May 2024

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes ACBL Unit 503

Tuesday, May 14, 2024, via Zoom

Directors Present

Liz Koh, Marc Cervellino, Dan Thatte, John Schwartz, Geraldine MacDonald and Dianne Giancarlo

Others Present for All or Parts of the Meeting

Pete Moulds

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 April 9, 2024 Board Meeting were approved via email.

Celebrity Lecture Series

Kathy Wheeler was not able to attend our meeting, so Liz K. reported on her behalf that the Celebrity Lecture Series seminar featuring Barbara Seagram on Opening Leads was a great success. 148 people signed up for the seminar which was a financial success for the Unit.  Members attributed the success to the fact that Barbara Seagram has a reputation as an excellent teacher and the topic appealed to many levels of players.

Marketing & Communications Committee

Liz K. introduced the Board to Pete Moulds who has recently agreed to be our Marketing & Communications Chair. Pete M. gave us a summary of his background in marketing. He has drafted a marketing plan based on a draft provided to him by Liz K. and following conversations with Liz K,, Marc C. and Dianne G. Liz K. will distribute the plan to Members for their review and input at our next meeting.  

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. Board members discussed the need to attract more players with fewer master points at our weekly games and Sectionals so that we can hold separate competitive sessions for them. Right now, our largest F2F games are on Tuesdays where Prue has attracted several beginner level players to her game. Marc C. noted that Swiss games on Mondays have bumped up participation on those days.

May Open and NLM Sectional

Gerry M. reported that she is set with volunteers for the four-day May Open and NLM Sectional. 

John’s 90th birthday game 

Stephanie Y. was not able to attend the meeting so Liz K. reported that Stephanie Y. has confirmed that she and others will provide sandwiches and salads for lunch.  The event will be held during John’s regular Thursday game on June 13^th at 10:30. We have 19 pairs signed up so far including 4 in the under 750 section. Board members are urged to spread the word and encourage players to attend this special event. The Board approved spending up to $1500 for food for the party. M/S/P

Firecracker Open Sectional and Non-Life Master Regional

Marc C. reported that he will start to send out fliers for this annual 5-day event (Wednesday to Sunday, July 10-14) later this week. Gerry M. will send out separate emails to ask for volunteers.  A decision has not yet been made as to what food will be made available for purchase at the event. 

Potential Dec-2024 Sectional 

Marc C. reported that currently there is no Unit in District 21 holding a sectional in December this year. He has proposed that we apply to hold a sectional from December 6-8.  The competition with other tournaments will be particularly tough this year with the following events currently scheduled: NABC in Las Vegas, Nov 28-Dec 8; Rancho Mirage Regional, Dec 9-14; San Diego Regional, Dec 10-20; Unit 507 Sectional in Mountain View Nov 1-3; Palm Desert Sectional November 8-9. Members expressed concern that we may have a problem finding an available director during the proposed dates.

Club game frequent players transferring to Unit 

Liz K. reported that we have recently had several players transferring their ACBL membership to our Unit. In many cases this was because the player did not realize that he/she was not currently a member of our Unit.  

18-board club game 

Marc C. raised the question of whether club owners should offer 18 board games. John S. confirmed that generally there is no problem for a club owner to hold an 18 and 24 board game simultaneously.   The Board discussed that such changes could open the door to shorter and less expensive games with different start times.  

2025 Sectionals proposed schedule 

Marc C. has proposed that the Unit hold 4 Sectionals again next year. Board members were in agreement.  The Unit has already received sanctions for two tournaments in 2025:  April 3-6 and the Firecracker July 9 – 13.

Change in Club Ownership

Liz K. reported that Patricia Steele has resigned from her Club ownership on Tuesdays so now that game is owned only by Will Watson and Prue Saunders.  

Meeting with Club Owners

Liz K. will ask club owners to join the Board at a meeting at the beginning of our next Board meeting on June 11.  

Board Candidates

Dan T. reported that the Nominating Committee is looking for new candidates for the Board.  

The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 PM.