January 2020

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors
ACBL Unit 503
Thursday, January 23, 2020, 3:15 p.m. PST
432 Stierlin Road, Mountain View, CA 94043

A regular meeting of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of ACBL Unit 503 (the “Unit”), was held at the above time and place pursuant to notice duly given to all members of the Board.  

Directors Present
Geraldine MacDonald, President
Carl Baeuerlen
Marc Cervellino
Don Cohn
Charlene Friedman
Shankar Iyer
John Schwartz
Dan Thatte
Susan Zhang

Others Present During All or Portions of the Meeting
Jim Hulseman

Call to Order
Geraldine MacDonald, President of the Board, served as Chair of the meeting and Charlene Friedman acted as Secretary.  Ms. MacDonald called the meeting to order and announced that a quorum of the Board members was present and that the meeting, having been duly convened, was ready to proceed with business.  

Approval of Minutes
Ms. MacDonald presented the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on December 19, 2019 for approval. Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the Board approved the minutes as presented.

Confirmation of Approved 2020 Budget
The Board reviewed the Unit budget for fiscal year 2020, as approved by the Board at its meeting on December 19, 2019.  Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the Board confirmed the approval of the 2020 budget.  

Finance Committee
Ms. MacDonald reported to the Board that she had reconstituted the Finance Committee (the “Committee”), which serves to advise the Board on financial matters, and that Marc Cervellino, Don Cohn, John Schwartz, Susan Zhang and Leslie Altick have been appointed as the members of the Committee.  Mr. Cervellino was asked to convene the Committee to work on a number of issues.  

Financial Update
Ms. Zhang presented the Unit’s financial results for fiscal year 2019, including a profit and loss comparison of fiscal years 2019 and 2018.    

Annual Holiday Party
The Board next discussed the scheduling of the annual Unit holiday party and selected December 13 as the date for the party.  Mr. Cohn volunteered to coordinate efforts for the party.

Unit Games and Charity Games
The Board reviewed the number of Unit games set for 2020 and discussed potentially adding a Unit game and/or charity games, as well as pricing for the games.  Dan Thatte volunteered to coordinate efforts to determine which Unit games should be charity games.

Larry Cohen Seminar
Ms. MacDonald gave an update on the Larry Cohen seminar scheduled for June 2020.   The Board discussed payment and cancellation options for participants in the seminar.  

Amendment of Unit Bylaws
Carl Baeuerlen discussed his recent review of the Unit’s bylaws and a potential amendment to Article XIV by deleting references to standing committees and special committees while allowing for committees to be formed as needed.  The Board discussed these potential changes, as well as the process for amending the bylaws, including presentation of a petition to the Board and subsequent approval by the Unit membership.  Mr. Baeuerlen indicated that he would incorporate the feedback of the Board into a petition to be presented to the Board for consideration at an upcoming meeting.  

Setting the Date of the 2020 Annual Membership Meeting
The Board noted that it is required to convene an annual meeting of the Unit membership on a date after the first of January and before the first of April each year.  Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the Board set the date and time of the meeting for March 12, 2020 at 3:00 pm.  

Board Meeting Scheduling
The Board discussed the scheduling of regular Board meetings in 2020 and selected the following dates for its regular meetings, each to begin at 3:15 p.m. PT:  February 13, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, July 16, August 13, September 10, October 8, November 12 and December 10.

Update on Non-Life Master Events
Mr. Baeuerlen presented an update to the Board on two non-Life Master tournaments currently scheduled to be held at the Unit in February and March 2020.  

Update on I.F.E.S. Shared Calendar Responsibilities
Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Baeuerlen then presented an update on arrangements made with I.F.E.S., the owner of the premises leased to the Unit, to mutually share information relating to activities that may impact the use of the shared parking lot.

Update on Unit Mentor Program
Next, Jim Hulseman, a member of the Unit and new program coordinator of the Unit mentor program, gave a presentation on his plans for the program going forward, including communications with Unit membership on the new program.   Mr. Cervellino, Mr. Cohn and Ms. Friedman volunteered to meet to discuss steps to encourage Unit members with 0-20 master points to advance and play more bridge. 

Adjournment
There being no further business to discuss, the Board adjourned its meeting at approximately 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.

___________________________

Charlene Friedman, Secretary