June 2024

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503

Tuesday, June 11, 2024, via Zoom

Directors Present

Liz Koh, Marc Cervellino, Stephanie Youngquist, John Schwartz, David Merenbach, Dan Thatte, Geraldine MacDonald and Dianne Giancarlo

Others Present for All or Parts of the Meeting

Alan Templeton, Paul Davis, Will Watson and Lori Spaeth

M/S/P = Moved/Seconded/Passed

Meeting with Club Owners

Liz K. asked club owners to join the Board at the beginning of this meeting, which was attended by Alan Templeton, Paul Davis, Will Watson and Lori Spaeth. The following items were discussed:

1)  Feedback about attendance at F2F club games: Club owners expressed optimism about the steady rise of table count at their games.

2)  Unit’s financial overview:  Marc C. thanked the Club owners for all that they do to keep our games active.  He discussed the Club’s financials which continue to be strong. Our rent will increase on July 1 so it will add more expenses to the Unit, but we have solid reserves to rely on. Our main sources of income are Sectionals, table rent and celebrity lectures. These are all expected to continue to generate income for the Club. Marc C. stressed how important it is that we continue to find opportunities to have special game days (such as holidays, birthdays, etc) because they bring in a good crowd and help to remind players to come back to play F2F more regularly.

3)  How to attract more NLM players to our club games: The Board discussed how to specifically attract more NLMs to our games. Lori S. mentioned that she will offer free play at her Wednesday night games for first time players. Paul D. mentioned that he is trying to get more players to attend his Saturday games which has attracted more beginner and intermediate players. David M. suggested that we take the concept of mentor/mentee games and make them “Pro Am” games which can include more players. Phil Abrahamson is our new Intermediate/Newcomer Coordinator and may want try to get some games going.

4)  F2F club games currently 24 boards – should club owners offer 18 board F2F games?  Are 24 and 18 board concurrent games manageable? Club owners all agreed that it is not a problem to offer a 24 board and 18 board games which would allow participants in the 18-board game to have more time per board. Paul D. said that he would talk to Kevin O’Leary about having a 299er game with 18 boards.

5)  Wednesday day games – 18 boards?  9:30AM and 12:30PM? No significant discussion on this.

6)  Certification status on Food Handler Card and Food Safety (Kitchen Manager): California state law requires that most retail food facilities that handle unpackaged food of any kind employ at least one person who is certified in food safety. Others at the Club who handle food are required to obtain a food handler card.  Lori Spaeth has agreed to take on the role as Food Safety (Kitchen Manager) and will obtain her certification. The cost of her certification and the others’ food handler certifications will be reimbursed by the Unit.

7)  ACBL’s new recruiting programs: There was not an enthusiastic interest in the ACBL new recruiting programs, for example whether we can advertise for new players at locations that attract similar groups of adults such as at pickleball courts. One suggestion that seemed more promising is to advertise in community college flyers. We discussed asking Frank Smoot to hold occasional lessons before a morning game. 

8) Recruiting new directors/Club owners: Paul D. said that he is not aware of anyone at the Club right now who is an obvious candidate to become a Club owner. He made clear that not all directors are Club owners and that it is in the Club’s interest to try to promote more players to become directors which may be more appealing to players who do not want the commitment of being a Club owner. Gerry M. pointed out that there are other models of running a club where the club owns the game sanctions and hires directors to run them which is how our Unit Games are run. It was agreed that we should encourage members to get involved in running games and becoming directors.

9) Recycling garbage: Will W. made an appeal that we try to produce less garbage by going back to using washable cups and glasses and that we separate the compostable and recyclable garbage. A suggestion was made that we can start by ordering trash cans that are labeled and work with our cleaning company to adhere to the labels. The question was also raised as to who is responsible for moving our trash to the collection location. Liz K. suggested that we start by talking to Kevin O’Leary to learn the history of how our trash has been handled and that the Club owners can decide how they want to handle this.

10) New Reservation System: Liz K. reported John S.’s update that the revised more user-friendly reservation system will be up and running on Saturday whereby players can make a reservation directly without the requirement of a username and password.

Call to Order

Liz Koh, President of the Board, served as Chair of the meeting, called the meeting to order upon conclusion of discussion with Club owners at approximately 5:00 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 May 14, 2024 Board Meeting were approved via email.

Financials Update

Discussed during meeting with Club owners.

John’s 90th birthday game 

Stephanie Y. reported that plans are going well and a nice size group has signed up for John’s party.

Nominating Committee

Dan T. reported that he has started to look for one or two directors since we have two spots open and we need not wait until November to fill these positions. Board members are encouraged to send Dan names of any members whom you think would fit this role.

Firecracker Open Sectional and Non-Life Master Regional

Gerry M. reported that she is recruiting volunteers and is specifically hoping to find players who have not volunteered before.  She has asked Board members to engage with the volunteers during the tournament and to thank them for their help. 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.