Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – November 11, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by Vice President Tami Gillman at 8:45 AM.

Board Members Present: Mark Callen, Patrice Gorton, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Virginia Sykes, Darrell Murphy, Larry Marshall and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present. Bonnie Russell-Hunt attended as a guest.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting on October 14^th were sent out before the meeting and available for review. Keith moved to approve minutes, Darrell seconded, minutes were approved.

Treasurer Report:  Linda Baker reported the bank balance at October 31st was $10,307.99. October expenses included, Charlie Bennett for Directing Sectional $1,116.95, ACBL $407 for September sectional fees, John Adams for September Lessons $160 and $5,000 to establish a new bank account at First Interstate Bank. Linda also has deposits to make today of $240 for Christmas Party attendees and $80 from Charlie for October Unit Game. fees There are currently 30 players and 2 guests signed up for Christmas Party/Game. Darrell moved to approve the financial report and Keith seconded, financial report was approved.

New Board Members: Bonnie Russell-Hunt has agreed to join the Board. Pat sent an email to ACBL Membership Director related to a Board Member from another Unit. The Membership Director sent back a form to complete. Tami will complete this form after the 12/15 meeting when the new Board is voted on at the Annual Meeting.

Non-Life Master Special Game:  Bonnie reported there were 3-1/2 tables. She indicated there were many others who were interested, but had already gone south for the winter. She recommended an earlier date next year.

Sue Howe suggested the Club sponsor a mentor game. There was general agreement for a Saturday date in March and Bonnie agreed to coordinate.

Christmas Party:  Larry provided detailed information on the menu choices for the Christmas Party dinner and the Board was involved in deciding the entire menu as follows: Savory pork with vegetable option, Garden Salad with Ranch and Greek dressing, Fingerling potatoes and Pecan pie and Chocolate cake for dessert.

New Bank Account: Tami updated the Board on her efforts to set up the new bank account at First Interstate Bank. Al was not at the meeting to establish the account, so currently Tami is the only signer. Tami recommended that Al Fein as President and Pat Gorton as future Vice President and current Secretary be added to the First Interstate Bank account at a December 9^th proposed meeting with First Interstate Bank. Mark Callen made a motion to add Al Fein and Patrice Gorton as signers on the First Interstate Bank account for Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League. Larry Marshall seconded the motion and the Board approved the motion.

Tami also discussed the advisability of having a second bank account to process employee payroll payments through. Keith Freeman made a motion to establish a bank account to process employee payroll payments. Darrell Murphy seconded the motion and the Board approved the motion.

Tami discussed the need for Petty Cash of $200 to be able to make change for Club games at Southside Community Center (SCC) in January. Petty cash would be given to Joh Adams prior to first game at SCC on Thursday January 2^nd. Virginia Sykes made a motion to establish Petty Cash of $200. Darrell Murphy seconded and the Board approved the motion.

Board Member Nominations: Al Fein will send out an email on proposed slate of Board Members before the 12/15 Annual Meeting (Christmas Party).

Charlie’s Buyout:  Tami indicated Charlie has proposed a 3-month buyout of his lease of the Argonne Bridge Center space, but has not heard back from manager/owner.

Other Updates Related to Club Management of Sanctioned Games at SCC: Tami updated the Board that the Club will pay for the ACBL sanction fees for the whole year of 2025. She also discussed the training efforts that have been ongoing to facilitate a smooth transition.

Related to the move to SCC Tami reported and handed out a spreadsheet of the 61 players who have paid annual membership fees to join SCC. She also indicated there are ballots available for all players to vote for preferred start times, options including 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM or 11:00 AM. Ballots will also be available at the 12/15 meeting and result of the vote will be announced at the 12/15 meeting.

Tami also discussed various costs and equipment needed for the Club to manage games at the SCC facility. After discussion Darrell Murphy moved for the Club to purchase a laptop computer. Larry Marshall seconded and the Board approved the motion. Mark Callen moved for the Club to purchase a locking file cabinet. Darrell Murphy seconded and the Board approved the motion.

Next meeting: December 9^th at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:55 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – October 14, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 8:36 AM.

Board Members Present:  Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Virginia Sykes, Darrell Murphy, Larry Marshall and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present. Charlie Bennett was available in the area. Mark Callen joined the meeting in progress via phone.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting on September 9^th and special meeting on September 23^rd were sent out before the meeting and available for review. Darrell moved to approve minutes, Larry seconded and both sets of minutes were approved.

Treasurer Report:  Linda Baker reported the bank balance at September 30^th was $16,142.86. The following expenses have cleared since October 1^st, Charlie Bennett for Directing Sectional $1,116.95, John Adams for September Lessons $160 and October Unit Game food $98.78. ACBL sent a check for member dues of $483.86, bringing the current balance to $15,250.98. Linda also has checks to deposit, $200 for Christmas Party and $64 from Charlie for Unit Game.

Christmas Party:  Larry updated additional charges for the dinner including 15% gratuity, sales tax and $250 room rental which will be in addition to the $29.50/person charge. Larry will be asking for a vegetarian option and set up of separate tables for the meal. Unit will provide card tables for playing bridge. Pat Gorton indicated her husband, Dave, will bring the card tables stored in their garage at 10:00 AM for set up, before the game begins at 11:00.

Sign-up sheets for the Christmas party are available at the club. Registration with check to be collected and deposited by Linda Baker.

Non-Life Member Special Game:  To be held on November 2^nd. Tami indicated there had been requests to limit players to less than 500 points, however, also requests to just be non-life master status. After discussion the board agreed not to exclude players with over 500 points, hopefully to increase participation. Bonnie Russell-Hunt and Brenda Simpson have been working to get more players for this game. Tami has sent a flyer to directors in the region.

Pat will order 1 deli tray for the November 2^nd game, which will be played at the Argonne Bridge Center.

Letter to ACBL for Bonnie Russell-Hunt to be elected Board Member:  Pat Gorton has gotten permission from Idaho Unit for Bonnie to join Unit 448 as a Board Member and Marketing Director. Now a letter needs to be sent to ACBL, by the Secretary of Unit 448 confirming this agreement. Pat Gorton will follow up with this letter.

Future Sectionals:  Winter sectional will be held January 31, February 1 & 2 and summer sectional will be June 8^th through 10^th. These are planned to be held at Southside Community Center (SCC). There may be a shortage of space at SCC for snacks during the tournaments, but will be delt with at set-up of each sectional. Charlie is volunteering his time to Direct the Winter and Summer Sectionals. Tami suggested a gift card for Charlie. Tami asked about lowering the fee for future participation in sectionals, after discussion it was agreed to leave the same fee structure as Fall Sectional.

Training Sessions to Certify Directors:  Tami updated on directors for future games. Charlie will be directing as a volunteer for club games and for tournaments subject to change.  Additional potential club directors include Dave Goodman, Tami Gillman, Marty O’Malley, and Jim Madison. They have been notified about process to become certified. Each of them plan to take the exam by year end. John Adams will continue to direct and teach on Thursdays and be back up for directing tournaments. John Jacobs will also be back up for tournaments. All three will be taking the Local Sectional Tournament Director’s Exam in January which is a requirement by ACBL to direct Sectionals. The course is free, not sure if there is a fee for taking the exam, but if there is, Tami recommended the club should pay the fee.

John Adams will teach Swiss Strategy class during his Thursday morning classes on the Friday prior to the sectionals. Charlie will no longer teach the strategy classes.

Tami noted that with Darrell’s Board term ending at the end of the year, Jim Madison has agreed to take over Darrell’s duties related to beverages at sectionals and potentially serve on the board effective January 2025. Darrell graciously said he will help Jim at future sectionals. He also offered to purchase the needed coolers, as he gets a military discount. The cost of the coolers will be reimbursed by the club.

Charlie’s Buyout:  Al indicated that Charlie is negotiating to get out of his lease of the Argonne Bridge Center. Al recommended that the club provide some reimbursement for his buyout costs.

Pat Gorton made a motion to reimburse Charlie 50% of his buyout cost. Virginia Sykes seconded. Larry Marshall proposed an amendment to the motion to pay Charlie a flat $3,000. Motion passed with 7 affirmative and 2 against.

Training of New Directors: The training will take place in November according to everyone’s schedule.  There is a lot to learn about ACBL automation, card sorting, etc, Tami will coordinate training. 

Dave Goodman: Will be our technical support/scheduler/website manager.  He will train separately with Charlie and Tami will attend training meetings and also possibly Al, as cross training is desirable.

Tami passed out a list of almost 40 players who have registered for annual memberships at SCC. This is great support from the bridge community and very helpful support for our move to having club games and sectionals at SCC.

Finalize Bank Account Change: Al indicated that he will be gone the later part of October and all of November. If there is reason to change bank accounts he voiced that the process be started. Tami has done research on various banks and if she is to be Treasurer prefers the location and services of First Interstate Bank. Virginia Sykes moved to open a checking account at First Interstate Bank, Pat Gorton seconded and motion was approved.

Flowers vs. Cards: Sue indicated that she had been sending cards to players that were experiencing illness. She recommended that the club focus on cards not flowers due to cost and difficulty of getting addresses for delivery. There was agreement for this proposal.

Charlie’s Donations: Al reminded the Board that Charlie has offered to donate his equipment, including computer, coffee maker, microwave, tables, chairs, coffee cups…etc  He was looking for ideas on how we store these items after year end. No specific resolution was noted.

Unit Game Food: Linda Baker reminded the group that she has agreed to coordinate food for the unit games, so no need for emails on that topic.

Next meeting: November 11^th at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:35 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – September 23, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Special Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 8:33 AM.

Board Members Present: Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Tami Gillman, Darrell Murphy, Mark Callen, Larry Marshal and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present. Guest Charlie Bennett was also present.

This special meeting has one agenda item: Transition from Charlie owning and managing the club to the club members owning and managing the club (with the board serving as the executive body).

Topics covered during the meeting:

*Information about a site for playing bridge

*Proposed budget

*Timeline for transition

Southside Community Center (SCC) at 27th and Ray is the preferred site presented for the Club to hold bridge games beginning January 2025. Al showed the board a picture of the rooms available and outlined the tour with Steve Younk at SCC. Al also thanked Tami Gillman for her extensive efforts to research space options and operational options for our future changes.

If we can get 20 new memberships for SCC the Club will not have to pay rent for bridge games held at SCC. Annual SCC memberships are $50 for single and $75 for couples.

Tami reviewed a handout of Unit 448 Income and Expense Projections for 2025, which included different levels of participation, different levels of fees and a part-time Club Manager (3/hrs/wk), liability insurance and payroll processing fees.

Tami indicated that transfer of Club bridge games to Unit 448, instead of under Charlie Bennett’s business would require Unit to hire employees to operate, schedule and direct games. Governing board is responsible for operations and would also be liable, so liability insurance is highly recommended. Proposal is to pay Game Directors and Part-time Managing Director $25/hr.

Tami provided information on payroll expenses and costs of a payroll processor. Tami indicated she had researched several payroll processors and ADP had the best price. She provided two more handouts from ADP.

Tami also has researched banks in the area to get interest on cash balance (currently around $14,000). She found First Interstate Bank would provide a good interest rate on our cash balance and not charge for cash deposits.

Pat Gorton was asked to look for the Club’s Articles of Incorporation and IRS Letter of Determination (i.e. Non-profit designation), to be ready to set up an new bank account, if approved.

Tami reviewed additional ongoing costs if the Club takes on managing future games. The costs outlined by Tami, were new dealing machine, 13 new bridge mates, additional decks of cards, bidding boxes and computer equipment.

She also expressed that Directors need to be Certified Directors through ACBL for the Club to maintain awarding maximum points to players. She indicated that in addition to herself, Jim Madison, Marty O’Mally and Dave Goodman are studying to take the ACBL Exam to be Certified Directors.

Tournament Directors need to be certified for tournaments. John Jacobs has agreed to take the required course and exam. John Adams and Charlie Bennett are currently Tournament Certified through ACBL.

Dates for the June Sectional were discussed as either June 6, 7 and 8th or June 13, 14 and 15th.

The proposed change to the By-Laws of increasing the allowed number of Board Members from 9 Board Members to a range of 9 to 12 Board Members was discussed in relation to potential new Board Members. Tami discussed that our By-Laws are silent on if a member of a different Unit could serve on our Unit Board. Currently the Club has players who live in Idaho actively playing in Spokane Games. Bonnie Russell-Hunt has agreed to serve on the Board and head up marketing efforts to get new players involved, however she lives in Idaho. Larry Marshall moved and Al Fein seconded for Pat Gorton to ask the Idaho Unit if they were ok if Bonnie served on Unit 448’s Board. Motion was approved. Jim Madison has also agreed to be a Board Member.

Tami discussed having a partnership with Spokane Public Schools (SPS) to introduce after school bridge classes to middle schoolers and high schoolers. She provided a handout on an initiative SPS is launching called Engage IRL aimed to connect students with activities. She is requesting a volunteer spearhead bridge classes as an activity with SPS.

The Club is also in need of a News Letter Editor.

Next meeting: October 14th at 8:30 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:40 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – September 9, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne 

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 8:45 AM. 

Board Members Present:  Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Tami Gillman, Darrell Murphy, Larry Marshall and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present. Mark Callen, Keith Freeman and Virginia Sykes were present via phone. 

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of August 12th were sent out before the meeting and available for review. Darrell moved to approve minutes, Larry seconded and minutes were approved. 

Treasurer Report:   

Linda Baker reported, the current bank balance is $13,997.95, with no outstanding checks. 

There is a check from Charlie to deposit for $3,570 for the tournament. The bill from ACBL for the tournament is $407.  I will send that check today. Charlie still needs to be reimbursed for his fee and other expenses, for $1,116.95.  There are additional expenses for food from Pat of $760.24 and unknown expenses from Sue and Darrell. The tournament should have a positive net to the club. 

Linda indicated John Adams is owed for lessons for the month of August, she is waiting to verify which days he taught the lessons before issuing a check.  

Christmas Party: 

Larry indicated the menu is changing so food costs are increasing from $22.99 to $25.00. Tami will provide an update in the Newsletter she is sending out. Pat Gorton will update the flyer for the Christmas Party and send a copy to Tami for distribution with the Newsletter. The Board approved the charge for 2 sessions of bridge and dinner at $40/person and dinner only at $30/person. The date for the party is December 15th, location is 702 E Desmet. Pat indicated that she would update and have the Roster reprinted for distribution at the Christmas Party. 

The Christmas Party is also the Annual Meeting for the Unit where a vote will be taken to approve the Board recommended changes to the By-Laws (changing the number of board members from 9, to a range of 9 to 15 board members). There will also be a vote on new or returning Board members whose terms expire in December. Darrell Murphy indicated he would not be seeking reelection. Patrice Gorton agreed to stand for reelection for her 3rd 3-year term and Virginia Sykes agreed to stand for reelection for a 1-year term. Plus any additional member interested in joining the Board. If only 1 individual is nominated for each officer position a vote is not required. 

August 30 - September 2 Unit Game and Sectional Tournament: 

Positive comments were made about the sectional. We had several out of town players. This is the last time we will be at Liberty Lake as the event center will be under construction for a restaurant.  

Other Discussion:  

Al Fein showed the award that will be presented to Charlie at the Christmas Party and the plaque that will be updated in future years for those earning the distinction of contributing to the Club at a level to receive the Charlie Bennett award. 

Ownership of the Club and Location of Play: 

There was extended discussion about the need for Spokane Unit 448 to assume operation of the club from Charlie Bennett. Charlie will be buying out his lease at the Argonne location and it will be necessary to find a new location by January 1, 2025. 

Tami reported on the many changes that will be needed as Unit 448 takes over the operations. Al suggested that an additional board meeting later in September would be helpful as more details are finalized. 

Next meeting: September 23rd at 8:30 AM. 

Meeting adjourned at 9:48 AM.  

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary 

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – August 12, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 8:52 AM.

Board Members Present:  Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Tami Gillman, Mark Callen, Larry Marshall and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present. Charlie Bennett was available in the area.

Treasurer Report: 

Linda Baker sent out her report via email to the Board with the July 31^st bank statement, which was a balance of $14,184.30. The current bank balance is $13,946.81, which includes food purchased for the August unit game of $77.49. One outstanding check to Pat Gorton for food for the July Non-Life Master Tournament of $60.86. Two checks from Charlie to deposit today

Non-Life Master Tournament    $40

August Unit Game                     $72

Revised balance $13,997.95.

Still expecting receipts from Sue Howe for items she purchased.

Linda received notice from Washington State and went online to register the unit for 2025.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of July 8^th were read by Pat. Sue moved to approve minutes with Tami’s corrections, Larry seconded and minutes were approved.

August 30 - September 2 Unit Game and Sectional:

Pat indicated that her husband Dave would not be able to deliver tables or help with set-up due to a broken foot. Also, tables need to be picked up from her house before August 18^th or the morning of August 30^th. Set-up crew Mark Callen, Charlie Bennet, Jim Madison, Pat Gorton, Sue Howe and Larry Marshall. Sue will call Darrell Murphy to confirm his help with set-up and bringing beverages, ice, ice chests, chips and cookies. Sue made a motion to provide door prizes again, which may be donated, but if needed the club to support up to $100. Motion was seconded by Mark and motion was approved.

Pat indicated that 2 individuals were matched for partnership for the Sectional and also set up on a Swiss Team with 2 other individuals looking for a Swiss Team. No standby partners or standby Swiss Team players have been identified. Larry Marshall agreed to be standby for Swiss Team. Other suggestions for standby were Midge and Dwayne. Pat indicated she would send out another email seeing if individuals were looking for partners for the Sectional.

It was agreed that the Unit Game would be 2 individual sessions rather than a play-through.

By-Laws update:

Tami reported that she reviewed the By-Laws and compared them to ACBL Rules and Regulations. Through this review she discovered the Treasurer position needs to be an Officer and member of the board. After discussion it was agreed that this will be resolved at the Annual meeting in December when By-Laws can be properly amended to increase the allowed number of Board Members as well as other recommended changes to By-Laws. Tami noted that she abstained from this decision. Pat will send list of Board Member terms to Al.

Linda Baker has announced her intention to resign the Treasurer position at year end. Recommendations for a replacement Treasurer are needed in the next month to provide for timely transition. 

The group discussed the voting process to change/update by laws that included written ballots that would be distributed by email, at the club and which could be returned by email or dropped off at the club. The ballots and proposed by law changes need to be distributed at least 60 days prior to annual meeting which has traditionally been held at the Christmas dinner party. Therefore, ballots need to be distributed prior to October 1st. Ballots are sealed. Charlie also recommended the verbiage to increase the number of board members should reflect a range (i.e. 9-15 board members) rather than a determinant number. 

Gard Hayes Memorial Round Robin Tournament July 2024 – May 2025:

Tami indicated that games have been played and scheduled. She commented that Charlie’s recommendation to allow a year for these games was a good idea.

Other Discussion: 

Non-Life Master Tournament only had 3 tables, including Charlie calling Sue Norton to play with him to make 3 full tables. It was noted that several other individuals had committed to play in the tournament, but were no shows. Charlie expressed support for trying again, possibly monthly. Board agreed to target early November on a Saturday for next Non-Life Master Tournament. Tami will get phone numbers to call and encourage additional participation.

John Adams classes have been well received and Board agreed to continue these as previously approved through year-end.

Donna Wyatt has been in Valley General Hospital and the Board approved Sue Howe ordering flowers and sending a card up to cost at her discretion. 

Next meeting: September 9^th at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:43 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – July 8, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 8:47 AM.

Board Members Present: Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Virginia Sykes, Mark Callen, Larry Marshall and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present.

Minutes: The minutes of the meetings of May 13, 2024 and June 10,2024, were available for review. Both minutes were approved by Board vote.

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reported as of June 30th, there was $14,955.62 in the checking account. There are 2 outstanding checks, Sue Howe $208.81 for Sectional food and ACBL $423. The net income from June Sectional so far is $255.59. The Treasurer’s Report was approved by Board vote.

June 21 - 23 Sectional Results/Issues:

Sandwiches were expensive by comparison to previous sectionals, preference was to go back to a Party Pack from Jimmy John’s. Finding and coordinating partners was not smooth, recommended emergency or fill in partners be identified before sectional starts.

Custodial Services at the Club:

Cleaning occurs weekly. Sue will get a toilet brush and cleaner to have located in each restroom for any in-between cleaning needed.

August 30 - September 2 Sectional:

August 30th will be a 2 Session Unit Game and each will cost $10. This is necessary because as a local sectional, we are only allowed a 3-day tournament by ACBL. The Sectional will be August 31, Saturday, September 1, Sunday with 2 individual sessions for $15 each and September 2, Monday will be Swiss teams for $160 per team with lunch included. All 4 days will be at Trailhead Event Center in Liberty Lake.

Gard Hayes Memorial Round Robin Tournament July 2024 – May 2025:

Tami has updated the teams and team captains for the tournament. Captains are encouraged to start scheduling games. Boards, bidding boxes and cards are available from Charlie and games can be scheduled at the club. All of these options require prior arrangements be made directly with Charlie.

Written Proposal Women’s Club:

Tami will be drafting a written proposal with Al to have games at the Spokane Women’s Club 3 days a week on Monday, Thursday and Friday. Our tables could be stored there and we could use their chairs. Setup and takedown would be required each day. Tami will propose $25/day payment to Spokane Women’s Club. Possible target start date is in 2025.

Other Discussion:

Al updated the group on reports from ACBL on various point winners by range and passed out awards to those present. Linda indicated there will be awards at year-end and the Club previously has purchased pins to present for those awards. Al and Linda will work on possibility of acquiring pins for 2024 awards.

Next meeting: August 12th at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:45 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – June 10, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 8:45 AM.

Board Members Present: Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Virginia Sykes, Mark Callen, Larry Marshall and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of May 13, 2024, were not available for review. Pat Gorton will send them out to the Board for review and email approval.

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reported as of May 31st, there was $14,182.32 in the checking account. Since then 2 checks cleared, Sue Howe $99.10 for unit game expenses and John Adams $240 for lessons. Unit game on May 13th brought in $248, less Expenses of $194.82 for a net of $53.18. Theresa Barthels was paid $200 as an above and beyond for her desserts on Friday games. Approval of Treasurer’s Report was moved by Mark and seconded by Darrel and was approved by Board vote.

June 21-23 Sectional: Sue sent out an email on all the food and hospitality arrangements. Set up will begin at 9:30 AM on Friday, Dave Gorton will bring tables, also helping with set up will be Mark, Darrell, Keith and Larry. Sue and Pat will do food, coffee, hospitality set-up. Charlie provided tickets for door prize awards. Clean up crews will be needed each day and especially on Sunday. In addition to above individuals Al and Linda will assist with Clean-up and Take-down.

Other Discussion:

Tami brought up a need for assistance to help individuals find partners for regular games. After discussion, Charlie said he would set up a partnership area on the Club Website.

Tami reported the Gard Hayes Memorial Round Robin will begin before the end of June and go through April 2025. Ten teams have signed up and if there are 12 teams the tournament can be bracketed and handicapped. The format is each team captain will be assigned another team. Responsibility of team captains to agree on date and place. Each session will be 2 tables, 28 boards. The decks will be shuffled

and delt at the location, so cards, bidding boxes and boards will be needed at the location. These are all available from Charlie before each session. Games can be played at Argonne Bridge Center or Tami’s house, captain’s house or other arranged space that can accommodate 2 tables. Virginia will send out an extra edition of the news- letter to outline this process.

Non-Life Master Tournament is scheduled for July 20th at 11:00 AM at the Argonne Bridge Center. Larry made a motion to approve food for the tournament, Keith seconded and motion carried.

Charlie agreed to discuss at the June 10th game, an ACBL rule that after a hand has been played the director’s approval is needed for anyone to look at another player’s hand. Charlie said he was ok with that as long as no more than one board has cards out at a time. Additionally, there is no rule about who moves boards.

Charlie was asked about the worksheet he provided on expenses to run the Argonne Center. He said even with one bay it would take 120-140 paying players per month to breakeven. He has encountered losses every month since COVID. This led to a discussion on options for future space. From a cost perspective it may be necessary to have space in different locations, for partial day rent. Tami indicated she has been working with Spokane Women’s Club and we could probably have a game there 1-2 days per week. They would store tables and we could use their chairs. Other options need further research. Charlie’s lease ends December 2025 and he could buy out of lease early.

Next meeting: July 8th at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:32 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting commenced at 8:45 a.m. at the bridge club on Argonne, Spokane Valley

Members Present: Al Fein, Keith Freeman, Virginia Sykes, Mark Callen, Larry Marshall, Tami Gillman

Visitors Present: Charlie Bennett, Linda Baker/Treasurer/Non-voting

Meeting called to Order by Al Fein 8:47 a.m.

Minutes from April Meeting were approved with no edits

Linda Baker, Treasurer, reviewed financial report. Balance as of 5/13/24 $14,890.04 which included the payment to Gonzaga for the Christmas Party, payment of $280 to John Adams for teaching bridge classes; didn’t include deposit of $176.00 from Unit Game on May 12, 2024, reimbursement for Unit Game refreshments, reimbursement for flowers. Mark Callen requested a check be sent to Trailhead Golf Course for our June Sectional. Treasurer’s report was approved.

Linda Baker: Unit Game Monthly Dates: Board decided to return to 2nd Sunday of each month at noon as a regular schedule. No Unit game in June because of the Sectional. Schedule as follows: July 14th, August 11th, no unit game in September due to Labor Day Sectional, November 10th, no unit game in December due to Christmas Party.

Christmas Party – Larry Marshall: Hemmingson Center/Gonzaga University…10 tables; $1600 revenue from dinner/bridge. Rental $250. 10:00 a.m. set up tables. The Charles Bennett Award (final name TBD) approved. Menu change in July postponing final cost for dinner until then. Free Parking. 3 Parking stalls in front for off loading tables/equipment. $15 to play each section if not having dinner. Non Playing Dinner guests welcome approximately $25/PP. Charlie Directing/volunteering his services. Will have a profit of approximately $1350.

Larry Marshall: Discussion about remaining on Argonne after 12/31/25. Charlie disclosed approximate monthly expenses to run club: Approximately $2000/mo. Approximately $2400 income. Approximately $2100/mo expense 2023 which includes insurance. ACBL paid $1.15/table. Special Games $5.50 table. For example, 5 tables/$160/$25.75 to ACBL. Pays John Adams $16.00/table. Pays Teresa $12/table. Insurance 2023 $860 will increase in June 2024.

Tami Gillman: Labor Day Sectional. Mark Callen will reserve Trailhead Golf Course and submit a check to them.

Charlie Bennett: Ace of Virtual Clubs and Mini McKinney Award Certificates were mailed to Charlie for distribution. Pat Gorton and Sue Howe will distribute by mail and/or present at June Sectional to those in attendance.

Tami Gillman: Non-Life Master Tournament approved by Board and scheduled for July 20, 2024. Tami will send flyer to all local clubs and manage the registration. Price: $10/PP. Silver points awarded.

Tami Gillman: Gard Hays Memorial Round Robin Tournament was approved by Board. Schedule for 2024 tournament will run from June to November. Tami will send broadcast email /flyer to membership and will manage registration, reports to Charlie. Charlie graciously offered to fund any ACBL fees since the tournament will be sanctioned by ACBL. And, he will not charge for remotely directing tournament referencing any need for arbitration.

Tami Gillman: requested board approve a $200 stipend to Teresa for baking treats for Friday games. Board approved.

Pat Gorton requested input as to type of sandwiches ordered for June Sectional. Discussion followed. Board decided a variety is best from Jimmy Johns.

Al Fein: asked each board member to write why they play bridge and submit to him. Accomplished.

Mark Callen moved to adjourn 9:50 a.m. 2nd Larry Marshall

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes – April 8, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by Vice President Tami Gillman at 8:50 AM.

Board Members Present: Patrice Gorton, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Virgina Sykes and Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was also present.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of March 11, 2024, were approved.

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reported as of March 31st, there was $15,343.56 in the checking account, after payment of $450 to Trailhead Event Center for the upcoming June Sectional. Unit game on April 7th brought in $176, less Expenses of $89.95 for a net of $86.05. Treasurer’s Report was accepted.

June Sectional: Flyer is complete, took additional time to get approval from ACBL. COVID rules now responsibility of club, not mandated. Points will be 80% Silver and 20% Black. Club members to announce at Tuesday Post Falls games being held at Argonne for a few weeks.

Christmas Party: Contract has been signed and provided to Gonzaga. Final count needed by 12/1 and date of party is 12/15. Board discussed costs and approved $40 charge per person for two sessions and meal and $25 for guests that are coming for meal only. Scholarships will be available.

Unit Games: Next game scheduled for May 19th has been moved to May 12th. It will be a Royal Stack game. No unit game in June, since holding sectional.

Other Discussion:

Educational Initiative for April: TOPIC “Playing and bidding in tempo”. Directors will discuss prior to each game this week…only this week. Handouts will be on the table.

Non-Life Master Tournaments: Supported by Charlie and Board should begin marketing. Hoping for a game in mid-July and end of September. Tami will send electronic sign-up sheets to all local clubs.

Round Robin Tournaments: Tami will bring more info to May Board meeting.

Tami sent out the Board President Handbook and Board Members Handbook via email to all Board Members and asked all Board Members to read both before May’s Board Meeting and be ready to discuss.

Sue Howe shared several new members are attending bridge games at the club. It was mentioned for new members to be current on ACBL dus,

Next meeting: May 13 at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 9:45 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – March 11, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 1:30 PM.

Board Members Present: Al Fein, Patrice Gorton, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Susan Howe, were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was present.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of February 12, 2024, were approved.

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reported as of February 29th, there was $15,883.97 in the checking account. One check issued in March to Trailhead Event Center for $450 for June Sectional.

ACBL Board Update: Al passed around a list for Board Members to add their ACBL number.

New Roster: Updated and available in Argonne Bridge Center. Any corrections will be made, so when additional copies are printed corrections will be incorporated. Pat Gorton will provide a notice for the Newsletter with any changes since printing, so individuals can update their copies.

Christmas Party: Al reported that Larry Marshall, Christmas Party Chair, has secured Gonzaga for the December 15th Christmas Party. Al indicated Gonzaga needs our club to provide insurance. Charlie will be directing and has insurance that should cover the insurance needed.

Educational: Tami Gillman proposed the concept of the Club providing compensation for the educational sessions John Adams has agree to hold before Thursday games at 10:00 AM. After discussion Keith Freeman made a motion for the Club to pay John Adams $40 for each educational session for the remainder of the calendar year, Pat Gorton seconded and motion was unanimously approved.

June Sectional: Tami updated the Board that due to availability of Trailhead Event Cent the June Sectional will be held Friday, June 21, Saturday June 22 and Swiss Teams on Sunday June 23. We will be requesting a 9:30 AM entry to allow time for setup with planned start of 1st session at 11:00 AM and 2nd session at 3:30 PM on the 21st. Saturday start of 1st session will be at 10:00 AM and 2nd session at 2:30 PM. Swiss Teams will start at 10:00 AM on Sunday. There was discussion on how to market and increase attendance. Pat Gorton made a motion for the Club to pay up to $100 for door prizes, Sue Howe seconded and motion was unanimously approved. Tami will work with Mark Callen on entry time and availability of kitchen. If kitchen is available Tami will coordinate a Saturday social dinner at the Event Center.

Unit Games: Scheduled for March 17th, April 14th, and May 19th. Charlie requested the March Unit Game not be Swiss teams, since we have not provided enough time for Teams to be coordinated. All agreed that regular pairs would be best.

Other Discussion: Charlie requested the dates be set for the fall sectional. The dates of August 30, 31, September 1 and 2 would be consistent with prior years timing over the Labor Day Weekend. These dates were agreed to, pending the availability of Trailhead Event Center.

The start time of Board meetings was discussed. After discussion Al made the motion that future Board meetings begin at 8:45 AM, the second Monday of each month, Tami Gillman seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Next meeting: April 8th at 8:45 AM.

Meeting adjourned at 2:20 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League

Minutes – February12, 2024

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 9:50 AM.

Board Members Present: Al Fein, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Susan Howe, Virginia Sykes, and Larry Marshall were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was present. Patrice Gorton arrived at 9:55 AM. Mark Callen called into the meeting.

Treasurer Report: As of January 31st, there was $14,777.34 in the checking account. ACBL annual dues reimbursement to Unit 448 of $660.86, were received. Payments were made to Charlie Bennett for new playing cards, $476.20, to Tami Gillman for thank-you cake, $32.15 and for Unit Game food, $86.34.

The net proceeds from the February Sectional were $1,013.65, based on receipts of $3,400 and expenses of $2,386.35.

February Sectional at Liberty Lake and June Sectional Planning: Positive comments were made about the location, food and generally about the Sectional.

The Trailhead Golf Course Event Center is available for June Sectional if we move the dates to mid-week June 4-6. The Event Center is available the afternoon of June 4th, so the current plan is to have an afternoon game start at 3:00 PM on the 4th. Further discussion followed about whether to have the Swiss Teams move up a day to the 5th, to try and have greater participation. No decision was made on this format change. Larry Marshall made a motion to fund a deposit of $375 for June Sectional to Trailhead, Sue Howe seconded and motion was unanimously approved.

Christmas Party: Larry Marshall, Christmas Party Chair, updated the board on 2 options for the Christmas Party, 1) Trailhead Golf Course Event Center and 2) Gonzaga University, Hemmingson (Student Union Building). Costs are similar and Larry needed a date to finalize. Discussion was that Event Center at Trailhead was too small and would be second choice to Gonzaga. The date of December 15th, 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM was agreed to and Larry will proceed and update at next meeting.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of January 8, 2024, were approved.

Education: Tami and Al met with John Adams and he is agreeable to provide instruction before a Thursday game. John mentioned doing a joint effort with Idaho. Discussion revealed that it is not possible to sanction a game in both Idaho and Washington or to sanction a Washington game located in Idaho. Tami and Al will discuss further with John.

Roster Update: All changes received so far have been made to the roster file. Any board members with additional updates should get them to Pat Gorton by Friday. via email dpsgorton@msn.com or call Pat Gorton. Pat will finalize and have new roster printed based on known updates.

Unit Games: Scheduled for March 17th, April 14th, and May 19th. Linda Baker, Unit Game Chair, will be gone in March and will see if Bonnie Kruse can get food.

Other Discussion: Al raised a request to recognize people in the club who provide extra support or display excellent qualities. Discussion ensued and it was agreed this was a good idea. Larry made a motion to create an award of Excellence named for Charles Bennett and provide funds for an engraved plaque. Motion was seconded by Sue Howe and was unanimously approved.

Al indicated he had raised the question at the Sectional on preferred time to start daily games at the club. Linda indicted the current starting time was moved from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM to accommodate Charlie running an online and in-person game. Interest is to move the start time back to 10:00 AM. Al will get more feedback and report back to the board.

Sue Howe recommended that we have a suggestion box available at the club. The board agreed a suggestion box was a good idea. Sue also requested that a new bigger coffee pot be purchased for the club. Larry made a motion, it was seconded and was unanimously approved to purchase a bigger coffee pot.

Next meeting: March 11 at 9:45 AM

Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:40 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 American Contract Bridge League
Minutes - January 8, 2024 
Held at club on Mission at Argonne
Meeting was called to order by President Al Fein at 9:50 AM.
Board Members Present:  Al Fein, Mark Callen, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Susan Howe, Virginia Sykes, and Larry Marshall were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer, was present. Patrice Gorton arrived at 10:00 AM.
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of December 3rd, were approved.
Treasurer Report:  As of December 31st, there was $14,711.17 in the checking account.  The net loss from the December Christmas Party was $240.72. ACBL annual dues reimbursement to Unit 448 was $660.86.
The total bill from the Spokane Club, including $500 deposit was $1,800.72. Payments we received added up to $1,560. There were 30 bridge players and two guests for dinner.
Motion to add Tami Gillman, as Vice President to bank account and issued a Debit Card was made by Mark Callen and unanimously approved.
 
February Sectional Planning February 2nd, 3rd and 4th at Liberty Lake:
Al asked Tami to lead discussion.
Food for Event:  Pat will get Party Trays for each of the 3 days and donuts. Pat will order Jimmy Johns Sandwiches for Sunday Swiss Teams.
Darrell Murphy will get, Chips, Pop, Water and Cookies from Costco and Ice and bring Ice Chests.
l will bring Coffee. Charlie will bring club coffee maker and Sue Howe offered to bring another coffee maker.

Tami indicated she thought Greeters for Event were needed. She also indicated that the Sectional will be considered a Local and Downgraded to 80% of normal points, since we are not having an ACBL sanctioned Director.

June Sectional dates are June 7-9 and the location has not been determined yet.

Linda Baker agreed to be Unit Game Chair for the monthly games and will coordinate food for those.

Roster Update:  Al passed out slips from the Idaho Roster Patsy Neuveu prepared which also included pages to review in the Spokane Roster. Each board member who received a slip from Al should call individuals to verify information and report via email dpsgorton@msn.com to Pat Gorton any updates.

Future of Spokane Bridge Club Unit 448: Al and Tami met with Charlie and reported that since COVID, Charlie has been negative cash flow. He is looking to end his management role of the Club at the end of December 2025 when the current lease ends. He is interested in continuing to Direct after that date. He is also willing to add back a Thursday game in the near term, possibly at Liberty Lake. Charlie would donate all the existing equipment to the Club at the end of 2025.

Going forward we need a cheaper location, additional directors and a manager.

Charlie indicated, at the meeting with Al and Tami, that 100 new decks of cards and 4 sets of 32 boards with bar codes are needed to replace worn cards and boards, which would cost approximately $500. Mark made a motion for the Club to purchase these items, Sue seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Overview of New Initiatives and additional Board Descriptions:  Tami discussed the advantages of and passed out handouts of the following:
New Players’ Welcome Packet – Tami said she would prepare, but wanted a Hospitality Chair position added.
Educational Initiatives – Initiatives were discussed and Board Members were supportive.
Job Description for Hospitality Chair was presented and Sue Howe agreed to serve in this position.
Larry Marshall agreed to continue his work on the Christmas Party and serve as Christmas Party Chair.

Linda noted that Board Positions should be approved at the First Board Meeting of the Year:
Pat Gorton Moved the following, motion was seconded and approved unanimously approved;
    Al Fein, President
    Tami Gillman, Vice President 
    Pat Gorton, Secretary
    Linda Baker, Treasurer
    Sue Howe, Hospitality Chair
    Larry Marshall, Christmas Party Chair
    Linda Baker, Monthly Unit Game Chair
Next meeting: February 12 at 9:45 AM
Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:50 AM. 
Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary
 

ACBL Unit 448 Minutes; January 8, 2024

Spokane Bridge Club

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Al Fien at 9:50 AM.

Board Members Present: Al Fien, Mark Callen, Darrell Murphy, Tami Gillman, Keith Freeman, Susan Howe, Virginia Sykes, and Larry Marshall were present. Linda Baker, Treasurer was present. Patrice Gorton arrived at 10:00 AM.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of December 3rd, were approved.

Treasurer Report: As of December 31, there was $14,711.17 in the checking account. The net loss from the December Christmas Party was $240.72. ACBL annual payment was $660.86.

The total bill from the Spokane Club, including $500 deposit was $1800.72. Payments we received added up to $1,560. There were 30 bridge players and two guests for dinner.

Motion to set up a Credit Card for the Club was made by Mark Callen and unanimously approved.

February Sectional Planning February 2nd, 3rd and 4th at Liberty Lake:

Al asked Tami to lead discussion.

Food for Event Pat will get Party Trays for each of the 3 days and donuts. Pat will order Jimmy Johns Sandwiches for Sunday Swiss Teams.

Darrell Murphy will get, Chips, Pop, Water and Cookies from Costco and Ice and bring Ice Chests.

Linda will bring Coffee and 2 Coffee Makers.

Tami indicated she thought Greeters for Event were needed. She also indicated that the Sectional will be considered a Local and Downgraded to 80% of normal points, since we are not having an ACBL sanctioned Director.

June Sectional dates are June 7-9 and the location has not been determined yet.

Linda Baker agreed to be ???Chair for the monthly games and will coordinate food for those.

Roster Update: Al passed out slips from the Idaho Roster Patsy Neuveu prepared which also included pages to review in the Spokane Roster. Each board member who received a slip from Al should call individuals to verify information and report via email dpsgorton@msn.com to Pat Gorton any updates.

Future of Spokane Bridge Club Unit 448: Al and Tami met with Charlie and reported that since COVID, Charlie has been negative cash flow of about $2,000/month. He is looking to end his management role of the Club at the end of December 2025 when the current lease ends. He is interested in continuing to Direct after that date. He is also willing to add back a Thursday game in the near term, possibly at Liberty Lake. Charlie would provide all the existing equipment to the Club at the end of 2025.

Going forward we need a cheaper location, additional directors and a manager. Tami suggested we need a Manager Trainee now to work with Charlie who would be willing to take on the role.

Charlie indicated, at the meeting with Al and Tami, that 100 new decks of cards and 4 sets of Board of 32 each are needed to replace worn cards and boards, which would cost approximately $500. Mark made a motion for the Club to purchase these items, Sue seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Overview of New Initiatives and additional Board Descriptions: Tami discussed the advantages of and passed out handouts of the following:

New Players’ Welcome Packet – Tami said she would prepare, but wanted a Hospitality Chair position added.

Educational Initiatives – Items 1 and 2 were discussed and Board Members were supportive.

Job Description for Hospitality Chair was presented and Sue Howe agreed to serve in this position.

Larry Marshall agreed to continue his work on the Christmas Party and serve as Christmas Party Chair.

Linda noted that Board Positions should be approved at the First Board Meeting of the Year:

Pat Gorton Moved the following, motion was seconded and approved unanimously approved;

Al Fien, President

Tami Gillman, Vice President

Pat Gorton, Secretary

Linda Baker, Treasurer

Sue Howe, Hospitality Chair

Larry Marshall, Christmas Party Chair

Next meeting: February 12 at 9:45 AM

Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:50 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Patrice Gorton, Secretary

President Chris Kent called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m., October 4, at the SYSA Bingo Hall.  Attending were Chris, Marty Burdick, Sue Norton, Donna Carter, Jodi Kimbrell, Mick Soss, Steve Sickel and Norma Hols.  Absent was Louise Saylor.  Also attending was Brenda Simpson, Education Liaison.

The September minutes were approved as previously presented via email.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,596 as of September 30, 2015.

The latest wording on the Unit Bylaws (which were “cleaned up” and revised by Louise Saylor) concerning Board meetings was approved.  The Board voted to present the updated bylaws to the membership for approval at the December 2015 membership meeting.  The bylaws will be put on the web site, David Rottmayer will be asked to email them to the membership and several printed copies will be made available at the clubs before the meeting.

A motion by Mick Soss was approved to ask the membership its opinion on two considerations of the Board: the purchase of 25 Bridgemates, at a cost of approximately $4,500, to be used at sectionals, unit games and available for the clubs to rent, or a dealing machine, costing approximately $4,750, for the same purposes. The measure would include the probable December unit bank balance of $11,000.  The membership would be able to vote “yes” or “no” for each item. This would not be a binding vote.

Norma will prepare a possible Unit game schedule for 2016 and send it via email to the Board before the November meeting.

Brenda reported that of the six calls received from the radio ad, four people had signed up to take lessons.

There was a discussion of special games that can be offered by the clubs and the Unit, and perhaps shared by the Unit. Research is needed before a more productive discussion can be held.

A motion was approved to subsidize the 2015 Unit Christmas Party at $10 per person attending.

The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted, Norma Hols, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Minutes April 10, 2022 

Spokane Bridge Club 

Held at club on Mission at Argonne 

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 10:00 AM. 

Present - Mark Callen, Darrell Murphy, Larry Marshall, Pat Gorton, Al Fein, Tami Gillman, Linda Baker and Bonnie Kruse. Charlie Bennett present as observer.

March minutes still not approved so will do this in May.

Treasurer's Report:

$14421.03. Check for $200 sent to Theresa Barthels who sent thank you note to the Board.

Old Business:

June 9-11 Sectional

Need to apply for insurance - Tami said she will do it one month prior. Bonnie will bring food Friday and Saturday. Lunch on Sunday by Caruso's. Darrell will bring extra chips, desserts and pop. 

Tami offered to host a dinner after the game on Saturday. The Board will donate $200 for food. A sign-up sheet will be out at the club.

Darrell, Al and possibly Larry will transport and set up tables and chairs. Al will welcome players and make introductions. Time will be set next meeting.

Christy Burns from the Millwood Presbyterian Church was called - no response. Outreach - Craig's List and Next Door.

Brenda and Doyle are representing Spokane Bridge at an event at the Valley Senior Center April 22, 10am - 2:30pm. The Board offered to supplement $5.00 toward each new member for 1st five lessons.

Board will post flyers in grocery stores, churches, senior centers and the YMCA.

New Business: 

September Sectional may need a director, depending on dates. Need a new venue. Will consider next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:45am

ACBL Unit 448 Minutes; October 10, 2022  

Spokane Bridge Club 

Held at club on Mission at Argonne 

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 10:00 AM. 

Board Members Present:  Mark Callen, Linda Baker, Patrice Gorton, Bill Davis, Tami Gillman, Bonnie Kruse, Al Fein, Darrell Murphy and Virginia Sykes were present. Charlie Bennett was present as guest and advisor.  

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of September 13 were read and approved. 

Report from Charlie Bennett: Charlie reported that the on-line game has collapsed. There was conjecture that some people are still not coming in person because of vaccine status. Bill moved that we remove requirement for vaccine at club. It was seconded and approved. 

Treasurer Report:   Treasurer Linda Baker reported that the September bank statement shows $13,316.57. The final report from the Labor Day Sectional tournament showed a loss of $928.62. Annual PO Box charge of $182 was paid. The report was accepted as presented. 

Linda also stated that our non-profit status has to be re-approved and she has taken the steps to get that process underway. 

Christmas Party: Sign-up is slow. We need to recruit people. For $40, each attendee will get to play 2 sessions of bridge and have a prime rib buffet. 

Board Elections: Board Elections are held at the Christmas party. We need to ask for volunteers to run. The current board is willing to continue to serve and some terms are not expired. 

February Sectional: Patrice did research on possible locations: 

Center Place – it is necessary to utilize their food service. 

The Hive – the event does not fit into library hours, as is required. 

**Millwood Presbyterian Church -- $300 for entire 3 days, but we have to bring in tables and chairs.  

Since Millwood is the only good alternative, it was approved. It will be held Feb 3, 4, 5. 

The location is 4333 N. Marguerite at Empire. We will pay the $300 now.   

Tami will again serve as chair. This time we will have considerable cost savings because we will not have an ACBL approved director.  

Darrell will use his truck to move things we need. Chairs can be rented (and delivered). 

This plan was moved, seconded and approved unanimously. 

Next meeting: November 14. 2022 at 10 AM 

Meeting adjourned at 10:46 AM. Respectfully submitted, Virginia Sykes, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Minutes; September 13, 2022

Spokane Bridge Club

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 10:00 AM.

Board Members Present: Mark Callen, Patrice Gorton, Bill Davis, Tami Gillman, Bonnie Kruse, Al Fein, and Virginia Sykes were present. Charlie Bennett was present as guest and advisor.

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of August 10 were read and approved.

Treasurer Report: $500 was paid to Spokane Club as deposit for Christmas party. Annual dues were paid by ACBL.

Report from Charlie Bennett: Monday and Friday attendance has been down, perhaps because of Idaho games at similar times.

Unit Games: Not this month. However, an online virtual unit game will be held on the 25th with double silver points.

Next meeting: October 10. 2022

Meeting adjourned at 10:42 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Virginia Sykes, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Minutes; May 9, 2022

Spokane Bridge Club

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 10:02 AM.

Board Members Present:  Mark Callen, Daryl Murphy, Bill Davis, Albert Fein, Tammi Gillman, Bonnie Kruse, Patrice Gorton and Virginia Sykes were present. Charlie Bennett was present as a guest and advisor.

Treasurer Report: Mark received the treasurer’s from Linda before she left town. The balance in the USBank account is $14,923.96. There was $126.60 spent to pay Charlie for the new club roster booklets.

Charlie Bennett: reported that Monday and Tuesday online games have been cancelled by Charlie. He will be away from 5/11-5/22, returning on Monday, 5/23.

New Games:  Theresa Barthels has agreed to direct games on Thursday at 6 PM and Friday at 11 AM.

Old Business

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT: scheduled for June 10-12. Tami reported that the Director for the tournament will be Jenny Carmichael of Seattle. The first session on Friday and Saturday will be at 11 AM, and on Sunday at 10 AM. Brenda has agreed to get the food. Charlie is charging $250 for his services during the event. He will make coffee and make the cold drinks available. There will be no charge to the players for drinks or food.

Discussion about food gave consensus that a place which makes good wrapped sandwiches is chosen. If it costs more than planned, we don’t object.

Extra cleaning will be hired on Friday and Saturday, also included in Charlie’s fee.

Christmas Party:  The Spokane Club’s contact person is Jackie Kiley and Mark will continue to work with her.

Outreach: We agreed that we should contact all the members in our directory. Virginia will write a script and Bill will coordinate the completion and new assignments. We will use the pages in the roster as printed. Pages assigned: Tami 1, Pat 2, Bill 3, Virginia 4&5, Bonnie 6, Al 7, Mark 8, and Daryl 9. Bill’s number is 310 500 7802 for progress reports.

Next meeting: June 13.

Meeting adjourned at 10:25 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Virginia Sykes, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Minutes; February 14, 2022

Spokane Bridge Club

Held at club on Mission at Argonne

Board Members Present: Mark Callen, Daryl Murphy, Patrice Gorton, Bill Davis, Linda Baker. Albert Fein, Tammie Gillman and Bonnie Kruse were present. Virginia Sykes attended via phone. Charlie Bennet was present as a guest and advisor.

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 10:10 AM.

Minutes of December 13: had been sent and were approved unanimously.

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reports that the balance in the USBank account is $14,909.38. That is $2900 less than last report, which represents the money we donated to Charlie and our annual ACBL contribution.

Old Business

UNIT GAMES: February 19, March 19 and May 21 Unit Games are scheduled. In-person play is scheduled at 11AM and on-line play is at 10:10. It was suggested that there be a birthday cake at these games to encourage attendance, but it wasn’t organized at least for now.

SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT: scheduled for June 10-12. We are also scheduling our traditional Labor Day Sectional.

We need a budget for the events. There are tournament fees, a director fee, caddy master who pays the youth. Some discussion followed about the record for expenses from 2019 sectional. Linda will follow up with Tammie. We plan to handle 24 tables comfortably. Incidentally, bathroom cleaning is part of the expenses. Bonnie and Pat will find runners. We don’t expect Rachel to return to photography duties, so we need to make sure we have a volunteer who will take pictures of the event as it goes on.

We need a chair for June. Tammie volunteered to do the whole chairmanship. It was moved and seconded to accept this offer and unanimously agreed.

Discussion of practical details of doing tournaments followed. There is an ACBL software program for clubs and tournaments. Charlie will investigate. He says a club in Tucson uses the software, but they pay a fee (amount unknown by us). Partnership Desk software is also available for perusal. Hotel special rates will be on the flier that Tammie is preparing.

Meeting adjourned at 10:46 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Virginia Sykes, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 August 9, 2021 Spokane Bridge Club

Board Members Present:  Mark Callen, Linda Baker, Albert Fein, Virginia Sykes, Pat Gorton on phone.  Darrell Murphy joined at 9:56.

Visitor: Charlie Bennett

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 9:28 AM.

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reports our USBank account still has a balance of $17,779.66. No income or outgo this month.

Minutes of July 26 were approved.

Old Business:

Board of Directors: Three vacancies exist on board because Bill Davis wants to resign. Three volunteers have been recruited: Tami Gillman, Irv Shoenfeld, Bonnie Kruse. Notice must be given to membership before closing nominations. Charlie will email to announce these openings and to name the current nominees. There will be a formal election at the Christmas Party. Al will make a poster advertising board vacancies.

Al Fein and Linda Baker plan to continue to serve next year.

Sectional Tournament: The Sectional Tournament proposed for November has proven unfeasible because of schedule issues and because the Pandemic doesn’t seem to be over. We have a Sectional scheduled on February 11-13.

It was moved and seconded and unanimously passed that we cancel the proposed Fall Sectional.

Christmas Party: Mark was advised by Joe Harwood that we reserve Spokane Club ASAP. December 5 is our preferred date. We must also decide what size room to reserve and pay for.

John Adams will be Director for Christmas Party and Darrell Murphy will be the Chair.

Virginia suggested strongly that we send a snail mail notice with return envelopes for Christmas party (to include payment). This will make it memorable and official.

We need data to decide on which room.

POBox Bill Due: Linda will pay

UNIT GAMES: We will resume unit games on the third Saturday of each month starting on September 18. Food will be packaged and Al will procure it for September.

Board Meetings will be held each month on the 2nd Monday, starting August 9 at 9:30 AM before bridge game begins.

Meeting adjourned at 10:10 AM. Next Board Meeting, Monday, September 13, 9:30am, Spokane Bridge Club.

Respectfully submitted, Virginia Sykes, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 July 26, 2021 Spokane Bridge Club

Board Members Present: Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Albert Fein, Darrell Murphy,  Virginia Sykes.

Visitor: Charlie Bennett

Meeting was called to order by President Mark Callen at 9:28 AM

Treasurer Report: Linda Baker reports our USBank account has a balance of $17,779.66. We have continued to collect dues from ACBL and had fewer expenses than usual.

New Business: First order of business, resignation of Secretary Michelle Pope, effective Monday, July 25. Virginia Sykes volunteered to take minutes. It was moved and seconded and passed unanimously that Virginia Sykes be made secretary.

Status of Virtual Bridge: Charlie reported attendance on BBO games has done well. It takes 190 in-person tables per month or 240 tables online per month for Charlie to break even. Last year Charlie lost $10,000. Currently, in-person attendance is low and we have fewer games available compared to pre-pandemic, but we need to keep a watch out and the word out to get people back to play.

Sectional Tournament: We have had a Sectional Tournament at Labor Day weekend in previous years. We are not prepared to resume that this year, but would like to replace it November 5-7 if we can get that time. The board discussed whether or not to require verification of vaccination status. After discussion, the board agreed that vaccination status will be on the honor system. We need to get a director from ACBL and a local Tournament Director, TBD. As soon as we get these things worked out, we will request that Christine Fritalli make an on-line flyer to promote the event, including the vaccination requirement.

UNIT GAMES: We would like to resume unit games on the third Saturday of each month starting on September 18, then October 16 and November 20.

December’s meeting will be the Christmas party, a Sunday the 5th or 12th. We hope to get the Spokane Club again. Joe or Jodi will be contacted by Mark to try and arrange that.

Board of Directors: We are 3 short of required people on the Board of Directors and will try and recruit people this month.

Board Meetings will be held each month on the 2nd Monday, starting August 9 at 9:30 AM before bridge game begins. Mark will make up an agenda for these meetings approximately 2 weeks before meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:02 AM. Next Board Meeting, Monday, August 9, 9:30am, Spokane Bridge Club

Respectfully submitted, Virginia Sykes, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 August 17, 2020 Spokane Bridge Club

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Albert Fein, Pat Gorton, Darrell Murphy, Michele Pope, Virginia Sykes (phone). Visitor: Charlie Bennett

Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by President Mark Callen. Minutes from June 22, 2020, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statements. Bank balance ending June 30 and July 31; $17,121.66. No transactions occurred. See attached.

Old Business:

Christmas Party at Spokane Club: Michele spoke with Joe Harwood, contact for Spokane Club. Current unpredictability of state mandates restricting gatherings are making any future planning for the event impossible. Issue to be deferred.

Status of Virtual Bridge: Charlie reported attendance on BBO games has done well, but there are many members that are not playing online. He will email all Unit members, specifically to encourage them to join online bridge, offering assistance as needed.

New Business: Welcome new board member Pat Gorton. February Sectional was discussed and further action delayed.

Meeting adjourned at 5:37 p.m. Next Board Meeting: September 21, 2020, 5 p.m., Spokane Bridge Club

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes June 22, 2020 Spokane Bridge Club

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Albert Fein, Darrell Murphy, Michele Pope, Virginia Sykes (phone).

Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by President Mark Callen. Minutes from May 18, 2020, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. Bank balance ending May 31; $17,121.66. There were no transactions. See attached.

Old Business: Bank Account Name Authorization: Al Fein has been officially added as authorized signer for ACBL Unit 448, U.S. Bank account. Modification of bylaws regarding disciplinary actions: Issue continues to be deferred until live games have resumed.

Acquiring New Board Member: Motion: Bill moved to appoint Patrice Gorton to the board. Al seconded, motion approved. Action: Michele will notify Patrice of appointment.

New Business Status of Club and Sectional games: ACBL cancelled all Sectional, Regional and NationalTournaments through 2020. Club games occur at the discretion of local club owners and directors.

Christmas Party: There was interest and discussion in holding annual Christmas Party. Action: Michele will contact Joe regarding use of Spokane Club for event.

Lou reported some members interest in holding monthly Unit games on BBO. That would require a software update and coordination between ACBL and BBO, which is not going to happen.

Lou’s new address places him in a different Unit. Board expressed strong desire for him to complete necessary documentation with ACBL to reinstate him to Unit 448. Motion: Al moved to keep Lou on the Unit 448 Board of Directors. Bill seconded, motion approved.

Update Green Book Directory of Unit 448 members contact information: Lou has the original file, which would be easy to edit. There was a request for larger font. This will be deferred until live games resume.

Meeting adjourned at 5:28 p.m. Next Board Meeting: August 17, 2020, 5 p.m., Spokane Bridge Club

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes May 18, 2020 Virtual

Board Members Present:

Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Albert Fein, Michele Pope

Absent: Darrell Murphy, Virginia Sykes

Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by President Mark Callen. Minutes from March 16, 2020, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and March, April bank statements. Bank balance statement ending April 30, $17,121.66. There was no activity for April and none to date for May. Noticed an error in March numbers. Spreadsheet does not have the food costs for unit game, resulting in breaking even. Will correct spreadsheet and resubmit. See attached.

Old Business Bank Account Name Authorization: Al Fein and Christine Fratalli have not made the transfer in signature authorization on ACBL Unit 448, U.S. Bank account. Action: Al will accomplish this before June board meeting.

Unit 448 Policy and Procedure Update: Mark reported a petition to modify the bylaws of Unit 448 is necessary to reflect newly modified ACBL’s Code of Disciplinary Regulations. Article X of Unit bylaws requires amendments to include 50 members or 8 board of directors. Since neither are possible at this time, the issue will be deferred.

Payment Contract with Charlie for Unit Sectionals: Michele received and distributed a copy from a prior contract to use as a template. This item will be deferred to June board meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 5:41 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: June 22, 2020, 5 p.m., Denny’s Restaurant, Post Falls, Idaho

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2020 Spokane Bridge Center

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Darrell Murphy, Michele Pope, Virginia Sykes (by phone)

Absent: Al Fein

Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by President Mark Callen.

Minutes from February 10, 2020, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. Bank balance statement ending February 29, 2020, $17,193.68. February tournament showed profit of $270.00. See attached.

Old Business Motion: Mark moved to remove Christine Fratalli, former ACBL Unit 448 board member from U. S. Bank Account #153553949618 and add current ACBL Unit 448 board member Albert Fein to U. S. Bank Account #153553949618. Linda seconded, motion approved unanimously.

New Business: Lou raised concerns about delay of flyer printing and distribution for June and September tournaments. Recommended accomplishing this three months prior to tournaments. Tournament Chair is responsible for coordinating this. Action: Linda will print flyers for the June and September tournaments.

Motion: Lou moved to reimburse Michele for March Unit game hospitality in the amount of $35.96. Bill seconded, motion approved. Mark announced Ann Figg has resigned from the board. Board members will approach prospective members to fill vacancy.

Michele questioned how up to date Unit 448 Policy and Procedures are, to include renewal status of contract for Director fees of Unit games. Action: Michele will obtain from Charlie prior contract to use as a template. Action: Mark will review the Policy and Procedures and inform board of any areas needing revision.

In response to ACBL and Washington State Governor guidelines concerning COVID-19, Charlie has suspended club games at Spokane Bridge Center until further notice. He will post on club website. Motion: Bill moved to suspend Unit games through May 11. Darrell, seconded, motion approved.

Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: To be announced.

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes February 10, 2020 Spokane Bridge Center

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Al Fein, Darrell Murphy, Michele Pope, Virginia Sykes

Absent: Ann Figg

Meeting called to order at 4:58 p.m. by President Mark Callen.

Minutes from January 13, 2020, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. Bank balance statement ending January 31, 2020, $16,930.51. Year end profit /loss statement showed a profit of $450.13. See attached.

Old Business Action: Michele will provide Al a signed copy of December 6, 2019, Board Minutes as required proof in transferring banking authority from past Vice President, Christine Fratalli to current VP, Al Fein.

Motion: Lou moved to reimburse Tournament Chair Joe Harwood, for the cost he incurred in providing lunch for Sectional Swiss game Sunday, February 9, 2020. Darrell seconded, motion approved.

New Business March Unit Game and Award Ceremony: 2-session Swiss and potluck. Virginia volunteered to organize food planning and sign up. Mark will be Master of Ceremony with Bill to assist.

Topic was raised and discussed relating to Jeff Jacob, February Sectional Director, playing in four of the six sessions. Comments centered on his concentration running the game and interruption and disturbance of players. Consensus was to request Director to only direct, and not allow players who show up without a partner to play.

Action: Mark will contact Matt Koltnow at ACBL, for further information and report.

Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: March 16, 2020, 5 p.m., Spokane Bridge Club

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes January 13, 2020, St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Ann Figg, Al Fein and Darrell Murphy

Absent: Bill Davis, Michele Pope and Virginia Sykes

Meeting called to order at 5:02 p.m. by President Mark Callen

Treasurer Report: Discussed and approved.

Old Business: 

Pay bill for previous Christmas Party. Approved.

February Sectional: Sue Norton and Ginny Davis to procure food - $125 per day.

New Business: 

Discussed and approved Charlie's request for March 14th two-session Unit Game / Awards potluck to be six (6), eight (8) board matches.

Food for March Unit Game to be procured by Mark. Food for the June Sectional will be discussed at the next board meeting.

Fall Sectional: September 4 and 6th will be pairs, September 5 and 7th Swiss teams of six (6) eight (8) board matches.

Meeting adjourned at 5:42 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: February 10

Respectfully submitted, Darrell Murphy

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes December 8, 2019, Spokane Club

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Michele Pope Absent: Ann Figg

Newly Elected Board Members Present: Albert Fein, Darrell Murphy, Virginia Sykes

Meeting called to order at 6:53 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Minutes from November 18, 2019, were approved as written.

Old Business:

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement . Bank statement balance ending November 30, 2019; $18,249.01. See attached.

2020 New Board Members: Albert Fein, Darrell Murphy and Virginia Sykes received unanimous vote by acclamation.

2020 Board Member Election Results: Mark Callen: President Albert Fein: Vice President Secretary: Michele Pope Treasurer: Linda Baker

Tournament Coordinator: Lou Arevalo Hospitality: Virginia Sykes IN Coordinator: Bill Davis Membership: Ann Figg 2020 Christmas Party: Michele Pope

New Business:

January Unit Game Hospitality: Linda will provide, amount not to exceed $75.00.

Meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: January 13, 2020, 5 p.m., St Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes November 18, 2019, St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope

Absent : Ann Figg Visitor: Virginia Sykes

Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Minutes from October 19, 2019, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. Bank statement balance ending October 31, 2019, $16,849.33. See attached.

Old Business 2020 New Board Members: Albert Fein, Darrell Murphy, Virginia Sykes: Slate of new board members will be presented and voted by acclamation during Board meeting, December 8, Christmas party , Spokane Club.

Christmas Party Update: Mark and Al are responsible for delivery of extra card tables and 3-4 storage tubs from Rachel's house to the Spokane Club. Charlie will be directing and providing game supplies.

New Business: Jacqui was concerned about February Sectional not listed on ACBL website. Joe Harwood, Tournament Chair has been working with ACBL on getting sanctions. Lou verified that as of today, February sectional is listed on ACBL website.

Jacqui requested if Christine is serious about resigning from the board, that she submit it in writing.

Mark recognized and thanked Jacqui for her leadership and service on the board.

January Board Meeting: January 13, 2020 at 4:30 p.m., St. Aloysius.

Meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: December 8, during Christmas Party, Spokane Club

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2019 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Jacqui Erwert, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope

Absent: Lou Arevalo, Bill Davis, Ann Figg, Catherine Geraghty

Meeting called to order at 2:25 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Catherine Geraghty submitted her resignation from the board effective immediately.

Minutes from August 19, 2019, were approved as written. Minutes from September 9, 2019, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. Bank statement balance ending September 30, 2019, $16,826.25. September sectional had a profit of $751.19.

Old Business: November 16, Unit Game Hospitality: Michele volunteered to provide hospitality. Motion: Linda moved beginning today to increase amount for hospitality at Unit games be increased from $35.00 to $75.00. Christine seconded, motion approved.

New Business: 2020 Board Members: There will be three vacancies to fill. Jacqui’s term is complete, Christine will be resigning in December and Catherine resigned in November. Action: Jacqui will request Charlie post vacancies on Unit website 30 days prior to December 8, Unit game/Christmas party.

Christmas Party Update: Action: Linda will maintain a spread sheet of committed attendees and payments made for Christmas party. Action: Mark will ensure folding tables and bridge supplies be moved from storage at Rachel's house to the Spokane Club as needed.

Meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: November 18, 2019, 5:00 p.m. at St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Special Board Meeting Minutes September 9, 2019 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Ann Figg, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope

Absent: Catherine Geraghty

Invited Guest: Joe Harwood

Meeting called to order at 5:15 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Number of Sectionals for 2020: Discussion with decision to hold three sectionals. September sectional will maintain a KO team event, IMP games will be removed.

Unit Games 2020: Lou proposed dates for Unit game schedule. There was support for not holding Unit games in February, June and September. Other proposed dates were approved.

Election of Tournament Chair: Joe Harwood and Betty Glasser have volunteered to assume Tournament Co-Chair position. Motion: Bill moved to appoint Joe Harwood and Betty Glasser as Tournament CoChair. Lou seconded, motion approved.

Meeting adjourned at 5:28 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: October 19, 2019, after Unit game ,Bridge Club.

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes August 19, 2019 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Mark Callen, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Ann Figg, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope

Absent: Catherine Geraghty

Meeting called to order at 4:59 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Minutes from July 22, 2019, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. Bank statement balance ending July 31, 2019, $17,405.97. See attached. Noted that check #10339 for $1,291.92 paying Director fee for June Sectional, has not been submitted to ACBL by the Director for deposit. Linda will follow up with ACBL.

Old Business:

October 19 Unit Game Hospitality: Jacqui proposed changing the starting time for future Unit games to 10:30 a.m. to coincide with club games. Motion: Bill moved to approve changing Unit game start time to 10:30 a.m.. Christine seconded, motion approved. Mark volunteered to provide hospitality, not to exceed $35.00.

Christmas Party Update: Christine reported the Unit will pay for garage parking. Cost of non subsidized meal is $31.90. Menu choices were discussed with possible change. Motion: Jacqui moved to provide a $15.00 subsidy for cost of meal for ACBL members. Linda seconded, motion approved.

New Business: Labor Day Sectional: Karen Frogner joined the meeting as Tournament Co-Chair with Lou. Karen reported people were not signing up to bring food, recommended a hospitality committee for next year. Discussion on the number of Sectionals to have in 2020. Currently there are three per year, with June the least attended. Action: Jacqui will ask Charlie to post volunteer position for Tournament Chair in 2020. Food and hospitality responsibilities for Labor Day Sectional were divided among board and club members. Motion: Bill moved to give Lou $600.00 for Monday lunch budget. Jacqui seconded, motion approved.

Meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: October 19, 2019, after Unit game, Bridge Club.

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2019 St. Aloysius Church 

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Linda Baker, Bill Davis, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope

Absent: Jacqui Erwert, Ann Figg, Catherine Geraghty 

Meeting called to order at 5:07 p.m. by Vice President Christine Fratalli. 
Minutes from May 20, 2019, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement.  Bank statement ending balance on May 31, 2019, $16,550.20.  See attached.

New Business Board member replacement: Greg Smith submitted resignation from the board on June 6, 2019.  

Motion: Bill moved to approve  Mark Callen to the Board of Directors. Lou seconded, unanimous approval.

August 17th Unit Game Hospitality: Christine will provide hospitality, not to exceed $35.00.

Address need for P.O. Box: Discussion of the merits in maintaining  a Unit P.O. Box vs home address of Treasurer.  Decided to maintain current use of P.O. Box.

Christmas Party:  Christine presented information regarding date, cost and menu for December 8, 2019, Unit 448 Christmas party.  

Motion: Bill moved to approve the expenses and plan for the Christmas party.  Linda seconded, motion approved.

Other Business 
Linda requested funds to reimburse club members for minimal Unit expenses, for example, sympathy cards. An account of the reimbursements will be noted in monthly treasurer report.  

Motion: Bill moved to allocate $100.00 for the Treasurer to utilize as discretionary funds. Lou seconded, motion approved.  
Mark raised a player concern over a lack of internet access preventing the reading of Board minutes.  

Action: Michele will contact Charlie to seek permission in posting printed copy of current Board minutes at his club. 
Meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: August 19, 2019, 5:00 p.m., St. Aloysius Church 
 

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary 

ACBL Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes May 20, 2019 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Linda Baker, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Ann Figg, Catherine Geraghty, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope
Absent: Lou Arevalo, Greg Smith
Meeting called to order at 5:07 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.
Re-Approve Minutes from March 18, Board Meeting: This was necessary to meet Bank
requirements for proper documentation of change in newly elected Treasurer. Approved
as resubmitted.
Minutes from April 15, 2019, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Linda submitted treasurer report and bank statement. See attached.

Old Business
July 13th Unit Game Hospitality: Jacqui will provide hospitality, not to exceed $35.00.

Table storage update and Scott resignation letter: Scott submitted his letter of
resignation and provided an updated list of unit supplies moved to Rachel Denk’s home.
See attached for details.

New Business
June Sectional help: Lou requested additional funds for June Sectional, Sunday lunch.
Motion: Michele moved the board increase food budget, not to exceed $200.00. Bill
seconded, motion approved.
Beginning July 1, all club games will start at 10:00 a.m. For consistency, discussed option
to change Unit game starting time to 10:00 a.m., with or without lunch break.
Motion: Bill moved that Unit games will not take a lunch break. Catherine seconded,
motion approved.
Motion: Bill moved that beginning July 1, 2019, Unit games will start at 10:00 a.m.
Linda seconded, motion approved.

Discussed proposed change of Spokane Unit 448 board meeting minutes header to
ACBL Unit 448 to be consistent with name on unit bank account.
Motion: Bill moved to approve header of board meeting minutes to
ACBL Unit 448. Christine seconded, motion approved.
Meeting adjourned at 5:28 p.m.
Next Board Meeting: July 15, 2019, 5:00 p.m., St. Aloysius Church
Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes March 18, 2019 St. Aloysius Church 
Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Ann Figg, Christine Fratalli, Scott Montroy, Michele Pope, Greg Smith

Absent: Catherine Geraghty 
Meeting called to order at 4:45 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert. 
Minutes from February 18, 2019, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Scott submitted treasurer report and bank statement. See attached. Received a copy of 2018 E9990N, filed with the IRS by Unit member Doyle Crook.   
Old Business:

April Unit Game Hospitality: Michele will provide hospitality, not to exceed $35.00. 
 

New Business:

Approve Linda Baker as new board Member and Treasurer: Scott will be resigning from the Board effective Linda Baker’s election to the board and assuming Treasurer’s position.   Motion: Bill moved to approve Linda Baker to the Board of Directors and Treasurer’s position.  Christine seconded, motion approved. Action: Michele will update ACBL website.

ACBL Electronic Contact: Recommended  Secretary should assume this responsibility for consistent communication between board and ACBL.  Motion: Scott moved the board Secretary should be the ACBL electronic contact.  Lou seconded, motion approved. Action: Michele will update ACBL website.

Motoyoshi Trophy winners can be non Unit 448 member:  Want to encourage all interested ACBL members to participate, compete and win in Unit 448 games.   Motion: Scott moved that any ACBL member is eligible to win the Motoysoshi competition. Bill seconded, motion approved. Motion: Lou moved to change master point brackets; 4th bracket 1,000-2,500, add a 5th bracket over 2,500. Scott seconded, motion approved.  
Other Business: 
Scott discussed his impending relocation and the need to find storage for the Unit supplies he has been storing. Consists of 14+/- card tables, two large and one small plastic bins, two coffee urns and one box of Styrofoam cups.   Action: Scott will send out member wide email, searching for available storage space. 
Greg expressed concern that  unpleasant personalities at club games are a deterrent for playing and affect level of participation.  Board of Directors is responsible for Unit games.  Concerns or issues at the club level need  to be addressed at that level. 
Meeting adjourned at 5:27 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: April 15, 2019, 5:00 p.m., St. Aloysius Church 
Respectfully submitted,  Michele Pope, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes February 18, 2019 St. Aloysius Church 
Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Ann Figg, Christine Fratalli, Catherine Geraghty, Michele Pope

Absent: Scott Montroy, Greg Smith 
Meeting called to order at 4:45 p.m.  by President Jacqui Erwert. 
Minutes from January 21, 2019, were approved as amended.

Treasurer Report:Scott emailed January treasurer report, bank statement and February Sectional invoice.  See attached. 

Old Business: March Unit Game Hospitality/ Pot Luck:  Scheduled  March 16,  Swiss Team event and award ceremony.  Action: Ann and Catherine will provide clip boards to sign up for pot luck and remind directors to  announce . Purchase dessert with budget of $35.00.

February Sectional Update: Received positive feedback from event participants.   Bill commented on slow play and delay of certain tables.  Reminded to call director to deal with situation and provide recourse.

Spokane Regional update: Michele reported that Karen Rise at District stated they provide up to  $5000.00 for venue and $2,600.00 for hospitality.   District receives any financial gains or losses incurred by a Regional . Templin’s  Resort, Post Falls, Idaho met the square footage, cost and other requirements, but disqualified because it was outside district boundaries.  In a prior report, Scott had concluded there was no venue in Spokane that met venue budget. Due to a lack of affordable venue and manpower, it was decided not to pursue a Regional at this time. Action: Michele will notify Karen Rise of the decision. 
New Business: Rachel’s letter to the Board: Jacqui read out loud letter from Rachel regarding concern of bridge lessons  by a director conflicting with scheduled game times, thus 
negatively impacting game attendance.  Discussed and concluded that Unit board does not have jurisdiction over private lessons.

March Awards: Michele and Bill will present; Mini Mc Kenney, Ace of Clubs and Motoyoshi awards. 
Other Business:
Charlie requested  April, Unit game be changed from 20th to 13th.  Action: Lou will revise calendar. 
June Sectional: Discussed providing lunch on Sunday due to lack of time between games.

Meeting adjourned at 5:26 p.m.  

Next Board Meeting : March 18, 2019, 4:45 p.m., St. Aloysius Church 
Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary 

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes January 21, 2019 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Greg Smith, Ann Figg, Christine Fratalli, Catherine Geraghty, Scott Montroy

Absent: Michele Pope

Meeting called to order at 4:45 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Minutes from December 17, 2018, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Scott submitted November and December treasurer report, bank statements and 2018 check register. See attached.

Old Business

February Unit Game hospitality: Christine will provide, suggested we serve pizza. Motion: Scott moved that $75.00 be used for February Unit game hospitality. Bill seconded, motion approved.

New Business

February Sectional hospitality hosts: Friday, Catherine Creer; Saturday, Catherine Geraghty and Ann Figg. Karen Frogner purchased fliers, cork boards and trays for approximately $50.00. Motion: Bill moved to reimburse Karen for expenditures. Lou seconded, motion approved. Ann Figg inquired about care for a player experiencing a medical emergency during a game. After discussion, consensus was 911 would be called by the director.

There was discussion and consideration of changing day of the Board Meeting, decided to maintain Monday evening. Meeting

Adjourned: 5:25 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: February 18, 2019, 4:45 p.m.,St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Catherine Geraghty, Acting Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes December 17, 2018 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Jacqui Erwert, Lou Arevalo, Christine Fratalli, Michele Pope, Bill Davis, Karen Frogner

Members-elect Present: Ann Figg, Catherine Geraghty, Absent: Greg Smith

Absent: Scott Montroy, John Adams

Meeting called to order 4:30 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert.

Minutes from November 19, 2018, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Treasurer Scott Montroy absent. No report given.

Election of Board Officers: The following officers were elected: President, Jacqui Erwert; Vice President, Christine Frattali; Treasurer, Scott Montroy; Secretary, Michele Pope; IN Coordinator, Bill Davis; Membership Chair, Ann Figg; Hospitality Unit Games, Christine Frattali; Charity Game Chair, Catherine Geraghty; Tournament Chairs, Karen Frogner and Lou Arevalo.

Action: Michele will update Board officers on ACBL website.

Old Business

2019 Unit Games: Lou reported on finalized 2019 calendar. March games will be a Swiss Team event with potluck and award ceremony. Yellow card, Individual games scheduled for January and July, Christmas Party, December 8.

Spending limit policy: Discussed, no action taken.

2021 Regional: Michele reported Templin’s Resort in Post Falls met both space and cost requirements for a Regional. Karen Rise at District, gave general guideline of $5000.00/ week for venue, $2600.00/week for hospitality. Templin’s venue rate was $350-$550 per day in February.

Action: Michele will contact David Taylor with Tourn Tables on cost of supplies and table set up.

Advance selling for entry to Sectionals: Discussed, decided not to pursue.

Tournament Co-Chair: Karen reported that Summer Sectional has ACBL approval, still waiting for Labor Day Sectional. Hospitality volunteers for tournaments are arranged. Food budget $125/day, will purchase prepared food.

Action: Jacqui will notify Greg Smith that he will be helping with Hospitality for February 8, Sectional.

New Business

Michele Pope will be absent January meeting, Catherine Geraghty will be acting Secretary.

January Unit Game Hospitality: Catherine Geraghty will provide.

Meeting Adjourned: 5:18 p.m. Next Board Meeting: January 21, 2019, 4:30 p.m., St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes October 22, 2018 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Lou Arevalo, Michele Pope, Bill Davis, Christine Fratalli, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack, Scott Montroy, John Adams

Absent: Jacqui Erwert

Invited Guest: Jodi Kimbrell

Meeting called to order 4:30 p.m., by Vice President Christine Fratalli.

Minutes from September 24, 2018, were approved as corrected.

Treasurer Report: Scott submitted treasurer report and bank statement. See attached.

Financial Report of September Sectional/October Unit game: Jodi presented report. See attached. Charity Unit game on October 21, generated $150.00 profit with donation going to Guide Dogs of America.

2019 Sectional: Karen reported that February sanction has been finalized. ACBL has a new rule that requires ACBL membership to play. Non ACBL members have an option for a 1 month temporary membership for $7.99, allowing them to play in the tournament. Flyers have been completed, waiting ACBL final approval, for printing and distribution. Fairfield Suites will be offering 20% non guaranteed room discount. No Unit commitment required.

Motion: Bill moved that Sectional fees will be $10.00/session, Scott seconded, motion approved.

Action: Karen will clarify with Charlie what janitorial expense includes.

2019 Unit Games: Lou reported that Unit games will be on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., dates were identified for the year.

Update Unit Officer List: Michele will update ACBL site after December elections.

Election of New Board Members: New board members will attend their first meeting in December.

Action: Jacqui will contact Lynn Hayes to Chair the Nominating Committee.

Other Business: Scott recommended for future agenda to consider a policy for spending limits by board members.

Meeting adjourned, 5:38 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: November 19, 2018, 4:30 p.m., St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Metting Minutes, September 24, St. Al's Church 

Board Members Present: John Adams, Bill Davis, Karen Frogner, Lou Arevalo, Jacqui Erwert 

Absent: Michele Pope, Christine Fratalli, Scott Montroy

Meeting called to order 4:30 PM September 24th, 2018 by unit President Jacqui Erwert.

Minutes of August 20, 2018, were approved as written.. John Agreed to capture minutes.

Treasurer Report: Did not review treasurers report.

Old Business: 2021 Regional was discussed. Lack of attendance,financial loss of last regional, and a lack of volunteers makes another unattractive for now. Motion to decline hosting a 2021 regional moved by John, 2nd by Lou, Passed. 

Tournament Chair: Difficulty finding volunteers. Karen and Lou agreed they would co-chair. Motion to elect Karen and Lou as co-chairs for 2019 Sectionals moved by John, 2nd by Bill, Passed

New Business: Progressive Sectional was discussed. We had more questions than answers, so no decision made. Would the finals pay more than a single section sectional? Would it increase attendance? If we do it during a regular sectional, do we have two finals on Saturday, or across two evenings to help evening attendance? Friday start times were discussed. The general thinking is the drop off in 2nd session Friday attendance is related to our aging population preferring earlier games. The number of people that want to play bridge "after work" is increasingly small. Because of this, we agreed generally that we should move up the start times. We discussed 10 and 3 as being the best choice, but since the Friday club game starts at 11:00, it might be better for consistency to do 11. We decided that this is a tournament chair decision, so Karen and Lou can decide based on whatever they believe will work best.

Christmas Party Update: Discussed meal price for non-playing director at Christmas party. Director will be free, though the directors non-member dinner date will pay the $31. Motion by Bill, 2nd by Lou reflecting the above passed.

Unit Games: We discussed selling unit game meal tickets for the meal between the two session unit game on 10/21. The proceeds from the tickets to go to charity. Motion to sell tickets in advance for $4 made by Lou 2nd by Bill. Passed. Since then, Jodi has been selling tickets for $5. I did not notice the disconnect until writing up these minutes - KJA. Discussed which charity to use. John misremembered Jodi's idea (thought Police dogs, was Guide Dogs). Since meeting, have settled on Guide Dogs. Discussed Unit games. Lou agreed to continue in coordinator role. General desire for additional games run as individuals. General distaste for 2 session unit games, though a review of the 3 per year on our calendar shows each is warranted. (Christmas party, annual meeting, and charity dinner).

Next Board Meeting: Monday, 10/22/18 at 4:30 at St. Als.

Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

John Adams, Board Member

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes August 20, 2018 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Jacqui Erwert, Lou Arevalo, Michele Pope, Bill Davis, Christine Fratalli, Karen Frogner, Scott Montroy, John Adams

Absent: Barbara Womack

Meeting called to order 4:55 p.m., by Christine, handed over to President Jacqui Erwert at 4:58 p.m.

Minutes of July 16, 2018, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Scott submitted treasurer report and bank statement. See attached.

Christmas Party Update: Christine reported that non-ACBL members will be charged $5.00 per session, instead of $7.00. Parking costs options were discussed. Action: Christine will talk with Joe Harwood regarding his offer to pay parking fees versus the Unit, charged by Spokane Club. Action: Christine will obtain details on Spokane Club parking garage validation process.

2021 Spokane Regional: Scott has sent out request for proposals to ten local venues. The response has been limited. He will continue to pursue viable options and report next month. Tournament chair would need to be determined.

Unit game day survey results: 17 responses; 6 prefer Saturday and Thursday evenings; 6 prefer Saturday; 5 prefer Sunday. Motion: John moved that 2019 Unit games will be held on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., Bill seconded, motion approved.

Labor Day Sectional hospitality: Hospitality will be done by Ginny and Mary. Action: Scott will contact Ginny to determine preference for receiving payment for hospitality costs, either in an advance or reimbursement. Motion: John moved that Scott provide up to $125/day for hospitality to person purchasing the supplies. Lou seconded, motion approved.

Progressive Sectional for next year: Tabled until next month.

P. O. Box address for the Unit: Bank uses the address of the current Unit treasurer. Scott recommends that the unit purchase a P. O. Box to maintain a consistent address. Motion: Scott moved that the unit purchase a small size, P. O. Box for $82.00 per year. Bill seconded, motion approved. Action: Scott will accomplish this change.

Other Business: Bill spoke will Charlie regarding a proposal for costs covering Unit games and Sectionals. See attachment for list of supplies and costs. Motion: John moved that we accept Spokane Bridge Center proposal for charges covering Unit games and Sectionals. Bill seconded, motion approved.

Next Unit Game, September 16, Bill will provide hospitality.

Meeting adjourned, 5:38 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: September 17, 2018, 4:30 p.m., St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted,

Michele Pope, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes July 16, 2018 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Jacqui Erwert, Lou Arevalo, Michele Pope, Bill Davis, Christine Fratalli, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack

Absent: Scott Montroy, John Adams

Meeting called to order 5:00 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert

Minutes from June 25, 2018, were approved as corrected.

Treasurer Report: Scott was not present. Bank statement and treasurer report were emailed. See attached.

Christmas Party: Christine reported arrangements have been secured for the Spokane Club, December 9, 2018, 11:00 a.m. No deposit required at this time. There will be duplicate and non-duplicate tables in an effort to expand unit membership. Meal cost per person includes tax and gratuity, members $21.00, non-members and guests $31.00. Meal payment will be made in advance to the unit. Flyers of event will be made and distributed at club games. Motion: Bill moved to subsidize meal by $10.00 for members. Lou seconded, motion approved. 2021

Regional: No report, Scott not present.

Motion: Bill moved that person responsible for unit game hospitality will post a sign up list for game participants. Lou seconded, motion approved.

Unit Game Day: Discussion considering a change in day and time to increase participation. Action: Jacqui will conduct a survey of members to determine preferences of day and time to improve attendance.

Labor Day Sectional water provisioning: Decided to provide free bottled water. Motion: Bill moved to have Charlie provide bottled water and that the unit would reimburse him for the cost. Lou seconded, motion approved. Action: Bill will contact Charlie of this action and request count for reimbursement.

District 19 National ACBL Board of Directors Elections: Voting options were discussed, with the decision for individual board members to vote electronically. Action: Michele will notify ACBL, Director of Elections.

Next Unit Game, August 19, Barbara will provide hospitality.

Meeting adjourned, 5:40 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: August 20, 2018, 5:00 p.m., St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

Spokane Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes June 25, 2018 St. Aloysius Church ‘

Board Members Present: Jacqui Erwert, Lou Arevalo, John Adams, Michele Pope, Bill Davis, Scott Montroy, Christine Frattali, Karen Frogner

Absent: Barbara Womack

Requested Guest: Jodi Kimbrell

Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by President Jacqui Erwert

Minutes from April 20, 2018, were approved as written.

Minutes from May 21, 2018, were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: See attached for bank statement and treasurer report. Included is a corrected report for the statement ending April 30, 2018.

June Sectional Overview: Jodi has a signed contract with Charlie Bennet to hold September Sectional at the Bridge Club. Flyer and sanction have been approved by ACBL. June Sectional had 101 tables, down 9.5 tables from 2017. Income $998.74 - expenses = $244.92 profit.

Charity Unit Game, October 21, 2018: last year charged $4.00 for lunch. Jodi will provide dinner, with reimbursement for food expenses. Motion: John moved to collect $4.00 per person from Charity game participants. Jodi to prepare the meal. Charity recipient to be determined at a later date. Lou seconded, motion approved.

STAC vs Sectional: John reported STAC’s are a 7 day event that require 10 tables to participate. Can coordinated with other Units to get table count, determine dates, times and number of sessions. More information is necessary for consideration of feasibility. Action: John will do further research on STAC requirements.

Charlie's Proposal: Regarding excess supplies at Millwood Presbyterian, Charlie and Karen took card tables, with 17 card tables and one round table remaining. Scott reported that accountant said it was acceptable to donate supplies to interested club members. Motion: Scott moved to donate supplies to Charlie as requested with remainder stored at Scotts home. Lou seconded, motion approved.

Christmas Party: Christine reported after extensive research, the Spokane Club provides the best venue, price and quality food. Board will defer a decision on amount of subsidy for participants. Motion: Bill moved to approve Christmas party date of December 9, 2018. Lou seconded, motion approved. Action: Christine will finalize arrangements with the Spokane Club. 2021

Regional: Scott had nothing to report.

Election of District Board Members: Jacqui received information on upcoming District Board Elections . Notice will be posted at the Club.

Unit Game Hospitality: Board members will take turns bringing snacks for the Unit game, to be decided at the Board meeting preceding next Unit game. Cost not to exceed $35.00. Jacqui will provide snacks for July 15 Unit game.

Sectional Chairperson/Committee: Jodi will consider successor and make a recommendation. Action: Scott will request Charlie post opening for Sectional Chair on white board.

Next Unit Game, July 15

Meeting adjourned, 5:45 p.m.

Next Board Meeting: July 16, 2018, 5:00 p.m., St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

SPOKANE UNIT 448 Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 2018 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present: Jacqui Erwert, John Adams, Michele Pope, Barbara Womack, Bill Davis, Scott Montroy, Christine Frattali. Absent: Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner Invited Guest: Charlie Bennett

Meeting called to order at 4:30pm by acting President, Jacqui Erwert.

March minutes were approved as written with exception of Financials on website.

Motion: Bill moved to elect Scott Montroy as Treasurer, seconded by John, passed.

Motion: John moved to elect Jacqui Erwert as President, seconded by Michele, passed.

Motion: Scott moved to elect Christine Frattali as Vice President, seconded by Bill, passed.

Treasurer Report: Scott notes that March report was prepared by Lea. Balance on March 31, 2018, Total Liabilities and Equity is $14,613.67. March Unit game showed a profit of $400.00. Board by-laws require two board members be on the Unit checking account, currently this is not the case. Vice President, Christine will be the second signatory on checking account.

Action: Scott and Christine will go to the bank and complete necessary documentation to update access to checking account.

Old Business: 

Charlie was invited to discuss his plan for future Sectionals regarding room set up for best comfort and flow. He recommends that tournaments need to be sanctioned and advertised earlier and wider to increase the number of participants. Discussed use of Unit funds for advertising. Currently Unit is storing tables and supplies at Millwood Presbyterian Church. Charlie is interested in purchasing some of these tables. Any extra tables will be offered for sale to other clubs in Unit, donating remainder to the church or Goodwill. A new table delivered, cost $35.00. Charlie is willing to rent or sell to Unit, supplies necessary for Sectionals, such as convention cards, cards, and boards. He is interested in purchasing current Unit supplies which would eliminate all Unit assets. Action: Jacqui will ask Jodi what supplies she has and do an inventory of supplies and Millwwod Presbyterian.

Charlie commented that April Unit game did not have enough C Player participation, which makes effort to stratify and reward difficult. Next Unit Game: May 20, two session, Swiss team game and pot luck.

Action: Bill will email IN players to encourage participation in May Unit game. IN range 0-900.

Financials on website will be posted with no names attached to balance sheet, cash flow or profit /loss statements. Treasurer will maintain originals with full disclosure of cash flow.

Action: Scott and John will develop financial reports for website display, protecting member privacy. Scott made a repeat request of past President Mona Hubble to return Unit issued debit card, she continues to be in possession of the card. Lea Rogers returned to Scott second Unit debit card, which he will destroy.

Action: Scott will go to the bank and deactivate Mona’s debit card and request reissue of two new cards, one for him and one for Christine.

Motion: John made a motion to have a special Board meeting at 10am Friday, April 20, 2018 at Bridge Club to approve April 16, Board minutes. Bill seconded, passed. This action was taken to provide Scott with proper documentation to conduct bank business prior to regular board meeting.

Food hospitality at Sectionals was discussed regarding costs and amount of food served. Tournament Chair has been directed to seek volunteer assistance.

Motion: John made a motion to lower entry fee at Sectionals from $10.00 to $9.00 per session and spend $125.00/day plus or minus 10% on food, no labor reimbursement, submit original receipts to Treasurer for reimbursement. Seconded by Christine, passed.

New Business:

Addressing Lea’s auditing concerns regarding Unit financials. Scott stated that he reviewed recently acquired reports from Lea and did not find any obvious irregularities, recommending no further audit until the routine annual audit in January.

Meeting adjourned at 5:43pm

Next Board Meeting: May 21, 2018, 4:30pm at St. Aloysius Church

SPOKANE UNIT 448 Board Meeting Minutes March 19, 2018 St. Aloysius Church

Board Members Present : Jacqui Erwert, John Adams, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack, Bill Davis, Lea Rogers, Michele Pope. Absent: None Others in Attendance: Christine Frattali, Jodi Kimbrell, Mona Hubble. Meeting called to order at 4:13pm by acting President Jacqui Erwert.

February minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer Report: Lea Rogers submitted the following, Doyle Crook prepared and submitted 2017 IRS Non-profit 990-N Form. He refused reimbursement for the work, a note of thanks was signed by board members and given to Barbara for delivery. February 28, 2018 balance of Total Liabilities and Equity, $14,725.68. Sectional Report 2013-2018 showing comparisons of income, cash flow and table count, to be used for future planning of sectionals. January Unit game showed a loss of $78.19. February Unit game, $29.04 profit. February Sectional, $258 profit. Request was made of past president Mona Hubble to return Unit debit card to any board member. Action: Mona stated she will return Unit debit card.

OLD BUSINESS

Motion: Lea made a motion to amend Unit 448 By-laws to include the following responsibilities of the Treasurer: 1. No person including the Treasurer and all other Signer on the Units account(s) can sign a check made payable to him/herself. 2. Individual non-employee compensation must be separately stated (disclosed) on the Financial Statements. 3. IRS reporting requirements must be timely filed for payment of rent and nonemployee compensation. Any other reporting requirements must also be met. 4. Unit Treasurer cannot also hold the position of Unit Tournament Chair or Unit Hospitality Chair. 5. Treasurer is required to retain receipts and proper documentation for all deposits and disbursements and financial reporting. 6. Treasurer has the authority and responsibility to Unit 448 Members to act in due diligence in the reporting of Unit Assets. 7. All financial statements must be made available to all Members Seconded by John, passed . Sectional Chair vs Committee was raised by Jacqui. Jodi has been acting as Sectional chair and committee, requesting assistance as needed. The consideration and discussion was with the intention of cross training and increasing delegation within Unit. Motion: Bill made a motion to direct Chair of Sectional to appoint a subcommittee for the purpose of delegation and cross training of duties. Seconded by John, passed.

Board Member replacement: Christine Frattali was nominated by Bill, seconded by Lea, passed.

June Sectional Venue was discussed. Main feedback of February Sectional at the Bridge Club was the lack of space between tables on Fridays’ larger game. Charlie communicated that an improved table configuration would allow more space between tables. Lower expenses at this venue were a positive factor. Motion: Lea made a motion to have June Sectional at Bridge Club, seconded by John, passed.

Unit Recorder of disciplinary action is Norma Hols. Doyle Crook, Chair of Disciplinary Committee is responsible if further action is required. Motion: John made a motion to E Vote for up to $100.00 in spending, seconded by Bill, passed.

Signatures on Unit checks: Unit President Mona Hubble resigned from the board effective February 19, 2018. Unit board is asking that Mona be removed as signatory from Unit Bank Account. Christine will be the second signatory on Bank Account. Action: Lea and Christine will change signatures required for writing Unit checks.

Unit supplies and storage: currently bridge tables are stored a Millwood Presbyterian Church. Recommended discussion be delayed until next month to determine what if any tables Charlie wants. Discuss renting Bridge Mates. Action: Jacqui will invite Charlie to next months meeting to clarify a plan.

Motion: Lea made a motion requesting Unit Financial Statements be posted on Unit website for all members to access. (Charlie is the webmaster) Seconded by Lou, passed.

New updated Unit 448 Directories: 150 directories were printed, costing $130. Distributed to members.

Other Business: 

Karen shared estimates for food options at sectionals and need to clarify that there will be no labor paid to hospitality person. Motion: Lea made a motion to allocate up to $125/day plus or minus 10% for food at Sectionals. Motion was tabled for further discussion next month.

Motion: Lea made a motion that beginner students from sanctioned classes be given two free plays to encourage and support club participation. Treasurer will monitor individuals and number of plays. Seconded by Lou, passed. Metting adjourned at 5:34pm

Next Board Meeting :

April 16, 2018, 4:30pm at St. Aloysius Church

Respectfully Submitted, Michele Pope, Secretary

SPOKANE UNIT 448 Board Meeting Minutes February 19, 2018 St. Aloysius Church Board

Members Present: Mona Hubble, John Adams, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack, Michele Pope. Absent: Bill Davis, Jacqui Erwert, Lea Rogers. Guest: Jackie Biel Meeting called to order at 4:34pm by President Mona Hubble.

January minutes were approved as written.

February special meeting minutes were approved as corrected.

Treasurer Report:

Lea not present

Tournament Report:

Jodi Kimbrell stated the Winter Sectional made a profit of $258.45, table count 101, down 22.5 tables. Made a profit due to decreased cost of sectional location at Spokane Bridge Club. Membership Report: Barbara stated our unit gained one new member and lost three. She calls and/or emails members to inquire to their reasons for not playing and encouraging participation. A common response for not wanting to play was the unpleasant atmosphere from high level players. John, Lou and Charlie make repeated efforts to enforce Zero Tolerance policy at their games.

I/N Report:

Bill not present Education Report: Brenda and Doyle are having an open house March 4, 1-3pm at the Spokane Bridge Club. This is a community outreach effort to interested bridge players. Unit members are encouraged to volunteer by attending and supporting effort.

OLD BUSINESS:

Tabled for another meeting Mona Hubble read her letter of resignation from the board effective immediately, citing health concerns.

January 29th, 2018  Unit 448 Board Minutes 
 
Newly elected President Mona Hubble called the meeting to order at 3:58PM in O’Malley Hall at St. Al’s Church.  Present were board members Mona, John Adams, Barbara Womack, Jacqui Erwert, Karen Frogner, Lou Arevalo, Bill Davis & Lea Rogers.  Absent was vacationing secretary Michele Pope. Committee members Jodi Kimbrell and Brenda Simpson were also present. 
The December minutes were approved as written. 
Jodi Kimbrell presented the year-end numbers as part of the outgoing treasurer’s report. The account balance as of 12/31/17 was $13,487.78. She also gave an accounting of the Christmas party, the bottom line of which was a loss of $142.05. She also reported that a check was paid in December to Charlie Bennett for $340.75 as reimbursement for 2017 ACBL fees he had paid throughout the year. 
There was a transition of records from the outgoing treasurer to the newly elected and a lot of discussion regarding budgets for Unit games and the three 2018 sectionals. A hospitality budget of $1,100 per sectional was approved. The ACBL check for $997.90 has been received as the Unit’s share of membership fees. We also discussed tightening of fiscal controls, checking account signatories, forms for reimbursement of expenses, etc. The treasurer’s report was accepted. 
 
Old/New Business 
 
The membership roster was again discussed. John was going to take a stab at formatting it so it could be printed and distributed for those people who don’t have internet access. Once finalized, it will also be emailed to members. 
The Unit game schedule for 2018 was discussed at length and ultimately final approval was tabled until next month’s meeting. Among other topics, various formats were mentioned such as Individual, Board-A-Match, Pro-Am, etc. It was agreed that there will be two charity events, one in March and one in October. They will both be two-session events and the start time for the first will be 11AM.  
There was a discussion regarding what the Unit should provide and what members would be asked to bring to the potluck events. The consensus was we would provide desserts and ask the members to bring main dishes, salads, etc. 
It was agreed that player fees for normal Unit games will be $7 and charity games will be $8. Lea Rogers volunteered to do hospitality at the February game as Karen Frogner will not be able to attend. 
We will pay Charlie Bennett $50 rent and $45 Director’s fee for the first 5 tables plus $5 for each table above five. There was some conversation around the timing of who will pay the ACBL fees for each Unit game. Options are Charlie pays and the Unit reimburses him or the Unit obtains a credit card to use for that purpose. Lea & Mona will discuss it with Charlie and report back. 
It was reiterated that the 2018 February sectional is being held on a trial basis at the Spokane Bridge Center. Depending on space and restroom issues, it may be determined that the other two would need to be held elsewhere. A motion was passed to increase the caddy fees for the Swiss team game to $35/session. 
Brenda Simpson gave an education report which included her appearance with Mona on a recent TV program to promote the game of duplicate bridge in Spokane. She and Doyle Crook will host an Open House on Sunday March 4th from 1:00 to 3:00PM at the Spokane Bridge Center. A motion was approved to reimburse her up to $50 for hospitality and other expenses. 
Although the meeting was 1 ½ hours long, there were still many items on the agenda which were not addressed. They will be added to future meeting agendas. 
The next Unit game will be Sunday, February 18th at 1:00PM and the next board meeting will be on Monday, February 19th at 4:30PM at St. Al’s. 
The meeting was adjourned at 5:35PM. 
Respectfully submitted, 
Acting Secretary 
Lou Arevalo

December 11^th, 2017 Unit 448 Board Minutes

President John Adams’s called the meeting to order at 4:47PM at the Spokane Bridge Center.  Present were board members John, Michele Pope, Barbara Womack, Catherine Creer, Jacqui Erwert, Karen Frogner, Lou Arevalo, Martha Burdick and in-coming board member Bill Davis.  Mona Hubble was present via phone-conferencing.  Absent was Jodi Kimbrell and Lea Rogers.

The November minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer Jodi Kimbrell was absent, consequently there was no treasurer’s report.  It was noted, however that there were 15 tables at the Christmas Unit Party.

Old/New Business

The trial Thursday evening game was not a success.  Charlie is going to try a one-time Wednesday night game that will award red points.

A vote was taken at the unit Christmas party to move the monthly unit game back to Sunday.  The start time will be 1PM.  Charlie will direct.

A motion was made and passed to compensate Jodi for her dinner at the  unit Christmas party.

Welcome to new board members Mona Hubble, Bill Davis and Lea Rogers.  Thank you to out-going board members Catherine Creer, Jodi Kimbrell and Martha Burdick.

The following positions were filled for 2018:

President-Mona Hubble

Vice President-Jacqui Erwert

Treasurer-Lea Rogers

Secretary-Michele Pope

Membership-Barbara Womack

Tournament Chair-Jodi Kimbrell

Unit hospitality-Karen Frogner

Publicity-?

I/N Coordinator-Bill Davis

Charity-Jodi Kimbrell

Education Liaison-Brenda Simpson

Electronic Contact-Brenda Simpson

STaC-Charlie Bennett

Research-Lou Arevalo

Goodwill-Jackie Biel

A discussion on requiring the attendance of unit board members to play in unit games was tabled.

The unit is looking for a place to store bridge tables.  Jacqui is checking on a possibility.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:28PM.  The next meeting will be January 22, 2018 at St. Aloysius.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

November 20, 2017 Unit 448 Board Minutes

President John Adam called the meeting to order at 4:45PM at Saint Aloysius. Present were John, Jodi Kimbrell, Jacqui Erwert, Barbara Womack, Catherine Creer, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner and Martha Burdick. Absent was Michelle Pope.

The October minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $13,710.96. Unit Director Charles Bennett has been paying sanction fee’s out of his own pocket. The board decided to wait until December to reimburse Charlie for the unit’s fees for the year. Also included in the report was a yearly web-fee of $81.60. The board approved the Treasurer’s Report.

Old/New Business

The club has completed the move to the new site at 1427 N. Argonne. Feedback has been positive, with special kudos for comfy chairs. The board thought that they had three nominees for the board. However, there are currently two, Mona Hubble and Bill Davis. John will check with Lynn to secure a nominee for the third spot. A Thursday night STAC game has been added to the schedule for December 7. There was discussion about making the Thursday night game a “unit” game. The topic was tabled. There was also discussion about the 2018 unit-game schedule. Should the unit game be moved back to Sunday, now that we have a new site for our games? A vote will be taken at the Unit Christmas Party. The board passed a motion to spend $150.00 for new table markers. Charlie will handle basic supplies and increase rent for the unit’s games. The Argonne Road bridge-club site is being evaluated for hosting Sectionals. The sanction for the February Sectional has been mailed in and the plan is to hold the sectional at the Argonne Road site. Unit bridge tables are now being stored at Jackie Biel’s house. Anticipated cost for sectionals per session is $150.00. A printed copy of the unit roster will be at the club in December. The unit game schedule was tabled for the next unit board meeting. The next board meeting will be Dec 11 and will include new board members. The meeting and the game following will be held at the Argonne club, not at St. Als.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:44PM. Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

OCTOBER 16, 2017 Unit 448 Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:48 PM at Saint Aloysius Church. Present were: Jodi Kimbrell, Lou Arevalo, Jacqui Erwert, Barbara Womack, Catherine Creer, Karen Frogner, and Michele Pope.

Absent was secretary Marty Burdick, Michele was selected to take minutes.

September minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer Jodi Kimbrell reported a bank balance of $13,724.27 . She stated the annual Washington Secretary of State License fee of $10.00 was paid by the due date of September 30. Treasurers report was approved.

Old/New Business

Lou gave an update on the status of a current membership roster that Mary Jean Harmon will be preparing. It will be a print copy, with members names, phones numbers and Unit web site information. Karen gave the board an update on the bridge class she and Bill Rottmayer are teaching at SFCC. Eight students registered and are attending classes. Jodi reported the October 14, Unit 448 Charity game raised $225.00, to be donated to Freeman High School. She will be taking the funds to Freeman this week. The board agreed Jodi use her discretion to decide with the school administration which recipient will receive the donation. The decision will be reported next month.

Nominating Chair Lynn Hayes reported that Mona Hubble and Bill Davis have agreed to run as board member candidates, elections to occur at the December annual meeting.

Jodi reported that the Christmas party is scheduled for December 10, at the Northside Eagles. There will be more information later regarding menu. Charlie Bennett reported on the status of finding a new location to hold games beginning in November. He is working on a possible space at Argonne and Mission. The rent will be higher and likely result in an increase in game fee. There was discussion of the value to the club and Unit in having our own space to be used for games and sectionals. The 2018 Unit game schedule was distributed. It was recommend that consideration and discussion of the pros and cons of special games, times and days would be tabled until next month.

Next meeting will be November 20 at 4:45 PM, St. Aloysius Church. Meeting adjourned at 5:37 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Michele Pope

September 18, 2017 Unit 448 Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:50 PM at Saint Aloysius. Present were: Jodi Kimbrell, Michele Pope, Jacqui Erwert, Barbara Womack, Catherine Creer, Lou Arevalo and Karen Frogner.

Absent was secretary Marty Burdick. Lou was chosen to take minutes via John’s random selection process. It was mentioned that the minutes should include those present as well as anyone missing. Marty will be asked to update the September minutes to include attendees.

The August minutes were otherwise approved.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $13,632.27. Jodi also reported a total of 134 tables at Sectionals in 2017 compared to 139 in 2016. The Labor Day Sectional produced a profit of $440.27, primarily due to the reduced room rental at the church versus the Red Lion. The board approved the Treasurer’s report.

Old/New Business

Karen gave the board an update on the bridge class scheduled at SFCC. To date only 2 people have signed up so they need 5 more for the class to happen.

Lynn Hays was chosen as chairperson of the Nominating Committee.

Mary Jean Harmon would still like a copy of the membership so she can prepare a roster. Lou will make contact and send her a file.

A two-session unit Charity game is scheduled for October 14. Jodi will prepare a Spaghetti Feed rather than having a potluck this year. It was determined that Freeman HS will be the recipient of any donations. Charlie WILL be able to direct the November unit game after all so a replacement will not be necessary.

The 2018 Sectionals will be held on Feb 9-11, Jun 8-10 & Aug 31 – Sep3. JoAnn Scholtz and Sue Norton have decided not to serve as co-chairs. For the moment, that responsibility will remain with Jodi.

Jodi will continue as chairperson for the Christmas party. A discussion was held regarding the menu and Jodi will investigate other options besides prime rib.

Donna Carter resigned as Sunshine Person. Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone.

The next meeting will be October 16 at 4:45PM, St. Aloysius.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Lou Arevalo

August 21, 2017 Unit Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:45M at Saint Aloysius. Attending were John, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner, Jodi Kimbrell, Barbara Womack, Catherine Creer, Michele Pope and Martha Burdick.  Absent was Jacqui Erwert.  

The July minutes were approved with a minor correction to the Treasurer’s report.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $13380. 69.  Jodi recapped unit spending for the past five years.  The board approved the Treasurer’s report.

Old/New Business

Karen gave the board an update on the bridge class being held at SFCC.  Karen has scheduled a Facebook post in September and has added the class to the unit website.  Karen and Bill are re-envisioning their newsletter.   They will send out a Fall email blast and the class can be featured there as well.  SFCC asked if Bill and Karen wanted to schedule a Winter and Spring class.  Flyers for the Fall class are being distributed.

A Nominating Committee needs to be assembled.  Candidates for three openings on the board need to be put forth to the unit members.

Dudley Brown sent out ballots for District 19 Board of Directors to all members of the board.  Everyone had received one, except our newest board member, Michele Pope.  Dudley will be contacted to secure Michele a ballot.  Members were urged to return their ballot ASAP.

A unit Charity game is scheduled for October 14.  Discussion ensued, but nothing was determined.  One idea was to charge $10/person, which would net $2.00 for a charity of our choosing.  

Charlie will be unavailable to direct the November 18 unit game.  We need to find a replacement.  

Mary Jean Harmon volunteered to print off a new roster.  Lou will contact Mary Jean to get her the necessary information.

The next meeting will be September 18 at 4:45PM, St. Aloysius.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:24 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

July 17, 2017 Unit Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:45 PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Lou Arevalo, Barbara Womack, Catherine Creer, Karen Frogner and new board member, Michele Pope.

The June minutes were approved as written, (thank you Catherine).

Jodi Kimbrell, the Treasurer, was not able to attend the meeting, thus there was no report.

Old/New Business

Karen updated the board on the SFCC bridge class being offered.  The school will post two Facebook ads and print flyers for free.  The board reviewed the possible flyers and gave feedback.  The board voted to spend the $30 to “boost” the Facebook ad.

Michele Pope will fill in for the remainder of Rachel’s term on the board.  Welcome Michele!

JoAnn Scholtz and Sue Norton were nominated as tournament co-chairs for 2018.  A motion was made and passed to make JoAnn and Sue co-chairs.

There was discussion concerning the viability of holding a Progressive Sectional.  John is doing further research.

The next meeting will be August 21 at 4:45PM, St. Aloysius.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:21 PM

May 22, 2017 Unit Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:35 PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Lou Arevalo, Jodi Kimbrell, Barbara Womack, Jacqui Erwert, Catherine Creer and Martha Burdick.

The March minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $13,189.51.  A profit of $98.64 was made on the last unit game.

Old/New Business

The unit continues to prepare for the June Sectional.  Jodi has a cookie sign-up, with the goal of having three to five dozen cookies.  Jodi is taking care of additional food, such as a vegie tray and Jackie Biel is in charge of coffee and beverages.

Jacqui will send out tournament reminders to the I/N players.

A suggestion was made for giving I/N’s a dollar off per session by signing up early.  Vouchers could be given out and it would be easier to plan for a separate I/N section. No action was taken.

Rachel has resigned from the board.  A search for a replacement is underway.

The next meeting will be June 26 at 4:45PM.

The meeting adjourned at 4:58PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

March 27, 2017 Unit Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:30PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Lou Arevalo, Jodi Kimbrell, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack Jacqui Erwert, Catherine Creer and Martha Burdick.

The February minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $13,264.50.

 Old/New Business

There was an advertising request.  John denied the request, as the ad was not deemed appropriate for the unit.  

Board members discussed using Facebook for advertising bridge lessons.  Ads can target specific groups such as mahjong player’s or chess clubs.  The unit can determine how much money they are willing to spend on such ads.

Karen updated the board on Fall classes at SFCC.  One additional form and a background check needs to be completed before a class that will probably include Mini Bridge pus Introduction to Bridge in the 21st Century can be placed in the Fall catalog at SFCC.  The department that Karen is working with is the Center for Workforce Continuing Education.

John asked for feedback from the board on the unit’s Facebook page.  It was agreed that the page is in it’s infancy, but good so far.

SYSA told the unit that the unit game will not be able to be held at the SYSA facility.  Therefore, holding the unit game at the same location in Millwood is still in force.

There has been confusion surrounding the Robin Brineman and Kris Motoyoshi awards.  The Robin Brineman Award is only given out when there are separate I/N sections.  As there are no separate sections for I/N, the board is going to suspend this award.  The Kris Motoyoshi Awards will keep being distributed.

The unit continues to promote having a three-table I/N section during our monthly unit games.  Charlie has requested to be informed in advance, if an I/N section is going to occur.  

A request was made and voted on to place a new rule in our Policies and Procedures.  The thought is to make sure that the unit director does not play during a unit game.  The board voted to proceed and will phrase the addition to read:  

“It is assumed that the unit director will be non-playing unless there is an unforeseen circumstance, such as an illness or no-show.”

Additionally, “The unit director should make an effort to fairly seed the field”.

John suggested we try separating sections in unit games, with one section being “limited”.  A unit game would consist of an “open” field and a ”limited” field where only those players with masterpoints between 0-?, (500, 750 or 1000) would compete with each other.

The next unit game will be April 15.

The next board meeting will be April 17.

The meeting adjourned at 5:35PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

February 20, 2017 Unit Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:32PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Lou Arevalo, Jodi Kimbrell, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack, Jacqui Erwert, Catherine Creer and Martha Burdick.  Also in attendance was Brenda Simpson, Education Liaison.

The January minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $13,200.94.  The February Sectional made a profit of $72.25.  There was a 9.5 table increase from last year.

Old/New Business

There was a request to ask Charlie to run a “Howell” movement when there are seven tables at a unit game.  The positives are that you play more pairs, the negatives are that you play fewer boards.  After discussion, it was decided to leave the movement decision up to the director.  A compromise was suggested of alternating movements between a ”Howell” and a “Mitchell”.  

Showing scores on Bridgemates is proving to be controversial.  One-half of players like seeing contracts displayed, while the other half thinks it distracts and slows down the game.  It is already a decision of the board to not allow the scores or past contracts to be shown on the Bridgemates until the end of the game.  Lou is going to remind Charlie to turn off the function used for showing contracts on the Bridgemates during unit games.

The Awards game for the unit is March 25.  Brenda will send Marty a soft copy of the unit game winners.  John will present the Mini McKenney medals and the Ace of Clubs certificates.  Kris Mostoyoshi* Awards will be presented, as well.

Brenda requested a sanction to hold an I/N tournament similar to last year.  A possible date would be in April.  A motion to use a unit sanction for a club game to benefit I/N players was made and the motion passed.  An action item was made on how to schedule the I/N tournament, including the details of date, time and location.

The directories are coming shortly, according to Jodi.

The education budget was tabled until the March board meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 5:34PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

January 23, 2017 Unit Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:29PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Lou Arevalo, Jodi Kimbrell, Karen Frogner, Barbara Womack, Jacqui Erwert and Martha Burdick.  Also in attendance was Brenda Simpson, Education Liason.

The December minutes were approved as written.  John made a request that the minutes be distributed to board members within a week of the board meeting.  The secretary will take it under advisement.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $11,973. 92.  Doyle Crook is doing the tax return.

Old Business

John returned to the subject of holding our own STaC tournament as a way to keep money local.  Members of the board wondered if it was worth the work involved.  Charlie is going to query the ACBL on what it takes to hold a unit-run STaC.

The board will continue to meet on Monday evenings.  The scheduled meeting dates for the next three months are February 20, March 20 and April 17.

New Business

Some unit members are interested in purchasing a dealing machine.  The cost would be between $4500 and $5000.  However, Charlie has offered to pay half of the cost.  There is some concern as to the reliability of the machine.  Additionally, the question was brought up on how a dealing machine would affect the unit’s bottom line.  An action item is to continue to discuss the topic with unit members and ask for opinions.  Vote next month?

Brenda presented an Education print out for the board. There were a number of line items that have not been worth the expense and have provided few new members.  Newspaper ads have not been fruitful, with the Inlander being the only newspaper we currently advertise in.

December 19, 2016 Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:30PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Catherine Creer, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner, Martha Burdick, Jodi Kimbrell, and new board members-elect,  Barbara Womack and Jacqui Erwert.  Note that Rachel Denk also attended after the meeting started.    

The November minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,116.30.  The board approved the Treasurer’s report.

The board elected the following officers for 2017:

President:  John Adams

Vice President:  Catherine Creer

Secretary:  Martha Burdick

Treasurer:  Jodi Kimbrell

In addition, the following posts were filled:

Webmaster Charlie Bennett

Membership Barbara Womack

Discipline Doyle Crook

Recorder Norma Hols, need to confirm

Tournament Jodi Kimbrell, Co-chair???

Unit Hospitality Karen Frogner

Publicity, Brenda?

I/N Coordinator Jacqui Erwert

Charity Doyle Crook

EducationCommittee      TBD

Electronic Contact Brenda Simpson

STaC Coordinator Charlie Bennett, if he agrees☺

Research         Lou Arevalo

Goodwill Donna Carter

Forming an Educational Committee was discussed, but was tabled until the January meeting.

Rachel provided data for table counts.

The board voted to offer Charlie Bennett the position of Unit Director.  The Secretary is to write a contract specifying payment and job duties.

The next meeting will be January 23.  Monday meetings will continue, but which Monday is up for discussion.

Meeting adjourned at 5:30PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick

November 21, 2016 Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:34PM at Saint Aloysius.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Louise Saylor, Jodi Kimbrell, Lou Arevalo, Martha Burdick Karen Frogner, Joe Harwood and new board member,  Catherine Creer.

The minutes for the October meeting were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,242.39.  The unit game had nine tables, which netted the unit $85.  

Old Business

The two candidates put forward this year to fill the two vacancies on the board ran unopposed.  They will be selected to the board by acclamation at the Unit Christmas Party/Election.  Congratulations to Jacqui Erwert and Barbara Womack!

New Business

There were no games on Thanksgiving or the day after.

Rachel is tracking table counts but was absent from the meeting, so the topic was delayed.

Brenda, as education liaison was absent.  The only discussion concerning education was the mention of a 10- week session at the Spokane Club, which concluded.  Additional classes, which are commencing, will be on Monday, Thursday and Friday. Beginning classes will not conflict with current club games.

December 19 is our next scheduled board meeting.  This will be the first meeting for the new board.

Unit game set-up responsibilities was discussed.  A Property Chair vacancy needs to be filled.

A motion was made that Bridgemates not display percentages after every round during unit games.  Motion passes.

Lou made a calendar with pertinent dates to schedule unit games.  Unit game dates are as follows, January 21, February 18, March 25(Awards), April 15, May 13, June 24, July 8, August 19, September 16, October 14(Charity), November 18, and December 10(Christmas, election).

John made a suggestion that we host a STaC game.  Information on how to do this was made an action item, to be discussed at the next board meeting.

Unit Charity games will benefit local charities.  There will be four Charity games.

Meeting adjourned at 5:33PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

ACBL UNIT 448 Board Meeting Minutes October 2016

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 4:33 p.m., October 24 at St. Al’s Church.  Attending were John, Jodi Kimbrell, Karen Frogner, Rachel Denk, Lou Arevalo, Susan Norton and Louise Saylor, recorder.

The minutes for the September meeting were amended to indicate that in the September treasurer’s report the costs for “hand records” should have read $49.50.  Thus making the loss for the tournament $198.50 instead of the previously reported amount.  The minutes were approved as amended.

The Treasurer reported a unit bank balance of $12,087.36.  The report was accepted as submitted.

Old Business:

John reported that his design of the $5 first-time player coupon draft was sent to Sue, who brought a sample sheet.  After discussion of how to distribute and use the coupons, a different strategy was suggested.  John will design a first-time player voucher on a full-sized sheet that includes the sectional information.  Although there is some doubt that this effort will produce increased player-ship, the board believes it is a worthwhile try.

John sent an email requesting volunteers to run for a three-year unit board term.  Two volunteers are needed.  He received no response.

Louise, Nominating Committee Chair, announced the names of people willing to be on the slate:  Barbara Womack and Jackie Ewert.   A Committee search for other interested parties will continue.

According to the bylaws, the slate must be announced 30 days prior to the meeting.  Thus on November 11th, the slate should be emailed, on the web site and in the Grand Slammer, if the timing works, to allow two weeks for other volunteers to come forward.

During this discussion, Sue’s immediate resignation and replacement were discussed.  Catherine Creer was appointed to complete the final 14 months of Sue’s term.

Jodi presented the draft February sectional announcement that will be sent to ACBL for approval.  (She highlighted the earlier starting time to accommodate those players who do not like to drive late in the day in the winter.)  Jodi just received confirmation from the Red Lion and can now proceed with the sanction, publicity, etc.

Additional 2017 sectional dates, site selections and sanctions will be addressed next meeting.

New Business:

John will try to expand and maintain the unit member open email list.

The board decided to have the next meeting November 21 at St. Al’s Church at 4:30.  As this day (the third Monday of the month) seems convenient for most board members, the plan is to meet on that schedule, unless there is a conflict or a need to meet at another time.  

The board approved expenditure of the usual $200 Christmas party hospitality fund.

Meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Louise Saylor

September 17, 2016 Board Minutes

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 2:41PM at the unit meeting’s new location, Millwood Community Presbyterian Church.  Attending the meeting were board members John, Louise Saylor, Susan Norton, Lou Arevalo, Martha Burdick and Jodi Kimbrell.  Also attending was Brenda Simpson, education liaison.

The minutes for the August meeting were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12, 965.83.  There was discussion of increasing table fees at next years’ sectionals to offset the loss the unit sustains holding the tournaments, but it was decided to keep the table fees the same.

Old Business

*The tables are now stored at the Spokane Club.  There is a shortage of people to help move and set up tables for sectionals; a problem the board will resolve before the next tournament.

*Roles and Responsibilities are still being worked on.  They will be emailed to the board at a later date.

*The move to our new facility for unit games is complete.  The time and director are set.

*Kay Fergie’s obituary is on Bridge Winners.

*Site selection for 2017 sectionals is on-going.

New Business

*The Christmas party will have the same location and menu as last year.  It was moved to subsidize the dinner $5.00.  The date for the Christmas party is December 11 at the Eagles.  

*John moved that the board should meet the week after the scheduled election to smooth the transition and to determine the unit game director for next year, the property chair, as well as other officers.  The board agreed, but noted the difficulty of scheduling a meeting during the holidays.

*John suggested that a co-chair be added to the tournament chair position to focus solely on attendance.  No action was taken.

*John will make coupons for players with fewer than five points for free-plays during sectionals.  The coupon will include all pertinent information to play in the tournament.

*Supplies for September’s unit game were missing for the director, resulting in chaos.  Supplies are in storage at the Spokane Club, but were not delivered to the playing site.

*Discipline broke down at the unit game.  Charlie Bennett put himself forward to be disciplined.  

*A nominating committee for December elections needs to be formed, but no one has stepped forward yet to chair the committee.

The meeting was adjourned at, approximately, 3:30PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes August 2016

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 2:35PM Wednesday, August 31.  Attending were board members John, Jodi Kimbrell, Karen Frogner, Rachel Denk, Lou Arevalo, Louise Saylor, Susan Norton and Martha Burdick.

The minutes for the July meeting were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,164.33.  This included a net profit of $109.19 from the most recent unit game.  It was pointed out that unit bridge games are profitable, while tournaments are not.

Old Business-discussion

*John contacted Comfort Inn concerning the cost of holding 2017 Sectionals there.  The Comfort Inn would charge $400/day and store our bridge tables.  It is also estimated that the food cost would be $150/day.  Comment was made that there would be additional work by unit members to hold the tournament at this location and the facilities were not the best.  In contrast, the Red Lion is a nicer facility and the price is below that of the Comfort Inn.

*After the Labor Day Sectional tables will be stored at the Spokane Club.

New Business

*Louise will finish updating the Policies and Procedures.  Jodi will check the portions relating to her position appointments and return to Louise.  John noted that the document is really a position description and responsibility text.  The renamed document will come to the board for approval or correction and then will be posted to the website.

*We are losing access to SYSA on weekends effective September 1.  Charlie recommends moving to the Millwood Presbyterian Church off Argonne, on Marguerite.  A charge of $50 for a 4-hour time frame will be expected.  This location is only available Saturday.  The space is not available on Sunday.  Charlie offered to allow the unit game to be held on Saturday, which would normally have been his regular game.

*John has made a proposal for holding a one-per-week unit game in 2017.  No action was taken.

*The next unit game is in three weeks.  Discussion commenced on choices for the location and time of the games.  Thursdays at SYSA are an option. December’s unit game is at the Eagle’s, so we have 3 unit games to arrange this year.  It is thought that if the unit game were on Saturdays, the time of a current game, that it will become more predictable and therefore, better attended.  The board will move forward with making the 2016 unit games at Millwood Presbyterian on Saturday.  

*October’s unit game is not going to be a charity game, but will remain a two-session game.  

*A motion was made by Jodi and passed by the board to hold 2017 unit games at Millwood Presbyterian on Saturday, with the exception of the Christmas party.

*The only thing left for the Labor Day Sectional is move the tables from the storage unit to the Red Lion, get them set up and taken down Monday.  On Monday the tables will be taken by Joe to the Spokane Club for storage.  Jodi and Charlie will move tables from storage to the Red Lion.  Duane and Karen have offered to help set up.

*The site selection for next year’s sectionals is on-going.  The choices at present are the Comfort Inn and the Red Lion.  

*John will place an obituary for Kay Fergie on “Bridge Winners”.

*Additional discussion was initiated on how to remember Kay Fergie.  No action was taken, but will be revisited at a future meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:38PM.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes July 2016

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 11:39a.m., July 17.  Attending were board members John, Jodi Kimbrell, Karen Frogner Rachel Denk, Lou Arevalo, Louise Saylor, Susan Norton and Martha Burdick.  Also attending were Brenda Simpson, education liaison and Joseph Harwood, board nominee.

The minutes for the May meeting were approved after the correction of the bank balance.  

The Treasurer reported a net loss for the June Sectional of -$194.40.  The unit has not made money on our sectionals for the last two years.  The unit’s bank balance now stands at $12,078.48.

Old Business-discussion

• Prices are going up at the Red Lion for sectionals.  They now want $600 up front for food.  We are locked into using the Red Lion as the venue for the Labor Day Sectional, but we need to look for a different venue for the 2017 sectionals.  John will contact Comfort Inn.

• Jodi has found a temporary solution for table storage.  It will cost $140 for three months.  This fell under the $150 budget that the board approved at the last meeting.  

• Joe has an option for table storage. He has some storage available for free for at least 6 months.  A motion was made to move the tables to the old Diocese building on Riverside in September. The motion passed.              New Business

• Table markers are in poor shape.  Jodi proposes ordering new markers, “A” and “B”, numbered one to twenty.  Rachel made a motion to buy markers for unit games and sectionals for, up to, $100.  The motion passed.

• Mick Soss has resigned from the board.  Joe Harwood was nominated to fill  the remainder Mick’s term. The vote to appoint him to the board was unanimous.

• Jodi has prepared a flyer for the Labor Day Sectional.  It now has to get approved by ACBL.

• The 4-day sectional will have 2 days of Swiss Teams.  Victory points will be used, as the turnout is low. The team games will not be board a match, as was contemplated at one time.

• There was discussion on increasing turnout for unit sponsored events.  One idea was to place flyers at various bridge sites around town.  It is suggested that there needs to be an emphasis on being “nice”.  Joe suggests “ambassadors” and/or “pre-mentors” to new bridge players.  Louise suggested highlighting the “Newcomers ” meaning of I/N game on the flyer, so when placed in local venues it will be obvious to new players unfamiliar with bridge sectionals.

• The board recommends a $5 off voucher for the sectional that will be available to introductory players with 0-5 masterpoints.

• The property chair, previously held by Mick, will be led by Jodi and Joe.

• Jodi and Joe are going to research the possibility of having the 2017 sectionals at the Spokane Club.

• For the 2017 tournament schedule, the board will work as a group in November.  The schedule will then be turned in to ACBL.

• Policies and Procedures will be discussed at the next meeting, which is scheduled to be August 21.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:46p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes May 2016

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 11:30a.m., May 22.  Attending were board members John, Jodi Kimbrell, Mick Soss, Karen Frogner, Rachel Denk, Lou Arevalo, Louise Saylor and Martha Burdick.  Also attending was Brenda Simpson, education liaison.

The minutes for the April meeting were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,188.77, the same as the previous month as there has been no activity in the account.

Old Business-discussion

• The unit is preparing for the June Sectional by scanning flyers and sending them out via e-mail.  In addition, information will be posted in the Grandslammer at the end of May and posted on the Coeur d’Alene website.  
• To increase attendance at sectionals it was proposed that phone calls be made to past-participants and unit members.  The list could be broken down to I/N, Kay’s game, Coeur d’Alene, class students, Tri-Cities.  Phone calls would be distributed between volunteer callers.  No action was taken.

New Business

• Storage needs to be found for unit tables and other materials.  The Property Chair is going to survey the price for renting a storage unit, with $75.00 being the maximum monthly expenditure the board is willing to pay, ($75.00 is what the Red Lion is currently charging us).   The board approved spending $150.00 for table storage at the Red Lion for July and August.  
• An inventory has been done of the items currently in storage and some obsolete items disposed.
• A search is commencing for 2017 sectionals location.  John will check with the Comfort Inn to see if they will reconsider their pricing.
• The unit’s tables are currently at Jodi’s house and a team is needed to move them to the site of the June sectional, which is at the Red Lion.
• A report and photographs of the I/N tournament will be in the next Grandslammer.  The response to the event was very positive.
• Event planning for next year will begin to avoid overlapping with other events.
• Educational classes are on Wednesday and Thursday.  Brenda will consider teaching a class on Tuesday.  No class is slated for Monday, yet.
• John is playing as a professional bridge player.  The board does not see any conflict of interest.
• Louise reviewed the Policies and Procedures.  Much of it is obsolete and jumbled.  Basic procedures can be found on the ACBL website.  She is to present a proposal to the board.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:42p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes April 2016

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 11:30a.m., April 17. Attending were board members John, Jodi Kimbrell, Mick Soss, Karen Frogner, Rachel Denk, Lou Arevalo and Martha Burdick. Also attending was Brenda Simpson, education liaison.

The minutes for March were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,188.77. The report was accepted as presented. A summary will be posted at the bridge club.

Old Business

* The number of tables was down for the March Unit double-session game. It was an awards game. There were trophies that went unclaimed. The unclaimed trophies were thought to be at the club.

* Brenda’s Newcomer, learn-to-play, introductory class was a two-hour session. Brenda has five new people taking lessons. Coffee was provided by the unit. In addition, Doyle has the phone numbers of people signed up during the wellness fair at Corbin.

* An I/N, (0-299 masterpoints), tournament is scheduled for May 15.

* During discussion on the “zero tolerance” policy, John made a point that, ideally, directors should “coach” people to display better behavior, before penalizing them.

New Business

* The unit wants to concentrate on developing a pipeline of people into the unit. If the unit invests in the pipeline we want to see the progression of new unit members. Further ideas for increasing membership included mentor games, where there is less pressure to get in a certain number of boards, with explanation on play of hands, emphasizing capturing, identifying and arranging opportunities to play bridge, encouraging kibitzing as a way for new players to learn the game and learn table etiquette.

* Brenda reported that money for the Cooperative Advertising Program, (CAP), has decreased from 75% to 50%.

* Lou updated the board on the unit game schedule and provided a handout which included unit games at clubs. Instead of a one-unit charity game, there will now be four.

* The fees for charity games and unit games have increased in price. A motion was made to increase unit game fees to $7.00, beginning in May. Charity games will be $1.00 more, which will make them $8.00 per session.

* The July 17th unit game will be yellow convention card only. A flyer explaining the event will be made by Jodi.

* All scheduled games will be published in the Grandslammer.

* The badges suggested and ordered by Karen were a huge success at the regional. The board thanked her for her effort.

* Negative feedback on the Spokane Regional included the basement location, inconveniently placed bathrooms, poor acoustics, musty smell, and layout. Jodi will try to upgrade to the ballroom of the Red Lion for the next sectional.

* Ways to increase attendance at tournaments were brainstormed. Among the ideas were; emails to members, adding Thursday night to the schedule, (using clubs and local directors), adding points, awarding trophies, and getting Coeur d’Alene clubs involved.

* STAC games will directly precede the June Sectional.

* Rachel would like some leeway on informing members through various social media. Information will include upcoming educational offerings, promoting and advertising venues, among other data. Jodi’s new email!!! taffy7577@hotmail.com.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:47p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes March 2016

President John Adams called the meeting to order at 11:34a.m., March 13 at our new location, 1221 N. Howard.  Attending were board members John, Louise Saylor, Jodi Kimbrell, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner, Martha Burdick and Sue Norton. Also attending were Brenda Simpson, education liaison and Rachel Denk, Grandslammer editor.

The minutes for January were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,268.17.  The report was accepted as presented.  A summary will be posted at the bridge club.

Charlie Bennett resigned as board member.  Rachel Denk accepted the appointment to act as board member for the remainder of Charlie’s term.

Under “Old Business,” Bridgemates are now available and working, so the topic has been closed.  In addition, Catherine Creer is confirmed as membership chair.

Lou Arevalo was voted Unit Game Coordinator.  Lou will review the remaining schedule for unit games to ascertain if there are any conflicts.  The unit is currently using 15 sanctions, with 13 left over for clubs and/or unit games.  Lou recommends making several unit games “Unit Charity Games,” thereby allowing us to have even more sanctions.

Charlie Bennett, Dick Yeager, Kay Fergie and Brenda Simpson are interested in using unit sanctions for special games.  These designations allow directors to award more points to winning pairs.

There was discussion about the number of tables needed to “flight” I/N games at our special games and the number is determined to be three.

Unit games are not held in June because of the Spokane Sectional and the Penticton Regional.

There was discussion on how to differentiate between club games, which are businesses, and unit games, which are offered by the non-profit unit, when utilizing the various sanctions offered by the ACBL.  One suggestion was naming club games “Unit Game at the Club.”

In regards to the upcoming Spokane Regional, Jodi Kimbrell will be acting as Co-Tournament Chair.  The Tournament Chair up to this point, Jackie Biel, was taken ill several weeks ago.

A large number of people have been requesting nametags.  One list of requests, with 50 people on it, was sent to the manufacturer.  An additional list is currently being compiled.  The process of collecting money for nametags was discussed.  The unit cannot be involved with the payment process.  Karen will decide specific days at club games and before the Regional to plan a “pay and pick-up” event for the nametags.

The Zero Tolerance Policy was the topic of discussion for ongoing problems at clubs.   Karen included handouts about current ACBL policies that will be posted at clubs.  The Unit has no authority in club games.  Directors have the authority to enforce guidelines.  Club games could benefit from consistent enforcement of rules.  Lou has a system where a player is given a “yellow” card for a first offense, the second offense receives a “red” card.  A “red” card involves repercussions.  An action item is to get directors together to enforce the “Play Nice” policy. 

John received Larry Cohen’s permission to publish one of his articles in the Grandslammer.

A request was made for $50 for snacks for “Learn to Play Bridge.”   It was voted by the board to reimburse $1 for every person on the list of attendees.

Jodi will distribute new unit bridge directories.

Sue proposed an I/N Sectional Tournament. Brenda would direct the tournament.  Flyers will be distributed at the Regional.  The date will be Sunday, May 15.  It will be one session.

The meeting was adjourned at, approximately 12:45p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes January 2016  

Past-President, Chris Kent called the meeting to order at 11:00 a. m., January 23, at the SYSA Bingo Hall.  Attending were Chris, Louise Saylor, Jodi Kimbrell, Mick Soss, John Adams, Lou Arevalo, Karen Frogner, Charlie Bennett and Martha Burdick.  Also attending were Brenda Simpson, Education Liaison and, briefly, Rachel Denk, unit member.  

Rachel Denk volunteered to act as editor of the unit newspaper, “Grand Slammer”.  Rachel will gather news.  Charlie volunteered to help with Desktop software.  Louise offered to edit.  The primary delivery of the newspaper will be by email, with a hard copy on display at playing sites.    

Rachel also expressed a desire for all bridge activities, (games, lessons and mentoring), to be offered in one location.  Louise suggested that the new board make a committee to review this subject.    

Jodi Kimbrell was appointed to the board to fill Steve Sickel’s spot.  Steve resigned from the board last month.  

The new, or continuing, Unit officers are John Adams, President; Louise Saylor, Vice President; Jodi Kimbrell, Treasurer; and Marty Burdick, Secretary.  From this point, John chaired the meeting until it’s conclusion.  

The minutes for November were approved as written.  

The Unit election results from December are as follows:  

Candidates elected to office were Lou Arevalo, John Adams, Karen Frogner and Charlie Bennett.  Also receiving votes was Jodi Kimbrell.  By-law revisions passed with 86% of the vote.  The Bridgemates purchase advisory vote was 47% “yes” and 43% “no”, 10% abstained from voting.  The Dealing Machine advisory was 14% “yes” and 80% “no”, 6% abstained from voting.   

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $11,588.82.  The report was accepted as presented.  A summary will be posted on the bulletin board.  

Jodi gave a recap of the next Sectional’s expenses.  The tournament will be held at the Red Lion, as will all of the sectional tournaments in 2016.  

The Comfort Inn requested that all of our supplies and furniture, that had been stored there, be removed by Wednesday.  Mick, as property chair, will be in charge of moving the items to a new location.  Charlie and John will help with the relocation of items.  

Doyle Crook will be doing the Unit’s taxes this year.  

Under Old Business, The February Unit game date was discussed.  The current date conflicts with the Moses Lake Sectional.  The board decided to change the unit game to February 21.  Marty will get the sanction changed.  Charlie will direct, as David will be out of town.     

Charlie has purchased Bridgemates for his games.  Those, in addition with the Bridgemates that Lou owns, will be made available for Unit games.  Thank you, gentlemen.  Bridgemates for Sectionals will continue to be rented.  

Additional positions within the unit continue to be filled.  

Brenda submitted and the Board discussed the various membership data she obtains from ACBL.  

The use of Unit sanctions for special games was discussed.  Currently, the Unit uses 14 of the 24 sanctions available.  Lou is going to propose how to use these sanctions for greater benefit to club directors and unit members at the next board meeting.  

Under Education, The Corbin Senior Wellness Booth will be operating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 5.  Brenda will make a proposal later for an education, publicity and recruitment budget.  She also added that newspaper advertisements are the biggest source of new players.    

The meeting was adjourned at, approximately, 12:45 p.m.  

Respectfully submitted, Martha Burdick, Secretary

President Chris Kent called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m., September 13, 2015 at the SYSA Bingo Hall.  Attending were Chris, Marty Burdick, Susan Norton, Steve Sickel, Mick Soss, Jodi Kimbrell, Norma Hols and Louise Saylor.  Absent was Donna Carter.  Also attending were Brenda Simpson, Education Liaison and Charles Bennett, Web Master.

The August minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer’s report stated the bank balance was $12,793.24

Jodi reported on the September sectional.  The Unit lost $242.67.  The attendance was down 36 tables overall.  We lost $90.84 on the February Sectional and $371.58 on the June sectional. A discussion was held on how to improve attendance at the sectionals and how to cut expenses. Nothing concrete was settled on. A motion was made and approved to raise table fees $1 to $10 per session.

Jodi also announced that the Comfort Inn was raising the rent on the space we have been using by $25.18 per day. With the $80.45 increase in 2015 it makes a total of $107.63 per day increase in two years. Although she has a verbal agreement with the Comfort Inn about 2016 she will investigate other locations, possibly the Eagles, where the Christmas party is held.

Norma suggested that the 2016 Board appoint someone to promote the Unit games.

After discussion of the four candidates listed, the Board voted on a representative from District 19 to the ACBL Board of Directors.  The vote was by written ballot which each member placed in a sealed envelope with the member’s name and ACBL number on the outside.  These will be sent by FedEx to the District Elections chairman.

Brenda said that the radio ad was playing and she had received several positive comments and six calls concerning lessons.  She showed us the ad in the Inlander magazine, as well, from which she has received three calls.  She mentioned that she had sent the ACBL” In & Out” report to each Board member.

Charlie Bennet said he was still looking into the best web site option available.

Charlie reported on his research of dealing machines and “Bridge Mates.”  He liked the European dealing machine which was half the $4,700 cost of the US one, until he heard that they didn’t hold up well.  He also liked the European (Per Jannerstron) scoring machine method which uses software  and small computer pads on each table and which cost $50 per station. (20 Bridge Mates would cost circa $4,500.) He will try to investigate further when he is in England next month.  Mick proposed that we ask the membership at the Christmas meeting whether or not to proceed with either project.  The Board will vote on this proposal in October when we have the final wording of the motion.

The nominating committee, Chaired by Marty Burdick, with Lynn Hays and BJ Kolkman, recommended three candidates for the 2016 Board of Directors: Karen Frogner, Charles Bennett and John Adams.  The recommendation was accepted by the Board.

Louise led a discussion on the Unit bylaws which she has been working on.  She cleaned up the grammar, redundancy and cohesiveness and added a section on absentee balloting. The Board approved of what she presented. She will send us a final corrected copy that will be presented to the membership at the annual meeting.  Copies will be distributed by email and available at SYSA on paper before the annual meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.

Norma Hols, Secretary

Vice President Marty Burdick called the meeting to order on August 2, 12:00 noon, at the SYSA Hall.  Members present were Marty, Norma Hols, Jodi Kimbrell, Louise Saylor, Mick Soss, Steve Sickel, Donna Carter and Sue Norton.  Absent was Chris Kent.  Also present was Brenda Simpson, Education Liaison and Electronic Contact.

The July minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported that the Unit bank balance is $13,105.97.  She is going to post the monthly Treasurer’s report on the Unit bulletin board at SYSA.

Louise presented the edited version of the by-laws which includes a change in the election process. Further changes will be implemented and discussed at the next meeting for approval of the Unit members at the December membership meeting.

Marty announced that Lynn Hays and BJ Kolkman will join her on the nominating committee.

The Unit game in September will be a NAOP qualifying event.  David Rottmayer will announce this via email to the membership.

Doyle Crook, the Charity game Chair, discussed some of his ideas for raffles, etc.  He named the Salvation Army as the 2015 charity.  The Board voted to contribute $100 to the event.

The Board also voted to contribute $500 for hospitality for the April Spokane Regional tournament.

Brenda gave the Board a list of members who had been sent reminder notices for dues. She reported that the current Unit membership is 244.  She also discussed the radio ad and said the American Bridge Teachers Assoc. felt this type of ad was not successful.  The Board will wait until Chris Kent returns to decide whether to go ahead with it, or concentrate on printed ads and booths at events. She also said since she could not attend the National ACBL teachers meeting this year the Board can cancel the $200 registration fee given to Unit teachers attending.

Norma announced that the Election Materials for the Dist. 19 representative to the ACBL Board of Directors will be sent to her and the Unit Board will vote for this representative at the September Board meetig.

Mick reported on the expense of a dealing machine and found them listed at circa $4,500.  Charlie Bennett is going to investigate at the Nationals if there might be a better deal somewhere.

The new club game was announced – Lou Arevalo’s Monday night game at St. Aloysius.  Charlie is having the game added to the Unit web site.

The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted, Norma Hols, Secretary.