MINUTES

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

AMERICAN CONTRACT BRIDGE LEAGUE

OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, UNIT 550, INC.

March 14, 2007

 

CALL TO ORDER:  The meeting was called to order at 3:35P.M.                          

 

PRESENT:  Ken Llacera, Joyce Martin, Elena Laborde-Bishop, Charlie Pender, Mary Peterson, Vicki Kuhlmann, Dick Wasserstrom, Nancy Driscoll and Nancy Wainer. 

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the February 13, 2007 were approved as corrected.

 

SECTIONALS:

 

Surf’s Up:

Dick Wasserstrom has made plans for the “Surf’s Up” tournament.  We are now waiting to get the final dates from Harbor High School (tentatively Oct 12-14) and the name of the Directors.    In order to save money we are hoping that the directors can come over Saturday morning.  Bill McIntosh stated that “ACBL rules say we must pay directors for the night before”.  We will discuss this more at a later time. 

 

We will post the actual dates on our web site when they are finalized.  The flyers are designed and will be printed later.

 

We need to have set-up and clean-up committees.   Barbara Shepardson will be in charge of hospitality and Bill McIntosh will be in charge of the partnership desk.

 

Rising Stars:

Nancy Driscoll has 6 trophies to give to the winners of the tournaments who have the most total points.  There will be 2 for the 99ers, 2 for the 199ers, and 2 for the 299ers.   She had 2 trophies and purchased 4 more at a cost of $7.00 each.  Charlie will put the signs up Friday night.  For insurance, the Swim Center said that we did not need additional insurance.  Nancy & Bill will take care of the money.  They will count it and have the deposit ready.  This tournament will be announced on KAZU 90.3 FM radio tomorrow.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

Expense Sharing Agreement:

This agreement needs changing because of the increased table fees that will be collected by the raise in the daily fee.  The “Club Owners” will be paying an additional $300 per month with the club to help with the increased rental expense.  The “Club Owners” will work on an agreement for all to sign.

 

Parking Stripes:

We will discuss with Bruce Canepa, property manager, the painting of stripes in our parking lot.  They are responsible for all exterior maintenance.  Ken will prepare an itemized list of needed repairs and communicate this with Bruce. 

 

We also need to supply a copy of all of our insurance to the Property Manager. 

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Bridge Luncheon:

Mary reported that plans for the Spring Bridge Luncheon, scheduled for April 19,  are well under way.  Muriel Prolo is the chairman.  Peggy Kiefer, Dolly Bass, Debby Goodell, Nancy Wainer and Mary Peterson are the committee working with her .

 

Approximately 114 invitations will be mailed tomorrow (March 15) to people living in Santa Cruz County who have been identified as bridge players who don't play at our Club.  A proposed budget drawn up by Muriel was given to Ken and approved.

 

Club Improvement Project:

Mary reports that the entry garden has been planted.  Additions included: two planter boxes with plants, hose, nozzle & hose reel, rock borders and new geraniums. A general clean up has also been accomplished.  Pam Benz and Stephanie Kearns helped Mary plan and plant the entry garden.  All expenses to date have been paid from the Club Improvement Fund.  The next phases of the entry garden project will be the mounds near the street and the area under the "Bridge Center" sign.

 

Mentor Programs:

Virginia presented a program used by the Palos Alto bridge group to increase attendance at the club.  It is to have mentors at different levels to play regularly with lower level players.  This has worked very well at their club.  It was decided that we have too much going on at this time and we could consider this in the future. 

 

San Francisco Nationals:

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE NATIONALS TO BE HELD IN SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1.

 

We must provide about 6 or 7 club members to volunteer to work at the Nationals.  We will be doing this along with Monterey and South County.  We will study how to help members get to San Francisco because parking, if even found, is extremely expensive.

 

On May 1 we can make reservations at the Marriot.  The special bridge rates will be $189/night and $50/night parking.  The parking garage will also be used by the Westfield Mall shoppers and it is likely to  be full the Friday after Thanksgiving.

 

We need a chairperson to head up the various duties and responsibilities the club has for the Nationals.

 

Funding for Charities:

We need to send in requests for funding for our charities from the ACBL.  They have $25,000 to be given to 5 districts.  In addition there is $3,000 for each District.  We can each give a suggestion and we can nominate a charity from our club.

 

Club and Directors Meeting:

All lost and found items have been given to the Goodwill.  Mary cleaned out the back closet and we need a dump run.  Virginia will ask Jerry Goodell. 

 

The directors have requested that we clean the carpets more often.    It would be nice to do this when the club is closed.  Wayne Boss has someone who has been used in the past. (Note: The carpet were cleaned the weekend of the 299er Sectional.)

 

Rose Sales Person:

Mary questioned letting in a door-to-door salesman who peddles roses.  He has been allowed to come into the Club.  He comes in during a game to sell these roses and some players find this disrupts the game.  It could also be a security risk.  Nancy Wainer felt that it is up to the game directors to decide whether they wish to allow the rose seller to enter during their respective games.

 

FINANCIAL REPORT: 

February had a net loss of $1,483.11.  The loss was due to the 2006 Property Tax bill being paid in February.   We are on a cash basis for accounting and this will show more variables in both the profit and losses.  All funds from our old investments are being transferred to Vanguard today. 

 

Vicki is modernizing the financial statements by putting them on Quicken.  Also, payments for bills will now be paid on line.   

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

Membership:

Mary asked the Board to reconsider the existing "No Contact" policy concerning members who no longer play at the Club.  It was decided that the Membership Chair should ascertain who may not have played for some time and then to reach out to them to find out the reason(s).  Mary will consult with the Club Owners before taking any action and will report back to the Board after any contact is made.

 

 

NEXT BOARD MEETING: Wednesday, April 11 after the afternoon game.

 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 P.M.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Virginia LeRoy, secretary.