Minutes of Unit 174 Board Meeting

October 9, 2006

Bridge and Games Studio

CALL TO ORDER

            The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm.  Board members present were:  Norm Gautier, Bert Onstott, Karen Nimmons, Joyce Ryan, Ed Groner, Bobbi Kauffman, and JoDene Bond.  Also present were Jim Woodward, Treasurer, Eric Snow, Dist. 16 Rep. and Diana Gittelman, Publicity Chairman.

GUESTS:

            Eric Snow

                        Eric reported on the District 16’s meeting. The district is ready to spend money on the upcoming Houston National by buying t-shirts, pencils, etc.  They are also looking at sponsors for the event.

             Diana Gittelman

                        Diana reported on what her committee is working on.  There should be an announcement in the Greater Houston Weekly under the “What’s happening” section on the upcoming Regional.  Liz Ghrist is working on an article for the Oct. 15 issue of The Medical Journal.  Quite a few restaurants are interested in donating free meals for our door prizes at the Regional. She is looking for a volunteer to cover the Clear Lake area.

TREASURER’S REPORT

            The unit remains in good financial condition.

·        Jim reported the Stac tournament made a little over $1000.00

·        10 checks were written.

·        MOTION:  to approve checks #2297-2306 and items 93 & 94.  It was seconded and approved.

·        The board reviewed the September statements and approved of the September transactions.

·        The board reviewed budget options and agreed to the budget as previously discussed.

MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING

            The minutes were approved as amended.  MOTION:  was made to approve the minutes as amended.  Was seconded and approved.

SCORECARD NEWS ITEMS

            The board is encouraged to share with Anne Page any newsworthy items they may hear of.

 COMMITTEE REPORTS

          Awards/Fund Raising/Flyers – Marsha

                        Marsha reported via e-mail that:

·        The plaques remain the same at 44.

·        She has a check in the amount of $113.23 from Kroger.

·        The flyers are up to date at all the clubs.

Communications Committee – Norm

            Norm reported that Joyce needs help in contacting people who have let their ACBL membership lapse.  He asked the board’s assistance in seeking out a volunteer for this job.

I/N, Education, Book Sales – Joyce

·        Buddy and Becky Ellisor will be the I/N chairpersons for the October sectional.

·        Joyce read that the manuals and support materials for the first two texts (Bidding in the 21st Century and Play of the Hand) will be available in early 2007.

·        The ACBL has decided to give the Club Series a major overhaul with the intention of aligning them with the Learn to Play Bridge program (which is available on-line).

·        Betty Starzec will present the materials at the Houston Regional at the ALL NEW TAP class.

·        There should be enough books on hand for this fall and the January semester. Hopefully, there will be no need to order more club or diamond books.

NAP/GNT – Ed

·        There were a few clubs not reporting the qualifiers on the NAPs.  Ed needed assistance in obtaining this information.

·        Ed drafted a contract which is to go out to B&G seeking playing space for the upcoming GNT.  The board reviewed it.  MOTION:  was made to approve Ed’s letter offering a contract to Bridge and Games to provide playing space for the GNT.  Was seconded and approved.

          STAC & Goodwill – Karen

·        I need to get busy on the upcoming StaC which is to be held Jan 8-14, 2007.

·        Several cards went out this month for Goodwill.

Supplies – Bobbi

·        The two new time clocks arrived from Time Technology and the 2000 convention cards also arrived.

·        Bobbi was unsure as to how many pencils she should order and the board decided that she should order 3000, to be used at all future sectionals advertising the upcoming Houston National.

·        Ken Bridges of K Graphics thinks he can keep the price of the embroidered appliqués of “Houston” the same as before. He will get back to her.

·        It was decided to offer $2.00 bills to open section winners and let the I/Ners choose between trophies/cups/glasses.

          Tournament Coordination – Jolie

·        No report.

Membership/Directory – Bert

·        Bert reported our membership is down one, to 2273 members.

·        Our retention continues to improve and our new member gains in the past three years has turned up for the first time since June 2005.

·        Out of the 17 units in District 16, we are

1.      7th in membership trend

2.      9th in retention in year 2

3.      5th in new member gains

4.      11th in member losses

·        One ad was sold to Speedy Printing.

OLD BUSINESS

          October Sectional – Jolie/Bert

·        Bert and Jolie are on top of everything regarding the tournament.  Helpers have been recruited to assist with the beverages, free play coupons have been printed, speakers have been arranged, hotel reservations have been made, volunteers to help with the Friday set-up have been arranged, e-mails announcing the tournament were sent out to Districts 10 &16 and the expected table counts were given to Sandy Stevens. 

·        Just a few details remain to be done.

·        Went over the hospitality food list and discussed what needed to be ordered and how much.

February Regional – Norm & Bert

·        The paper flyer, Bulletin and Scorecard ads have been finalized.  Bert passed out copies of the flyer for discussion.

·        An e-mail was sent out to Mike Passell, asking for the contact info for pro team sponsors. 

·        A letter inviting the President of the ACBL to attend the tournament still needs to be written up.

April Sectional – Joyce & Ed

·        Ed and Joyce presented the board with a budget and schedule of the tournament.

June Sectional – Jolie

·        No Report

UpDates on Initiatives

                   0-20 mp subsidized games – Joyce

o       Nothing new to report.  JoDene said B&G is running 5-7 tables during their Friday afternoon session.

                   Zero Tolerance – Bert

o       The smiley face cards for the bidding boxes were purchased and received. Bert needs help in passing them out to the northside clubs.

          Hotel Negotiations – Jolie

·        Nothing to report

EXECUTIVE SESSION

            The board was in executive session for 20 minutes.

NEW BUSINESS

          Nominations for Texas Star, Goodwill

·        Nominations are due the end of the year.  The board needs to come up with nominees.

Playing Site Agreement – Norm

·        Nothing new to report on the playing site.  Negotiations continue.

ADJOURN

 

            The meeting was adjourned at 10:16pm.  The next board meetings will be on November 6 and December 4.  All are welcome to attend.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Karen Nimmons, Secretary