Minutes

WBL Board Meeting

April 23, 2008

The meeting was held at Richard Ferrin’s home.

In attendance: Don Berman, Carole Banks, Ellen Cherniavsky, Richard Ferrin, Jim Geist, Fred King, Clyde Kruskal, Steve Robinson; and, non-voting member Donna Rogall.

President King called the meeting to order at 7:55 PM.

Secretary’s Report

The Board approved the minutes, without objection.

Treasurer’s Report

Steve Robinson reported a balance of $16,149.40 in the WBL’s checking account, of which $85.20 is for the building fund. Carole Banks suggested doing a fund raiser for the building fund, and recommended that the Board assemble a committee to study the issue, if it is serious about purchasing a building. Steve replied that holding fund raisers would be insufficient to generate enough money to purchase a building. Gifts from wills would help. Purchase of space with parking in the area would be extremely expensive. Fred King agreed that the economics would be difficult. The Board approved the Treasurer’s report, without objection.

Sunday Bridge

Fred King reported that Mark Lavine will run a Sunday game. It will not be a WBL-sponsored game, but instead will be a regular club game.

March Sectional

Fred King reported that the March sectional attracted 425 tables. Although the attendance did not top the January sectional, it was nevertheless a good showing. Carole Banks raised the issue of Nadine needing more volunteers. Donna Rogall suggested hiring college kids. Jim Geist thought that the volunteer arrangement for the March sectional worked well.

Bulletin

Donna Rogall reported that the March-April Bulletin should be at the post office within a few days. May 8 is the deadline for the next bulletin, to be mailed in mid-June. She asked whether the WBL should charge more for advertisements. Space is getting tighter for the Bulletin.

Jim Geist asked what are the components of income for the Bulletin? Fred King replied that approximately $2500 of the $5300 from ACBL member fees returned to the Unit is budgeted for advertising. Donna stated that 4 extra pages cost $300 to print, plus Donna’s additional $18 per page fee for design services. Steve Robinson observed that if the total cost is $100 per page, then the WBL loses money by charging $75 per page. Don Berman suggested that this issue be studied by a committee. Fred referred the issue to the Bulletin Committee.

Unit Game

Fred King related an e-mail from Ted Ying regarding the Unit Game. The table count is down somewhat. The Board should look at the attendance and the Unit Game and see who has stopped playing and approach them to attend.

Fred noted some complaint about the time allowed per round for three-board rounds. Currently, 21 minutes is allowed. The Board agreed to keep the time at 21 minutes per round for three-board rounds.

Fred noted that the duplication machine is now being handled by David Soloman. He made an error in making boards for a recent game, and will try to do better.

Fred updated the Board on progress of relabeling boards with worn direction, dealer and vulnerability labels. Some of the boards are being relabeled with stickers, some are being repainted. Ellen Cherniavsky volunteered to relabel three boxes of boards, and stated that Linda Marshall has agreed to relabel three boxes.

Fred noted that the WBL has postponed purchasing new cards until we get the ones advertising the Summer 2009 NABC.

Fred noted that Kitty Gottfried will not be available for hospitality on May 1 or 8. Barbara Summers is looking for a substitute.

Bridge in Schools

Fred King reported that one school, Baker Middle School, stopped its program because there were only two students. Fred will see if the NVBA and the WBL each can sponsor a pair for the Summer Youth Nationals in Atlanta. Suzanne Abrams has volunteered to chaperone.

Elections

Jim Allen will run the election. Fred King confirmed to Don Berman that it is OK to print ballots.

Mentoring Program

Fred King noted that Gene Fisher is interested in starting a mentoring program. Jim Allen will be invited to the May Board meeting to discuss.

Unit Game October 9

Fred King stated that the Rabbi at Temple Shalom, representing a breakaway group from the Temple, is working with Christ the King for renting space. This group will have the Colonial Hall space every Friday and Saturday night next year. He needs space on Thursday, October 9 (Yom Kippur). Fred asked the Board whether it should agree to cancel the October 9 game and let this group use the space that night. Jim Geist was opposed, expressing concern about setting a bad precedent. Steve Robinson agreed, and added that maintaining the consistency of the game is important. Clyde Kruskal was concerned that this imposition would be acceptable if it occurred only once, but he was concerned that they would ask to do this more in the future. Steve Robinson suggested a compromise whereby the religious group could use the space on October 9 provided that they left in time for the game to start at 8 PM. He reasoned that this might work, given that the Yom Kippur services end at sundown. The Board agreed to look for a compromise with the group, but emphasized that it is important to have a game on October 9.

Unit Knockout

Jim Geist expressed concern about the event dragging out too long. It was pointed out to him that this is less of a concern for the Knockout than the Round Robin, because there are so few teams left in the event.

Guaranteed Partnership

Jim Geist expressed concern that one member was overusing the guaranteed partner program. Fred King suggested that Jim confer with Barbara Doran on this issue.

Next Meeting

The next WBL Board meeting will be held May 28, 2008 at Fred King’s house. The June meeting will be held June 25, place to be determined. The Board thanked Richard Ferrin for his hospitality.

Whereupon, the meeting adjourned at 9:53 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

99900.04194 HW_US 25513227v1

Richard Ferrin, Secretary