Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 via Zoom
Directors Present
Liz Koh, Marc Cervellino, Geraldine MacDonald , Dan Thatte, Stephanie Youngquist, John Schwartz, David Merenbach and Dianne Giancarlo
Others Present for All or Parts of the Meeting
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 4:04 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 February 13, 2024 Board Meeting were approved via email.
Financials Update
Marc C. reported that financials are better than budget and we are continuing to see an upward trend in F2F club game table count. Among the reasons for this trend include the greater number of beginner players who are attending the Tuesday morning Novice Game and the Wednesday evening 49’er Game. Prue Saunders has been especially effective in building the Tuesday morning Novice Game. Marc noted that without sectionals income, the Unit would need to double the weekly F2F attendance to 117 tables to break even to cover regular expenses.
Annual Financial Review and Spending Limit Authorization
In accordance with our Bylaws, Liz K. asked Jon Rayden to conduct an independent annual financial review for the Unit. Jon completed that review and found no discrepancies in the actual accounting or the financial statements presented to the club. He made some recommendations concerning the Unit credit card that was approved by the BOD and Unit spending and reimbursement procedures. These recommendations have been addressed in the Unit 503 Spending and Reimbursement Procedures that was prepared by David M. and presented to the Board for discussion and approval, a copy of which is attached to these Minutes. M/S/P
We agreed that we should send a bottle of wine to Jon to thank him for his time.
St. Patrick’s +1 Club Game
John S. reported that sign-ups are low for this game. All Board members have been reminded to encourage players to attend. Stephanie Y. and Marc C. are preparing some special food, decorations, and prizes for participants.
March Open and NLM Sectional
Marc C. reported that he is continuing to send out email reminders about our upcoming first four-day Open and NLM Sectional which will be held from March 21-24. All volunteers have been lined up.
Local Sectionals/D21/ACBL
Liz K. reported that the ACBL requested that we put on hold our one-day NLM Sectionals that were previously approved by D21 until they hold their June meeting at which time they will discuss this further. The Board was surprised by this turn of events, especially as these sectionals are very popular among the more beginner bridge players who are the newest members of the ACBL and are vital to the future of bridge. Gerry M. is composing a letter to the ACBL/D21 to present our position on this.
Unit games; Pro-Am Games; Marketing
Liz K. led a discussion on the possibility of holding Unit games on weekends and Pro-Am games during the week, possibly in an “8 or 4 is enough” format. The Board was in favor of supporting these games. To address feedback from some Unit members who prefer F2F club games with a shorter duration, John S. and Will Watson will try a different start time. The Board approved the purchase of 200,000 email credits for marketing F2F games and tournaments for $1000. M/S/P
Volunteer Recruitment Update
Gerry M. reported that we are still in need of a volunteer to be the Unit 503 Representative on the District 21 Charity Committee. We also need volunteers to oversee marketing and to help with special events.
Palo Alto Unit Sectionals Analysis
Marc C. presented an analysis of the trends from the past five Unit Sectionals. His analysis demonstrated some interesting facts such as: Saturdays are our most attended day; the percentage of participants from our own Unit is very light compared to members from other Units; about half of all participants are NLM and most have 200-499 MPs; and 77% of all players are winning MPs. This information is very useful in focusing our marketing for these events and for demonstrating the need to continue to hold one-day Sectionals to increase participation by more beginner level players.
John Schwartz 90th Birthday Celebration
Dan T. brought to the Board’s attention (all but John S, that is) that John S is turning 90 on June 3rd. We eagerly agreed that we want to celebrate this wonderful achievement and the date chosen is Thursday, June 13th.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:47 PM.
Unit 503 Spending and Reimbursement Guidelines
CREDIT CARD ACQUISITION:
The Board has authorized the use of a credit card in the unit’s name, which shall be held by the treasurer.
CREDIT CARD USE:
The board authorizes the use of the Unit Credit Card for purchases up to $500 per transaction for consumable goods. Consumable purchases shall not exceed $1,500 in any month without prior approval from the president and/or board. To the extent possible, these controls will be implemented through agreements with the bank/card company as well as by policy.
Non-consumable items such as insurance, software, or capital acquisitions may be made on the Unit Credit Card as long as they are specifically called out on a line item basis in the budget, approved within the annual budget, AND there have been no material changes to the financial position or operation of the club. If any of these conditions are not met, the purchase requires prior approval from the board.
REIMBURSEMENTS:
The treasurer shall be authorized to reimburse members for all expenditures made on behalf of the club at the treasurer’s discretion. No single reimbursement in excess of $500 shall be made without prior approval from the Board. Expenditures for repair or maintenance of the facility do not require prior approval, but will be reported to the board at regularly scheduled meetings.
Receipts for reimbursement shall be reviewed by the Treasurer at their discretion. All reimbursements in excess of $500 shall require a receipt. Receipts will be retained to the extent required by the IRS or other legal requirements.
Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, March 12 at 4:00pm
To be held by video teleconference
for information about how to join the call, Unit members may contact merenbach@yahoo.com