February 2022

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503

Monday, February 14, 2022 via Zoom

Directors Present

David Merenbach, Marc Cervellino, Dianne Giancarlo, Gerry MacDonald, Jon Rayden, John Schwartz, Dan Thatte, Eli Wismer, Stephanie Youngquist

Others Present During All or Portions of the Meeting

Jim Hulseman, Carl Baeuerlen, Kevin O’Leary, Paul Davis, Alan Templeton, Kathy Wheeler, Liz Koh, Patricia Steele, Max Schireson, Lori Spaeth

M/S/P = Moved/Seconded/Passed

Call to Order

David Merenbach, President of the Board, served as Chair of the meeting, called the meeting to order at 4:02PM and announced that a quorum of the Board members was present and that the meeting, having duly convened, was ready to proceed with business.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

Eli Wismer announced that the minutes of the January 12, 2002 Board Meeting and the minutes of the January 27, 2022 Special Board Meeting were approved via email.

Covid Protocols – Club Reopening

It was proposed that the Non-Life Master Sectional and all previously scheduled events including classes will be held at the Palo Alto Bridge Center as long as all participants are masked, vaccinated and boosted, if eligible.  The PABC will remain closed for our daily games until March 7, or until the first Monday after Santa Clara County drops its mask mandate, whichever is later. M/S/P.  David Merenbach to send out an email to our members regarding this decision.  David will reach out to a volunteer to assist Marc Cervellino to work with the club owners to coordinate reopening and all guidelines.

Non-Life Master Sectional

Liz Koh and Dianne Giancarlo reported on the status of the upcoming NLM Sectional to be held February 19 and 20. There are currently 40 tables total for the weekend signed up, consisting of 70 players. Of these 70, 20 are PABC members, and 14 are newcomers.  Over $2,000 worth of prizes have been contributed, and mentors signed up to donate time as a prize.

Celebrity Lecture Series

Kathy Wheeler reported on the status of the 2022 Celebrity Lecture Series. The Gavin Wolpert series of classes were very successful.  There were 102 paid attendees and 2 youth attendees for class #1, and 86 paid and 2 youth for class #2.  This generated total revenue for the club of $1880.  Survey Monkey feedback after the classes was excellent.  Next Celebrity Lecture – Robert Todd, April 2, 2022.

Mentor Program

Jim Hulseman reported on the status of the Mentor Program.  There are currently 11 Mentorship teams enrolled in the program.  The biggest challenge remains finding qualified Mentors.  David Merenbach requested a list of potential mentors from Jim, and he will ask respected club leaders to reach out to these potential mentors to request them to participate in the program.

Financial Update

Marc Cervellino presented an update on our Finances.  There was a Net Operating Loss for January, as well as a Net Cash Outflow.  The projection for February shows a similar Net Operating Loss.

2022 Funding Request to PBEF

It was proposed that the Board request a grant from PBEF of up to $15,000 to fund expenses to increase F2F play at the center during the time period of March-December 2022, to include free play weeks, mentor/mentee games, newcomer games, teacher supervised play, and other ideas.  M/S/P.

Schedule Annual Meeting

The Unit 503 Annual Meeting will be held at 3:30PM April 11, 2022 via Zoom, 30 minutes before the scheduled April Unit 503 Board Meeting.

Volunteer Requirements

David Merenbach requested a discussion on the current state of our volunteer program.  Dan Thatte and Gerry MacDonald will discuss our past history and present needs with David in the next several weeks.

Unit 503 Membership Trends

Marc Cervellino presented a slide showing some of our Unit 503 membership metrics.  There has been a decline in membership over the last 2 years.  Unit 503 lost 5% of our membership, vs. a 12% loss for the ACBL as a whole.  Our current membership as of the end of last year was 898 members.  Marc and Dianne Giancarlo will propose a plan to contact both new players and members who dropped membership over the last two years, and draft an email and discuss timing to send to them.

Table Fees

John Schwartz proposed a temporary revised Table Fee schedule to address club owner concerns that the current table fee is too high relative to the small number of tables we have been having since reopening the club.  David Merenbach and John, in conjunction with the other owners, will discuss a proposal by March 1 to present to the Board at the next Board Meeting in March.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:51PM.