Rhode Island Bridge Association,
Inc
Minutes of Unit 145 Board Meeting
April 30, 2008
Present: Joe
Brouillard, Bill Niemi, Bill Lang, Bob Erwin, Lois LeBlois, Judy Biegner,
Sue
Erwin, Lou DiOrio, Bill Shockley
Excused: Chris DelSesto, David Prentiss
Absent: Brenda Iemma, Nancy
O’Donnell
President Joe Brouillard called the meeting to
order at 5:50 p.m.
Secretary’s
Report
Sue Erwin’s report of the February board meeting
was read and accepted without correction.
Treasurer’s
Report
Brenda was
not present.
Tournament
Manager’s Report (Joe
Brouillard)
March Tournament
·
Attendance
was down on Saturday but up on Sunday, leaving us with a small profit.
June Tournament
·
Planning
to have a Saturday I/N game and Stratified Open Pairs ( C= 0-500, B= 500 –
1500, A= 1500+)
·
Sunday
C= 0-750, B= 750-2000, A= 2000+
·
Board
Members: Please bring an item for the
hospitality table
·
There
are five categories in which we could use some assistance:
·
Sandwich
orders,
·
beverages,
·
trash
collection,
·
hospitality,
and
·
cleanup.
·
Joe asked for
assistance from members of the BOD to share the
workload. (Of course, general help is
also appreciated.)
Gala
·
Last
year’s attendance was 141 people. We must
limit it to 136 people this year – 34 tables
·
Preference
will be given to RIBA members. Sign up
early!
·
Discussion
of costs ensued. There will be a $30
charge for non-RIBA members. Charge for
RIBA members will be determined based on meal cost.
·
A
favor costing approximately $2 was suggested.
A convention card holder imprinted with RIBA was agreed to by a vote of
the BOD.
·
Lois
volunteered to help work with the Shriners, and Sue
volunteered to take reservations.
Old
Business
State of Rhode Island
Registered Agent
The report was filed with the
state, and Joe Brouillard is now the Registered Agent for RIBA.
Internal Revenue Service
The 2007 990-N return for
tax-exempt organizations has been filed.
Charities
Concerns regarding the charitable
donations have been resolved. Joe will
assess if Brenda had sent out the checks for this. If not, they will be sent.
New
Business
Vice-President Position
Open
Kevin Pilkington has resigned from
the vice-presidency. Joe will work to
resolve this vacancy over the next few months.
Bridge
Bits
·
Bridge
Bits will need to go out by September 1st.
·
Sue
Erwin (secretary) will help put this together.
·
Request
for articles put out.
·
Those
Bridge Bits that can be emailed will be, and the rest will go out through USPS.
Boston NABC
Frank Lombardo and Kathy Benjamin
will be attending the Gala and will talk about the Boston NABC.
Website
We have a new hosting
company. The domain is up for
renewal. A motion was made to renew the
domain for 2 years, was seconded, and was carried.
Online Directory
The online directory is to be
updated. There will be a new printed directory
at the Gala. Make sure people get their
updates to the ACBL, the basis for our directory.
New
Event for Sectional
Should we have a double session
game instead of two single games at our sectionals? A double session game would increase
awards. People could still come in and
play a single session if they wished. We
will try this at the September sectional. As a post-meeting note, the unit will add a
section of the World Wide Game at the June sectional. Joe and Kevin Griffin are working on getting
this into place.
Knockouts
A discussion was led by Joe
regarding potentially adding knockouts to our sectionals? It would need three sessions, necessitating a
Friday night game. There are questions regarding
cost, availability of the venue, and if people are interested. A questionnaire will be in place at the June
sectional to gather data. If we include
a Friday evening KO, it may be worth adding a pairs
game, also.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:45.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Erwin
Secretary