Unit 143 Board Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

A meeting of the Unit 143 Board was held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 at the Olivette Community Center . In attendance were Board members Cheryl Davis, Mary Hruby, Bob Janis, Bill Kauffman, Don Kerry, Jennifer Luner, Doug Moore, Tom Oppenheimer, John Samsel, and Suzi Shymanski-Moore, with Rod Van Wyk presiding.

The November Minutes were approved as written.

Rod has scheduled Board meetings at the Olivette Community Center every 2 nd Wednesday except in August.

I. Corresponding Secretary's Report (distributed by Rod)

• Obituary notices were sent to ACBL for Gloria Browning, Gloria Heinemann, Lucille Novoson, and Elizabeth Van Patten.
• Sanctions for 2004 Unit 143 games were mailed to ACBL on December 3.

II. Treasurer's Report (Tom Oppenheimer)

Tom reviewed the P & L which shows a loss of $3,068 to date not including the trophy expenses.
Rod read a letter from Rich Haacke saying that we appeared to be complying with all proper auditing procedures. Tom will check on the CDs and get a signature card for Mary Hruby as VP. He will also begin bringing the current bank statement for our review each month.

III. Tournaments/Events

January Sectional:

• Hospitality: Suzi proposed a full buffet by Big Boy at $6.50 each for Swiss Team day (we were paying @$5.75 for Amighetti's). Attendance was 220 in October so the expenses would be @$150 more. Suzi also is planning to have cookies homemade by unit members throughout the weekend.
• Directors: Bill read Rick Beye's response to his Board query about the number of directors required and their qualifications. Mike says he reports on the directors after each Sectional and is happy to report any comments, pro or con. Mike says we have lost Chris for both the January and May Sectionals; he is highly sought after and ACBL is using him for regionals. Rod will write a letter to the ACBL about trying to assign Chris to St. Louis in the future.
• Women's Restrooms: Mike will talk to the manager at St. Charles about cleanliness. Suzi will furnish paper towels as part of hospitality.

Fall 199er Tournament:

Mary reported that the tournament had 29 tables in the day plus some turned away and 17 tables at night for a profit of around $390. At issue is the size of the space. The nursing home only holds 29 tables but charges just $50 rental. She has investigated many other places, all of which would significantly increase the costs. We can increase the table number by substituting smaller card tables. There was a recommendation to buy some card tables. Mary will return to the January meeting with a proposal for such.

Regional Schedule:

Jennifer will check with Ed and Beth to see if they quizzed the Pros in New Orleans about the preferred schedule. We have two issues to consider: how to get more players in from out of town and how to get more locals to book hotel rooms. It was concluded that we do not have enough information to make schedule changes.

IV. Committees

Directory: Phone calls are almost completed. Ad solicitation forms have been distributed. Board members recommended getting printing bids from Minuteman, NJC and Kinko's. Mary said the ACBL had changed its policy for discounts on the use of its logo.
Website: There are plans to have the Directory with change of data forms on site. Bill is working on developing the ability to post game scores. User education is needed for message boards.

V. Old Business

National 2007: The Renaissance and the Convention Center have been approved as sites. The Finkenstadts have recommended getting an online domain for National now. Jennifer will check with ACBL.
Insurance: Don and Tom checked on D & O. ACBL recommends having it as most volunteers expressed a desire for it.
Mentoring: Grants are available from ACBL for education. A college competition was mentioned as a possible focus issue for the year.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cheryl Davis