May 2014

Brian Samuels, President, called the meeting to order at 3:10 pm. Other board members present were Leslie Altick, Valerie Baldwin, Jim Harris, Bob Horowitz, Todd Makler, Kevin O’Leary, James Stuart-Smith and Jody Williams. Elinor Tanck, Kibitizer Editor, and John Prior, a Club Owner, also attended.

Minutes of the prior meeting were approved.

Guest Item: Alan Cummings reported that he and Alan Templeton have investigated the problems with the audio-visual system. The current system does not project brightly enough to be useful in our setting. Alan has received a proposal from a local provider to upgrade our system to provide multiple screen capability with increased brightness and better sound quality. In essence the new system is HDMI instead of the old VGA technology. The proposed cost is roughly $6,000. HDMI had been too expensive when the bridge center was built, but the price of this technology has dropped significantly. Because of the expense, there were many questions, including whether we’d talked with customer who had the system. Jody volunteered to further investigate the system. Everyone agrees our existing system is inadequate. However, as the cost is material, the decision will be made at the June meeting after one last technological review.

Alan also raised the question – what is the level of interest in pursuing a 501(c)3 structure for an education foundation? We have learned that several units of the ACBL have such structures – a separate entity that operates the educational activities. There are other funding raising strategies that could be pursued, such as having sponsored series. It was agreed that we would query the membership about interest in donating without tax deductibility.

President’s Report: Brian announced that the Tuesday evening game has been cancelled for lack of attendance. He also noted that with an increase in the frequency of classes, there have been questions about how much time should there be between games and classes. The existing license agreement does not address this issue. Brian will seek more input from both game owners and teachers on turnover time. It has been suggested to Brian that the center have a defibrillator on site. John Prior will investigate purchasing a defibrillator, the liability issues, if any, involved, as well as what training might be offered. Jennifer Sheppard has agreed to take on the Membership committee responsibilities.

Treasurer’s Report: Todd will be out of town for the month starting May 17. Any business for him needs to be submitted before then. Through April, the unit’s financials are on budget. We have received a check from the ACBL closing down our education fund. There is approximately $2000 in uncommitted funds.

Unit Games: Jim noted that the four unit games this year have netted almost $2500 to the club. As Todd’s figures do not match Jim’s, they will discuss the appropriate accounting and determine a common method. The unit’s first pairs game of the year will be on May 24. Marty Bergen has submitted 16 hands, with his comments that will be played during the unit game. The handout of comments will be available after the game. If we like this format, we can do it again. Until further notice, the Monday night unit games are cancelled.

Education: Val reported that most all our classes are in place for the rest of 2014 and into 2015. Debbie Rosenberg will be offering two sections for her Slam Bidding class, adding the second in the now empty Tuesday evening time. Eddie Kantor will be teaching an all day class on Sunday, November 9. There will be box lunches available for order from Togo’s. Larry Cohen will be teaching a class in July of 2015.

Kibitzer: Elinor had the new printing company print this month’s Kibitzer. The cost was $0.54 per copy versus the previous $0.60.

Old Business: 2014 Initiatives – Member Input and Involvement: Val reported that she is amassing a list of the volunteer positions available in the club. She is going to solicit suggestions from non board members. It was agreed we need to have job descriptions even for small jobs that will be available on the Website, in a binder at the bridge center, and in the Kibitzer.

Expanding Bridge Center: The next step in considering a structural expansion is to talk with IFES to determine whether it is amenable to moving walls and allocating more space to us. If yes, we need an estimate of the revenue that five additional tables would produce and weigh that against the cost associated with removing a wall.

Increase Weekend Game Attendance: Jody met with John Prior, Will and Claire. As members say a major need is helping them find partners for weekend games, they suggested that we identify volunteers to be available on a stand-by basis so that we could guarantee there will be partners for drop-ins. Those volunteers would receive a free play. Another suggestions is to have a directory on site with photographs of people who are open to playing with new partner, along with a profile of their bridge preferences (master points, conventions played, etc.). Reinvigorating the mentor program would help people find new partners as well. The final suggestion was to have an individual event – an event for people without partners (hence, individual). The movement is for an individual, resulting in meeting/playing with several partners. We decided to try this suggestion targeting holding the event in August or September. Leslie will help Jody plan and promote this event.

Online Bridge: BBO is proving difficult to contact. Jim will continue to try but may have to defer an intense effort for a few months. Jim has analyzed data from the ACBL and the encouraging conclusion is that any time slot can be successful.

Play Nice: Bob observed that members seem to be playing “nicer.” He emphasized that if anyone overhears inappropriate comments, the director should be called. A Kibitzer article will spotlight the “play nice” policy. We will order more ACBL “play nice” posters.

By-Laws: Jody reported the by-laws Q&A session before the unit game was lightly attended. There apparently is little controversy over the proposed changes. There were three comments, all worth incorporating. First, our old by-laws erroneously state that Unit 503 is an inseparable part of the ACBL. The board passed a motion to strike the offending sentence. The next change addressed the purpose of board executive sessions. A motion citing “personnel” issues as an example reason for a session also passed. The final comment was that vote tallies from elections should be available upon request to members. This motion also passed. The next step is preparing a ballot.

Firecracker: The final rent payment must still be made. A volunteer has been identified to co-chair set-up and take down. Directors will be asked to announce the need for additional volunteers as well as to promote the Firecracker at their games.

Other old business: Bob Horowitz reported that the alternative of buying bidding box clamps instead of remodeling our tables may prove too expense as these clamps may require new bidding boxes and cards. Jody offered to have her brother, a contractor, estimate his cost to refit the tables. A motion was passed authoring Jody to accept a bid not to exceed $2000, and to have the work completed before the next meeting. We agreed that the unit will recognize new life masters and other who achieve ranking above life master at an upcoming Unit Game. Jim Harris will decide when to do this. The board deferred assigning a proponent to manage this event. The board discussed what value to assign free play certificates. The motion to raise the price of free plays to $10 effective July 1, passed.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:08 pm. The next meeting will be on June 5 at 3:45 pm.