Minutes

WBL Board Meeting

November 10, 2004

The meeting was held at Barbara Summers’ residence.

In attendance: Don Berman, Winston Edwards, Richard Ferrin, Steve Forsythe, Steve Robinson, Barbara Summers, Dick Wegman, Ron Zucker, and non-voting members Kitty Gottfried, Donna Rogall and Nadine Wood. Charity Sack also attended a portion of the meeting.

President Dick Wegman called the meeting to order at 7:50 PM.

Secretary’s Report

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

Treasurer’s Report

Steve Robinson reported that the WBL has $6,517.09 in its checking account. The WBL has prepaid the rent for all of its sectionals for 2005.

January Sectional

Dick Wegman reported that the Friday events at the January WBL sectional will be held at Christ the King Church, and the Saturday/Sunday events will be held at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center in Forest Glen. The WBL reached agreement with the Schweinhaut Center only for the January 2005 sectional, because of a rule at that facility that allows any one group to rent the space only once per year. We hope that if the WBL is happy with the location and the Schweinhaut Center is happy with our presence during the January tournament, then it may be possible to persuade the local authorities to amend the rules going forward. Unfortunately, it will be too late to schedule the March 2005 tournament there, but hopefully subsequent tournaments can be scheduled at the Schweinhaut Center. Nadine Wood agreed, adding that we also do not want to push the Schweinhaut Center too fast. She stated that it may be possible logistically to schedule the May tournament there, however, if the previously-described obstacles can be overcome.

Nadine observed that the Schweinhaut Center has several advantages over other locations, but there are several complications. In particular, Montgomery County takes the rent money, but gives back nothing to the Schweinhaut Center for agreeing to host the event. Nadine suggested that somebody on the WBL Board should talk to the relevant county politicians.

Nadine said that another issue with the Schweinhaut Center facility is that we have to do the cleanup ourselves. She suggested getting another caddy to help with cleanup. Charity Sack suggested that for a task like a major cleanup, the WBL should hire someone.

Ron Zucker offered to lend his sound system for the sectional, which offer was enthusiastically accepted.

Dick asked who should be invited to the Saturday afternoon panel presentation. Suggested panelists included John Adams, Bill Cole, Bobby Gookin, and Jeff Roman. Charity Sack will ask if they are available.

Unit Game Management

Dick Wegman reported on a conversation he had with Ted Ying regarding a recent incident at the unit game in which a web movement was set up incorrectly, resulting in delays and early termination of the game. In that conversation, Ted acknowledged that he had little experience running a web movement by himself. (Tim Crank usually is responsible for setting up web movements, but he was directing a tournament out-of-town on the date that the unit game incident occurred.) Dick stated that the WBL offered a free play to everybody who played on the Thursday night when the incident occurred. Dick noted that in his conversation with Ted, Ted said that about five players had previously complained about the use of web movements in the unit game, but that those players’ complaint was mainly that the a single-section web movement awards fewer masterpoints in total than two smaller sections.

Ron Zucker stated that if Tim or Michael Carroad are not present at the unit game, then the web movement should not be used. Ron noted that on the night of the incident, some players complained about a separate incident approximately one month previously, when the duplicated boards were the same one used the previous week. Ron noted, however, that the duplication problem was not Ted’s fault. Ron also observed that the root problem is that the A/X flight of the WBL unit game usually attracts approximately 19 to 22 tables, which means that if the web movement is abandoned in favor of two sections, the section size is small and requires three-board rounds.

Steve Robinson commented that running a web movement is not all that difficult; that the movements have already been worked out for every number of tables and detailed in writing, so setting up the movement only requires an ability to follow directions.

Steve Forsythe noted that it is easy to make a mistake with any movement. Don Berman noted that Ted is not a full-time director. Richard Ferrin indicated that the Board should be patient with Ted, because there is a learning curve with any new unit director and this problem (web movement gone awry) has not occurred at a WBL event in several years.

Dick invited a Board motion directing Ted to run a web movement only when Tim Crank or Michael Carroad are present. Steve Forsythe moved to tell Ted not to run a web movement if he is not comfortable doing so. The motion, as framed by Steve, passed 6-1.

Unit Game Facility

Dick Wegman reported that the WBL procured new tables last week from the Mid-Atlantic Bridge Conference (“MABC”) depot, and also replaced some of the cards. Richard Ferrin noted that there are still some sticky cards in use at the unit game. Dick said that he would instruct Ted to replace the rest of the cards. He noted that it may be possible to obtain card decks at a cheaper rate through the MABC than through the ACBL, because of the deal the MABC got for card decks promoting the upcoming Atlanta Nationals.

Dick stated that he spoke with church officials at Christ the King regarding the lighting problem at the unit game facility. The church officials granted permission for the WBL to replace the bulbs, including use of halogen bulbs. Ron Zucker and Fred King plan to go to Home Depot to obtain bulbs. Don Berman asked whether anybody had determined whether the infrastructure can handle additional wattage. Barbara Summers said that Barbara Ames will check with church officials regarding the wattage.

Dick asked all board members to let him know if there was any further problem with the cleanliness of the bathrooms.

Steve Robinson reported that the WBL purchased a timer from the MABC for $150.

ABA Joint Event

Dick Wegman stated that April 16 or April 17 may be potential dates to arrange a joint event with the WBL and ABA. Steve Robinson noted that that would be the same weekend as the Gatlinburg regional. Barbara Summers asked where the ABA holds its tournaments. Don Berman stated that they hold them in Mt. Ranier.

Insurance Coverage

Dick Wegman announced that Steve Robinson received a certificate for liability insurance. Dick will fax a copy to the Church. Regarding D&O insurance, he is still awaiting a quote from an agent. Steve Robinson noted that the liability insurance policy is $234 for the period September through May. Dick commented that the D&O insurance will be more expensive. Nadine Wood stated that the possibility of collective action to obtain D&O insurance is an item on the ACBL’s agenda for the meetings at Orlando.

District 6 Meeting at Virginia Beach

Steve Robinson reported on the latest District 6 meeting. District 6 is changing its STAC schedule. Currently, there are four STACs: (1) a STAC benefiting the Baltimore unit; (2) a STAC half benefiting the NVBA and half benefiting the WBL; (3) a District 6 STAC with half the proceeds going to District 6 and half going to the District 6 clubs; and (4) a MABC STAC. District 6 will retain the latter two STACs, but proceeds for the first two STACs will be divided among the eight units in District 6, based on table count in the STAC. They expect the total revenue to the WBL to be about the same as before.

Don Berman stated that attendance at Jim Allen’s club (Washington Bridge Center) is declining, as is the Laurel Bridge Club. As a result, WBL’s STAC revenue is likely to drop. The problem is competition from the low-cost senior games, many of which are unsanctioned.

Steve Robinson reported that ACBL has changed its charitable giving policy. Previously, ACBL donated $100,000 per year to one organization. Now, the ACBL will donate $20,000 to a charitable organization in each district once every four years. The ACBL’s first $20,000 donation to an organization in District 6 will be in 2005. District 6 has until November 2005 to decide on a beneficiary.

Don Berman also noted that ACBL has agreed to allow any club at any time to run a sectionally-rated game, for a fee of $1 per table.

Volunteer Coordination

Dick Wegman stated that Barbara Summers will coordinate with Steve Forsythe to obtain volunteers for sectionals. He asked Steve Forsythe to notify the directing staff of the volunteers the next sectional.

Bridge and Bowling

Ron Zucker reported on his efforts to arrange this event, which has previously been handled by the NVBA. Ron contacted several bowling alleys, and found that only an alley in Laurel will reserve lanes this far in advance. Laurel Bridge Club could host the bridge part of the event. However, the concern is that the location is too far from Virginia to attract many NVBA members. Ron is also looking at alleys in Clifton and Bethesda. The alley he mentioned in a report in the October 2004 Board meeting, which is in Northeast DC, has since been condemned.

Ron reported that February 5, 2005 has been set as the date for the bridge and bowling events, although January 15 may be another option, if necessary. He reserved the alley in Laurel, since the alley does not require a deposit until one month before the event. Ron is still looking for other locations.

Midnight Basketball

Don Berman stated that Mary Dresser previously has run the annual Van the Man charity auction and bridge event, but she is getting tired of running the event. Don asked the Board to consider having the WBL host the event, raising money for the WBL. This could be a way for the WBL to raise funds to subsidize the sectionals. Ron Zucker observed that if the WBL runs a charity event to raise money for itself, ACBL rules require that the WBL first host a charity game for the ACBL. Steve Robinson confirmed Ron Zucker’s understanding, and said that the WBL could host a charity game for the ACBL any Thursday night.

Directory Distribution

Ron Zucker reported that there is one box of WBL directories left. Dick Wegman suggested making an announcement at the unit game that the directories are there.

Bulletin

Donna Rogall addressed the suggestion made in previous Board meetings of running one short issue. She said that the problem is that the ad space as a percentage of the total publication cannot be too high, or else there would be a problem complying with postal regulations. As an alternative, she suggested raising rates for advertisements. The current rates, and the rates she proposes, are as follows:

Current Rate Proposed Rate

$60 full page $75 full page

$40 half page $50 half page

$25 quarter page $30 quarter page

$15 eighth page $20 eighth page

She also proposes a deal that if the sponsor pays for five ads, the sixth would be free.

Following a brief discussion, the Board by consensus agreed to Donna’s proposal.

Miscellaneous

Steve Robinson commented that when he went to the Las Vegas regional, they used tablecloths on the bridge tables. He thought that might be a good idea for local tournaments. Dick asked Steve to research this possibility further.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30 PM. The next WBL board meeting will take place December 15 at Frances Burke’s place. The Board thanked Barbara Summers for hosting the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard Ferrin, Secretary