Rhode Island Bridge Association, Inc
Minutes of Unit 145 Meeting
November, 30, 2011
Present: Joe Brouillard, Grace Charron, Lois DeBlois, Chris DelSesto, Lisa Eklund, Sue Erwin, Maureen Fahey, Brenda Iemma, Paula Najarian, Nancy Rosenbaum, Bill Shockley, Rick Tropper, Stan Williams
Absent: Ann Broomfield, Danuta Lamparski,
Excused: Bob Erwin, Ray Hayden, Jo Murray, David Prentiss
Call to Order:
Sue Erwin called the meeting to order at 5:35 pm.
Treasurer’s Report:
A financial report was presented for the period from June 1st to November 30th. Joe Brouillard gave a report for July and August. Brenda Iemma read the report of income and expenses. There was a motion to approve the report which was seconded and unanimously accepted.
Tournament Manager’s Report:
Maureen Fahey reported on the Annual Gala. There were 106 people in attendance. It was suggested that one person collect the information/funds from participants and also work with the Shriners/catering venue. This would reduce the confusion of people trying to contact more than one person. There was a mix-up with the beef entrée where the mailing and the catering contract had different items. It was requested that a flyer be created for handout at the clubs next year so that there would be more visibility about the event (just in case someone misses the mailing).
Preparations are underway for the January sectional. The price for sandwiches may go up $1. For more information about flyers for this event see New Business.
Secretary Report:
The minutes from the Annual Gala were distributed. There was a motion to accept the minutes from the August and October meetings which was seconded and approved unanimously.
Other Business:
Maureen noted that she has paid $50 for help in moving the tables from their basement for tournaments. Given that the storage is free, this was seen as a reasonable expense.
Bond Insurance:
The issue of providing bond insurance for the treasurer and tournament manager was revisited. At this point, the quotes are several months old and would need to be researched again. Any contract of this sort would need to be executed by the President. Joe Brouillard will give new quotes to Bill Shockley who will take over from Sue Erwin on this project.
Charity:
Charity cans for the RI Food Bank were distributed to clubs in September. Some have already been returned and replaced. They will be collected again in January.
BridgeMates:
Joe Brouillard gave an update on the possibility of purchasing BridgeMates for the clubs..
The District has gone back and forth between purchasing and leasing BridgeMates. Currently they are considering purchasing. We would need to talk to the district about combining with their purchase. The original cost was $99 but may now be $120 per BridgeMate so Joe showed proposals with both figures. So far he has not heard from Cranston, Portsmouth, and Providence about participating. The BridgeMates would still be the property of RIBA and there would be no initial cost to the clubs (the clubs may be responsible for maintenance). One way to offset the cost would be to raise the sectional cost to $10/person. An alternative is renting the units for tournaments only from Kevin at the rate of $0.50/table. It would require about 50% of the clubs to agree to make the plan viable. There was a motion to move forward in purchasing BridgeMates for the Unit (assuming confirmation of agreement with >50% of the clubs) which was seconded and unanimously approved.
Bylaws:
The amended bylaws that were sent out with the Annual Gala invitation were passed at the Gala and sent on to the National Organization.
Unit Recorder:
Grace Charron has been appointed to replace Bill Shockley as the Unit Recorder.
New Business:
Charity Chair: Judy Biegner has expressed a willingness to be the charity chair without being a board member (due to the responsibility of board members attending quarterly meetings). She is very familiar with local charities and how to check how much goes to charitable efforts as opposed to overhead.
Sectional Flyers: The sectional flyer needs to be printed for clubs and posted on the web. Paula Najarian and Ann Broomfield have agreed to be listed for the Partnership Desk. Maureen Fahey will send a final version to Lois DeBlois and Joe Brouillard for distribution.
Compensation: Sue Erwin suggested splitting the Secretary compensation equally between Bob Erwin and Lisa Eklund for 2011. The Compensation Committee should be reviewing this situation for 2012. Looking back at old minutes, a Compensation Committee was formed in August 2010. David Prentiss was chosen to chair the committee and the other committee members were Bob Erwin, Joe Brouillard, and Kathy Thornton.
Hospitality Chair: Lois DeBlois confirmed her intention to serve as the hospitality chair for the January Sectional.
2013 January Sectional: There is a conflict between the January 2013 Sectional and the Grand National Tournament (GNT) qualifier. We have been given approval to continue even with the conflict, understanding that those interested in the GNT will not be able to attend. The sectional has always been strategically planned between the football playoffs and the Super Bowl.
Emergency Regional Meeting in January: There will be an emergency regional meeting in January to discuss the scheduling of Sectionals. This is a result of the NH Unit requesting 10 tournament dates per year. It is important for representatives from RI to show up and Sue Erwin is coordinating this effort. While there isn’t a large overlap of people from NH at RI sectionals, it would draw away the attention of people in Massachusetts who regularly attend RI sectionals.
There was a motion made and passed to adjourn the meeting at 6:30.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Eklund
Secretary