Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503
Tuesday, January 13, 2026, via Zoom
Directors Present
Liz Koh, Marc Cervellino, Dan Thatte, John Schwartz, Dana Shelley, Geraldine MacDonald, H. Paul Davis and Dianne Giancarlo.
Directors not Present
Stephanie Youngquist, Alex Narasin
Others Present
Alan Templeton
M/S/P = Moved/Seconded/Passed
Call to Order
Liz Koh, President of the Board, served as Chair of the meeting, called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM and announced that a quorum of the Board members was present and that the meeting, having duly convened, was ready to proceed with business. Dianne Giancarlo served as Secretary of the meeting.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
Dianne G. announced that the minutes of the December 9, 2025 Board Meeting were approved via email.
Financials Update
Marc C. reported that recent attendance at our weekly games has been down, most likely due to the holidays and the San Francisco NABC. The Unit will incur a loss for 2025 and is projected to continue to do so through 2026 mostly because our rent is increasing. Notwithstanding the loss for 2025 and the projected ongoing loss, the average weekly table count has been at about 65 which is a solid improvement over years since Covid. Marc complemented the Board for actions taken over the past few years which have been critical to this growth: holding the Firecracker tournament in only one venue; the implementation of special games such as Find-A-Partner, Pro-Ams, and Monday monthly Swiss games; the re-emergence of Frank Smoot’s classes; additional celebrity lectures and additional paid and free lectures and post-mortems offered by Unit members such as Debbie Rosenberg, Phil Abrahamson and Amber Lin; increasing table fees; and holiday games overseen by Board member Alex Narasin and delightfully decorated by Stephanie Youngquist.
Marc noted that we will be challenged by some changes ahead that we need to pay special attention to: the date of the Firecracker this year, which will be in June instead of its usual July dates, and a sectional that will be held in August which is unusual for the Unit. Gerry M. suggested we start to notify players immediately about these events.
GNTs – March 21-22
Marc C. reported that our Unit will host flights A and B of the upcoming GNTs at the bridge center on March 21 and 22, and the open flight final on March 21. The Unit will be compensated by D21 for the use of the bridge center and the cost of food.
Local units Team game competition: Palo Alto vs. San Mateo vs. Silicon Valley
Liz K. reported that we have been approached about participating in a competition among the three local Units: Palo Alto, San Mateo and Silicon Valley. The exact format has not been determined but Board members were receptive to the concept. Alan T. reported that something like this took place between Palo Alto and Silicon Valley in 2017.
Proposed Board call with Club Owners
Liz K. proposed that we ask Club Owners to join the Board at the beginning of one of our monthly meetings to check in with them and gather feedback as to how we can increase attendance at weekly games. The Board is in favor of this meeting. Liz K. will draft a proposed agenda and set the date.
2027 tournaments
Marc C. reported that the following dates have been set for our 2027 tournaments:
Water consumption
Liz K. reported that she and Marc C. are collecting data on a newly installed water meter to finalize our past and future water and sewer obligation to the IFES. There is some unexpected usage of water at the Bridge Center on weekends that they are investigating. They will install a camera to help find out who is consuming the water. They have also asked the IFES to have parts replaced in the toilets to help minimize the loss of water. The installation has taken place but the results seem to be worse than what we started with and so Liz K. will ask the IFES to have the plumbers replace the inferior parts which they used.
Fresh ideas to increase club game and tournament attendance
Liz led a discussion on how we can help to increase club game and tournament attendance. She reported that Tuesday games have been doing well and that Debbie Rosenberg’s post-mortems provided in the evening online of some of the games have been well received. Liz reported that H. Paul Davis and Ken Rosenfeld are planning to do some free lectures before Thursday games. The 499 games on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights are attracting some new players. Some other ideas discussed include hosting STAC games, newcomer games, and the possibility of adding some weekend games.
Volunteers recruitment
Liz K. reiterated our need for fresh volunteers. Our needs are particularly in the following areas: sectional co-chairs; marketing chair; membership chair; partnership desk chair; overseer of bridge center maintenance. Dana S. suggested that we remind members that they can easily seek partners by indicating so on the registration page. She asked whether it could be possible for members to be provided an email address of someone looking for a partner so that it could be addressed directly between the two players.
The Board meeting adjourned at 5:40 pm.
Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, January 13 at 4:00pm
To be held by video teleconference
For information about how to join the call, Unit members may contact Liz Koh