 2015), with a cap on the number of youth slots.

D21 recall election – Dave asked if everyone had received the District 21 explanation for the recall. Not everyone had. Dave will send out the email to those who did not. Each Board member will vote as they see fit.

SiVY is considering having an appreciation an appreciation event for their teachers at the May Unit game. They would offer a free play (at their expense) to their volunteers. When they have made a decision they will notify us.

Education Funding: Paul has worked more on establishing a 502(c)3 for the education fund. He’s found a state-approved name, Peninsula Bridge Education Foundation, and written Articles of Incorporation, a Purpose Statement, and job descriptions for the President, Secretary, and Treasurer and other board members. The next step is to send this paperwork to the state for incorporation. After incorporation, the Foundation’s Board will finalize and adopt the By-laws and apply for non-profit status.

Treasurer: Todd reported January table counts were high and unlike in prior years, cash flow was positive. He offered the new board member tutorials on the details of the Unit’s finances. Todd mentioned that Marian Kelly asked he announce her retirement from the Kibitzer. Dave is looking for a volunteer to take on the Kibitzer.

Unit Games: Peggy will represent Josephine in reporting on results of the Unit games. Jim has agreed to tutor Peggy in how to schedule unit games with the ACBL as well as other tournaments.

The meeting adjourned at 5:18 pm. The next meeting will be on Monday March 7 at 3:30 pm.