January 2016

The meeting was called to order at 3:33 pm. Directors present included Dave Puryear, Leslie Altick, Gil Barsley, Peggy Chen, Paul Davis, Jim Harris, Marilyn Imaoka, and Todd Makler. James Stuart-Smith also attended.

The minutes of the December, 2015 meeting were approved as submitted.

James updated the Board on the status of the 2016 Firecracker sectional. The character of this Firecracker will be very different this year because of the number of volunteers needed. The current plan is to have IFES make and sell sandwiches. Unit members will be asked to park at the Buddhist temple. We may recruit Boy Scouts from the Buddhist temple troop to assist with parking, as the temple itself does. We are still investigating how best to provide water and free coffee. There are still two open Chairs – set up and take down and Second Harvest Food Bank. There will be several volunteer training sessions to help prepare for the Firecracker.

The Unit is hosting a second 2016 sectional – a non-life master (NLM) tournament in January. Participation in this tournament is being handled on-line, Game owners are promoting the tournament at their games, and sign-ups are encouraging. Nevertheless, attendance it still a big unknown. Expenses are being kept low.

As a part of approving a final 2016 budget, the board decided on several corollary issues. The Unit’s contingency reserve was originally created to cover expenses if the Unit again has to quickly move to a temporary location. But, the policy wording stated a fixed dollar amount for the reserve. As the Unit’s expenses are rising, the Board approved a policy change to maintain reserves of “six months of current budgeted expenses.” The Board also decided the Lecture Series will continue to pay rent to the Bridge Center (just as all other activities that use the space). Right now, thanks to fund raising, the Lecture Series is funded for the first half of 2016. The 2016 Budget was approved.

Dave presented a list of potential 2016 Board goals. They included hosting a successful Firecracker in the new venue, assessing/addressing the Unit’s needs for technology upgrades, and creating backup solutions for processes on which the Unit depends. Based on the Board’s discussion, Dave will prioritize the goals for the next meeting.

Dave reported that Ann Keyser is chairing the Mentor Program in 2016. He also highlighted the need to remind members of the Unit’s preference that the center be fragrance free. There have been a few recent complaints.

Paul reported that the Lecture Series would like to expand its roster of speakers.

Todd reported that, as expected, the Unit met its 2015 budget. In fact, owing to holding capital expenses low, the Unit actually ended the year with a surplus.

Jim said that the Unit 507 (San Jose) has approached us about having a unit game competition in which the proceeds would be split based on the attendance by members of each unit. This will be investigated further.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 pm. The next board meeting will be held on Thursday, February 11.