Minutes
of Board of Directors Meeting
American
Contract Bridge League of Santa Cruz Unit 550, Inc.
January 16, 2008
Call to Order – President Mary Peterson called the meeting to order January 16, 2008 at
3:45 pm at the Santa Cruz Bridge Center.
Attendance – Present:
Nancy Driscoll, Mary Peterson, Hal Rodgers, Bonnie Simon,
Carol Maggipinto, Don Seldeen, Charlie
Pender. Also attending: Sherry Gilbreath, Ken Llacera & Pam Benz. Absent: Jeanne Boss & John Hadley.
Pro Tem Secretary –
In Jeanne’s absence, Pam Benz is taking minutes at this
meeting. Diana Schilling will take minutes in February 2008.
Approval of
December 2007 Minutes – Carol Maggipinto moved that the
Board accept the minutes of the December 12, 2007 meeting. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report – Don Seldeen announced that the report is in progress. He presented a
proposed budget for 2008, which forecasts a deficit of $11,688 less dividend
income and non-budgeted new fundraising income. The budget was approved as
submitted. Don provided a sample Income/Expense report and requested feedback
from board members on how they would like this monthly Quicken data reported.
Don provided Reimbursement Request forms for board members who incur expenses.
He reported that a Unit game report procedure has been worked out with club
owners.
Donation of Bid Box
Inserts – Mary Peterson thanked our anonymous donor for
the generous gift of new bid box inserts for 16 tables.
Club Owner’s
Representative – Mary announced that Sherry Gilbreath will
attend board meetings as representative of the club owners.
Revenue Task Force –
A group headed by Ken Llacera and including Bob Vatuone, Don Seldeen and Mary
Peterson, is tasked with increasing our 2008 revenue by $2500 (not related to
table income). This group will meet separately to move forward with this task.
Joint Meeting with
Club Owners on Marketing – The board and club owners will meet
to formulate a marketing strategy for 2008.
Outdoor Lighting
– Mary, Charlie and Nancy are installing additional lighting for the Bridge
Center sign located at the driveway. An electrician will put electrical
components underground as much as possible.
Garbage Can/Garden
Project – Jack Simon and Jerry Goodell are working
to improve the look of the area where the garbage cans are stored.
Expense Sharing
Agreement with Club Owners – An Ad Hoc Committee chaired by
Susan Slinger will work with club owners to revise the 2002 Expense Sharing
Agreement. The committee includes Nancy Driscoll, Hal Rodgers, Don Seldeen,
Mary Peterson and Ken Llacera.
Advertising Subsidy
– Hal Rodgers moved that because it is the goal of the Board to recruit new
players and because club owner Bill McIntosh placed an effective ad in local
newspapers resulting in more than 60 calls and more than 40 students, his
request for reimbursement for out-of-pocket advertising expenses for the
January beginner lessons should be granted. Therefore, $132 (which represents
the remaining 25% of the advertising cost not covered by the ACBL advertising
subsidy) should be paid to Bill McIntosh from the Unit. This is a one-time-only
reimbursement. Any future requests for advertising subsidy will be considered
on a case-by-case basis. Motion carried.
January Unit Game
– Mary announced that the January Unit game was a success and thanked host Hal
Rodgers. Net profit to the Unit was $315. Mary reminded the board that the
signup sheets for a Unit game must be delivered to the game director before the
game. Sherry was thanked for running a complicated 2-section game. Ken
mentioned that the game directors need a procedure for scoring two sections. 4
½ tables arrived for the new 199er section. One pair graciously consented to
move up, making an even 14-table total. It is the sense of the board that the game
director should encourage this at future Unit games to ensure even tables in
both sections, when possible.
Newsletter Delivery
– Carol Maggipinto moved that the Unit stop mailing our quarterly newsletters
after the next delivery. The next newsletter will announce that members can
receive their newsletter via email or by picking up a printed copy at the Bridge
Center. This will save labor as well as postage, printing, labeling and other
costs, starting with the 3rd quarter of 2008. Motion carried.
Anti-Bacterial Soap
Dispensers – Ken Llacera is donating dispensers to be
placed throughout the club filled with anti-bacterial soap. This should help us
stay healthy, especially during flu season.
Free Sentinel Announcement
– Ken Llacera contacted the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s bridge columnist,
Philip Alder, who has agreed to print the following notice beneath the bridge
column each day: The Santa Cruz Bridge Center welcomes new players for
duplicate bridge every day. Go to www.santacruzbridge.org.
Dolores Abrams
Memorial Game Qualifications – After a brief discussion about the qualifications
for players and plaque award winners at the annual Dolores Abrams Memorial
Game, it was decided to take no action at this time. The issue was tabled
for further discussion.
Checking Account
Privileges – Hal Rodgers moved that the Unit allow the
president and the treasurer signing privileges for our checking account. Motion
carried.
Investment Account
Privileges – Hal Rodgers moved that the Unit allow the
president, the treasurer and the chair of the Finance Committee to transfer
moneys from our Vanguard account to the SCBC checking account. The board must
approve all transactions within the investment account except for transfers to
the SCBC checking account. Two signatures are now required on any action within
the Vanguard account except for: (a) transfers to the SCBC checking account;
(b) exchange of one Vanguard fund for another; and (c) automatic reinvestment
of fund dividends. Motion carried.
Bonding
– Hal Rodgers moved that the Unit not bond the president, the treasurer,
nor the chair of the Finance Committee due to the built-in protections
described above. Motion carried.
Free Plays
– Carol Maggipinto moved that game directors have new players who pay to play
in an ACBL-sanctioned game fill out a contact form so that our president can
send them a welcome letter. The welcome letter will serve as a free play pass
for a future game. Motion carried. The game director who receives the free play
letter and grants the free play must pass the letter to the 299er coordinator and
thence to the treasurer, who will reimburse the game director. The president
will also send a welcome/free play letter to players who transfer into Unit 550
or newly join ACBL at our Unit (evidenced in the In/Out reports from ACBL). The
Webmaster will keep a list of recipients of welcome/free play letters to avoid
duplication.
Free Plays for Game
Director Appreciation – The board discussed how to honor game
directors for their service annually. This issue was tabled for further
discussion.
Signups and No
Shows – Nancy Driscoll, 299er Coordinator, would
like people who sign up for a Unit game to notify the game director if they
cannot attend so that the space is available to others. Each unit board signup
sheet will request the courtesy of a call to the game director in case of
cancellation.
Soft Drink/Water
Bottles in Frig – Charlie Pender, Facilities Chair,
purchases the drinks, stocks the donated refrigerator and periodically collects
the money from the game directors. No profit is made and no money accrues to
the Unit. This is a volunteer task and the board is grateful to Charlie for the
service.
299er Coordinator
– Nancy Driscoll. No report.
299er Sectional
– Nancy Driscoll. No report.
Club Owner Liaison
– Bonnie Simon. No report.
Education
– Nancy Wainer. Not present, no report
Facilities
– Charlie Pender. Not present, no report.
Finance
– Ken Llacera. Already covered in these minutes.
Hospitality
– Mary Peterson announced that the February Unit game theme will be Valentine’s
Day.
Membership
– Carol Maggipinto. No report.
Publicity/FORUM/Newsletter
- Bonnie Simon. No report. Mary asked Bonnie to look into a community
activities page on the Sentinel’s website with an eye to including our
games and lessons.
Sanctions
– Hal Rodgers reported that game sanctions are current to March. He will do the sanction for the sectional in
October.
Special Projects
– John Hadley. Not present, no report.
SCBC Website - Ken Llacera. Already covered in these minutes.
Surf’s Up Sectional
– Pam Benz reported that the Facility use application and $20 deposit were
submitted to Pat Wall at Harbor High School. The sectional is currently
scheduled for October 11/12 but the date may change if Harbor High School needs
the facility for Homecoming. We won’t know until June.
Next Meeting – Wednesday, January
16, 2008, 3:30 p.m. at SCBC.
Adjournment
– The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Pam Benz
Pro Tem Secretary