Minutes

Minutes

WBL Board Meeting

October 21, 2004

The meeting was held at Barbara Ames’ house.

In attendance: Barbara Ames, Don Berman, Winston Edwards, Steve Forsythe Fred King, Steve Robinson, Barbara Summers, and Dick Wegman. Richard Ferrin and Ron Zucker were unable to attend because of a vehicle breakdown while en route to the meeting.

President Dick Wegman called the meeting to order at 7:43 PM.

Secretary’s Report

Without objection, the board approved the minutes, without change.

Treasurer’s Report

Steve Robinson reported that we have $8,353.82 in our checking account. The rent for the next four tournaments is paid. Steve reported that the monthly treasurers’ report will be expanded to include other investments, prepaid items, and fixed assets. Steve met with Barbara Ames and Fred King to discuss the expanded reporting. Steve stated that the treasurers’ report will show comparative income statements -- current hear and prior year. The board approved the treasurer’s report, without objection.

Bridge In Schools

Ron Starr has programs started or under discussion at seven local schools. About 50 students have signed up or shown interest. Richard Grossman is the teacher and sponsor at Blair High School. September 23, 2004 is the first day of the after-school bridge activity at Blair.

BCC will have an Activity Fair on September 24, 2004.

Walt Whitman School will have an event at 7:00 or 7:30 PM on October 5, 2004. They need someone from bridge to attend and to promote bridge as an activity. Winston Edwards or Steve Forsythe or Dick Wegman will cover this event.

Walter Johnson High School has a teacher and a sponsor.

Richard Montgomery High School has a sponsor, but needs a bridge teacher.

St. Andrew’s High School has a sponsor (David Brown), and there are 15 students interested.

Eleanor Roosevelt High School has a sponsor and teacher (Brad Tash). The program begins this week.

Dick will ask Ron Starr for the list of students and teachers. Steve Robinson will add that list to his e-mail distribution list.

October Sectional

Jim Allen will chair a Panel Discussion. Jeff Roman, Beth Palmer, and Steve Robinson will be panelists. The Panel Discussion will take place in the main room between sessions Saturday, while people eat.

Steve and Sandy Forsythe will run a “Learn to Play Bridge” lesson on October 2, 2004.

January Sectional

The WBL plans to hold the January 2005 sectional at the Newport Mill Middle School. The rent has now been paid.

Sectional Start Times

The Board discussed starting the second session at 3:30 PM instead of 4:00 PM, in order to give players time to do something else in the evening after the last session of bridge, while maintaining at least 1 ½ hours for a dinner break. Dick Wegman will discuss this with Nadine Wood before making any schedule changes.

ABA/WBL

The ABA’s Washington Bridge Unit met on Sunday, as reported by Cassandra Smith. Only one third of the members wanted mixed ABA/WBL teams. Support was minimal for a joint event. Winston will talk to the ABA and find out why the ABA is concerned about overflow at their March sectional if the WBL were to be included. Let’s keep the idea open for the future. Now the WBL has scheduled a sectional in March on the same date as the ABA’s sectional, but perhaps some the organizations could work out some type of collaboration in the future. Winston Edwards noted that in his view, the ABA is more of a social organization, whereas the WBL is more competitive. It was pointed out that the WBL is about five times the size of the Washington Bridge Unit of the ABA.

Insurance

Dick Wegman moved that the WBL authorize Steve Robinson to pay up to $800 per year for Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance, general liability insurance, and insurance to cover the Church premises. The motion passed.

WBL Directory

The Board thanks Barbara Rothkin for doing a great job on the Addendum. The Addendum is being distributed at the Unit Game.

Brochure Distribution

Steve Robinson will distribute an e-mail regarding where brochures have been distributed. Steve Forsythe will then act as coordinator if there are more sites to cover. Steve Forsythe has the brochure supply, and anybody who wants more brochures to distribute should send him an e-mail.

Volunteer Party

The WBL thanked Steve and Sandy Forsythe for hosting the Volunteer Party. The party was successful, although Steve Forsythe stated that he would have liked to have more potentially involved volunteers. Steve said that primarily the “old guard” turned out for the party.

St. Michael’s Church

The Board reached a consensus that parking is a major obstacle to the use of St. Michael’s as a site for the unit game, with additional minor concerns regarding storage space and the rental price. Winston Edwards investigated the parking situation. He reported that the municipal lot has 130-138 parking spaces, and that street parking would be available. There is an additional closed lot, next to a building across Wayne Avenue. However, both lots are likely to be closed at least temporarily by the planned demolition of the adjacent building. Winston suggested that the idea of a move to St. Michael’s be tabled for a least one year.

Upgraded WBL Equipment

Ron Zucker was to have reported on the possibility of upgraded equipment, including fresh cards, better tables, and perhaps improvements to the Unit Game site. Further discussion was tabled until Ron can report to the Board.

Partnership Guarantee and Cell Phone

Barbara Doran has agreed to be the “last-minute fill-in” coordinator. She will call people from the volunteer list when someone shows up at the Unit Game and needs a partner. Don Berman will get a cell phone for $20 per month on his plan, with the cell phone to be used by the WBL for this purpose. Don will purchase the service on October 24, 2004, when Don’s own service contract is renewed.

Conduct and Ethics Policy

The ACBL has made some revisions to its disciplinary code and regulations. The WBL has developed its own set of guidelines available to the C&E Committee, complainants, and defendants. Fred King reviewed the WBL’s rules, and agree that the WBL’s C&E rules are consistent with the ACBL’s guidelines. However, the ACBL Recorder Regulations require the WBL’s Recorder to send all recorder slips to ACBL headquarters in Memphis. The Board agreed to withhold any recorder slips it deems to be frivolous, and not send any such frivolous slips to Memphis.

Free Play Policies

Fred King is reviewing the cost and use of the WBL’s free play policies. The Board appointed a committee to review the WBL’s policies and report back to the Board in November or December. The committee members appointed were: Fred King (Chair), Ted Ying, Nadine Wood, Steve Robinson, and Ron Zucker.

WBL Bulletin

Fred King noted that the Board would save a significant sum by decreasing the number of WBL Bulletins by one Bulletin per year if the WBL can retain the favorable nonprofit postal rates. Steve Robinson will check into the periodical postal rate reduction. The potential savings of cutting one Bulletin per year is up to $2,000 per year. The plan is to decrease the number of Bulletins from six issues per year from five, as long as it does not result in a significant increase in postage costs. The decrease in number of Bulletins would be consistent with the decrease in number of WBL sectionals.

The meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM. The next WBL board meeting will take place October 20 at Ron Zucker’s house. Barbara Summers will host on November 10. The Board thanked Barbara Ames for hosting the meeting.

The Secretary thanks Barbara Ames for taking notes in the Secretary’s absence.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard Ferrin, Secretary

Minutes

WBL Board Meeting

October 21, 2004

The meeting was held at Ron Zucker’s house.

In attendance: Barbara Ames, Don Berman, Richard Ferrin, Fred King, Steve Robinson, Barbara Summers, Dick Wegman, Ron Zucker, and non-voting members Donna Rogall and Nadine Wood.

President Dick Wegman called the meeting to order at 7:57 PM.

Secretary’s Report

Without objection, the board approved the minutes, as amended.

Treasurer’s Report

Steve Robinson reported that the WBL has $8,891.26 in its checking account. The WBL also just received a $1900 check from the MABC as reimbursement from the 2003 Fourth of July regional, and a $484 check from the ACBL as reimbursement for brochures. Dick Wegman stated that Steve and Barbara Ames will work on a new format for financial reports.

October Sectional

Dick Wegman reported that the October 2004 WBL sectional drew 303 tables, which is a significant drop from August 2004. Historically, the October tournament draws a lower table count than most of the other tournaments. However, the seasonal cycle cannot entirely explain the dropoff, because the NVBA September sectional drew 371 tables.

Nadine Wood noted that the attendance for Friday was good, but the Saturday attendance was very bad. Table attendance for the B/C game decreased significantly. Dick stated that according to Millard Nachtwey, the novice table count decreased significantly. Perhaps some of the novices were siphoned off by the event for beginner players held the same Saturday at the Washington Bridge Center. Donna Rogall noted that the Saturday morning game at WBL sectionals died last October.

Nadine suggested that the Board consider moving the October tournament to August. Ron Zucker stated that the problem with rescheduling the October 2005 sectional to August is the tight timing between the Summer Nationals (which are scheduled later than usual in 2005) and the Hunt Valley regional. Nadine suggested scheduling the sectional two weeks after Hunt Valley, which is the week before Labor Day. She considered the possibility of rescheduling the October tournament to December, but December is a bad time to schedule a tournament because it conflicts with too many other events.

Dick stated that holding a sectional in October was not the problem, and moving the tournament will not solve the attendance problem. Richard Ferrin stated that the biggest problem continues to be the poor playing site for the WBL sectionals. Steve Robinson commented that the hospitality does not seem to make much of a difference in attendance. Richard Ferrin suggested that continued variation of events may spark more interest, such as hosting an IMP pairs event at the sectional. Steve Robinson and Nadine Wood disagreed, stating that most people prefer vanilla pair events.

Fred King moved to switch the October 2005 WBL sectional to August 25-28, 2005. The motion passed unanimously.

Alternative Locations

Nadine Wood reported that she and Bill Cole went to the Forest Glen Senior Center, as a possible new sectional location. Parking is plentiful, more than 150 spaces. The facility has more space than Christ the King or the Newport Mill Middle School, it has a stage, and has a large kitchen with professional equipment. The contact at Forest Glen quoted $90 per hour for rent, although it is unclear how the time of use would be counted. The space is unavailable Thursday or Friday. There are several problems, however, primarily stemming from peculiar rules at the facility. The Montgomery County Recreation Department is in charge of the facility. The rules currently allow the Senior Center to rent the space only once per year to the same group. Moreover, while the rent money goes to the Recreation Department, the expenses come out of the Senior Center’s direct budget. Also, the Senior Center has activities in the proposed space until 12:30 on Saturday. Nevertheless, the Senior Center is willing to rent the space to the WBL in January, and cancel the Saturday morning activities there on the Saturday of the tournament. The Senior Center also has a rule that prevents groups from collecting money on-site, although it may be possible to get an exception from this rule and several of the other rules. Nadine noted that her contact at the Senior Center was particularly interested about the age demographics of the WBL, and suggested that this factor might increase the possibility of getting waivers on the various rules that pose problems. At the same time, part of the problem with waivers of the rules is that it is unclear who has authority to waive the rules; it may require approval high up the chain in Montgomery County government.

Nadine also looked at Holiday Park as another potential sectional site, but they want $90 per hour per room, and one room is not enough to accommodate the entire tournament. Richard Ferrin asked about the 4-H center, which had been mentioned several months ago as a potential sectional site. Nadine reported that the rooms there are not big enough; we would need four rooms to hold the tournament. Also, the WBL could not bring in its own food.

Ron Zucker said that he is leery of moving the WBL’s sectional tournament, now that people finally know the Newport Middle School location. However, Forest Glen is a good location, close to the beltway. Ron also worried about the trouble of changing sites for just one tournament, given the current Forest Glen rules limiting use to once per year.

Fred King asked if the Newport Mill Middle School would refund the rent if the WBL switched sites in January. Steve Robinson said that the school would refund the rent, with only a $25 penalty. Dick Wegman stated that if the Forest Glen site works out, we would have to make sure that we could cancel the reservations for the other WBL tournaments and get refunds.

Nadine stated that trying out Forest Glen for the tournament this January looks especially attractive given the problem of the snow policy at the School. Steve Robinson also noted the problem of poor regulation of heat at the School for the winter months.

Steve Robinson moved to switch the site of the January 2005 WBL sectional tournament to the Forest Glen location, provided that Nadine could reach an acceptable accommodation with the Senior Center regarding some of the rules, such as collecting money on-site, etc. The motion passed five to three.

January Sectional Schedule

Dick Wegman expressed his belief that 3:45 PM is too late for a start time for the second session on Saturday. Many WBL members have told him that they want to get home earlier after the second session on Saturday so that they have their evenings free.

Donna Rogall stated that the break between sessions on Saturday occurs at a strange time. Also, with a 3:45 PM start, it will be already dark at the end of the second session for most of the tournaments. If the WBL continues to collapse the Saturday schedule from three sessions to two, there should be more of a compromise on the start times. Ron Zucker agreed that that the current schedule does not allow for a dinner break. Dick asked Donna and Ron whether they would play in an event with an 11:00 AM start time. Donna stated that maybe she would one day of the tournament, Ron said that he might be willing to do so, depending on the circumstances,

Steve Robinson suggested that the problem regarding the late end of the second session could be solved by cutting the number of boards to 24 per session. Nadine Wood said that 11:00 AM is a good start time for the first session, and that if we cut the number of board to 24, it would allow for a 3:30 start, finishing the second session by 6:45 PM.

Ron Zucker objected to any plan that cut back the amount of bridge. He asked whether the 15-minute saving would really make it easier to start the second session at 3:30 PM. Dick and Nadine stated that it would indeed make it easier.

Donna Rogall asked whether anybody has analyzed any data regarding attitudes among the membership concerning start times. Barbara Ames volunteered to develop a short survey.

Dick observed that when the WBL first experimented with two sessions in the August tournament, the tournament drew more tables for two sessions Saturday than they had for three sessions on the Saturday of the previous tournament. Attendance dropped on Saturday in October, but it was down across the board, both Saturday and Sunday. Dick recommended sticking with two sessions on Saturday, for at least one more tournament, and agreed with the idea of taking a survey of the membership. Donna Rogall said that Dick’s suggestion was OK with her, as long as there is some data collection and analysis, and as long as the Board is willing to revisit the issue. She noted in closing that the additional problem with early starts on Saturday is that it is difficult for players who played in the late Friday night session.

Steve Robinson moved to change the number of boards to 24 for the two Saturday sessions, with start times at 11:00 AM and 3:30 PM. Start time for the Sunday Swiss would be at 11:00 AM. Barbara Summers seconded the motion. The motion carried four to two.

Dick asked whether the trophies for the WBL trophy races (Lovenberg, Cohen, Tubbs, and Woolridge) could be awarded at the January tournament. Don Berman stated that he believed he could tabulate the final data in time. Nadine noted that the party for new Life Masters would be held the Friday night of the January tournament, and suggested awarding the trophies between sessions on Saturday, just before the Panel Show. Ron Zucker asked why it is important to award the trophies in January. Nadine replied that it makes the races more exciting if the trophies are awarded as soon as possible after the end of the cycle. Fred King asked who would make sure that the trophies are there at the sectional to be awarded. Dick said that Barbara Shaw would be responsible for making sure that the trophies are transported to the sectional. Ron Zucker moved to award the trophies between sessions of the Saturday of the January sectional. The motion carried unanimously.

Nadine reported that the WBL is still looking for a new partnership chair for the sectionals, and for the July 4^th regional. Barbara Ames volunteered to serve as partnership chair for the regional, but not for the March sectional, because of her schedule during tax season. However, Barbara is willing to pick up the sectional responsibility beginning in May.

Unit Game Management and Cell Phone

Dick Wegman reported that he talked to Ted Ying regarding complaints concerning his direction of the Unit Game. The discussion was productive, and Ted was receptive to suggestions. Ted has asked if there have been any more complaints since the ones originally reported. Ted indicated that he is interested in correcting any problems.

Don Berman reported that the cell phone has arrived. The telephone number is 301-395-2760, and it is posted on the WBL’s web site. Ted Ying will have custody of the phone, and will have a list of standby partners. Dick noted that Barbara Doran will handle partnerships at the Unit Game 7:00-7:30 PM Thursday night.

Christ The King Upgrade, Unit Game Equipment

Dick Wegman reported that he has again complained to the Church about the condition of the bathrooms. Church officials promise to work on it. Apparently part of the problem was that the person in charge of maintenance was out for a few weeks. Dick asked Board members if they had any suggestions regarding lighting.

Steve Robinson explained that the WBL already has floor lamps, which were last used when the site was the Kensington Armory. Ron Zucker said that the WBL could get floor lamps at $30 each from Home Depot. Dick asked Barbara Ames and Ron Zucker to look into options for improved lighting.

Dick noted the problem with sticky cards, and said that Ted will replace them with fresh cards.

Fred King said that the tables used at the Unit Game are from the MABC. Lee Biggs, who stores tables for the MABC, has more tables available. Barbara Summers volunteered to talk to Lee about obtaining more tables. Ron Zucker volunteered to help move them.

Liability Insurance

Steve Robinson reported that he received a $900 estimate for liability insurance. Barbara Ames said that she would be meeting tomorrow with an insurance agent for Director and Officer (“D&O”) insurance. Steve explained that he already obtained D&O insurance for a few hundred dollars. After some discussion, it was unclear just what that insurance covers, however. Barbara Ames said that she is still checking on obtaining tournament liability insurance from the ACBL. Dick Wegman directed Barbara Ames to check further on the insurance situation and send an e-mail to the Board.