Minutes of Board of Director’s Meeting
April 17, 2015
Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Hollister Duplicate Bridge Club
Unit 524
Present: President, Ken Johnson, Vice President Lyle Supp, Secretary Dian Wood Picone, Guest Joanne Wicker. Excused Member at Large, Mark Sulczynski, Treasurer Vincent McLoughlin.
I . Minutes approved
II Treasurer’s Report approved.
III. Old Business
- a) Christmas Party: Lyle reported on the status of the Christmas Party planning and that Joanne Wicker had volunteered to assist.
- b) Special Games: Ken reported that general attendance had increased at the Monday and Thursday games and that the Pro-am Game in Hollister was well attended and, having 9 tables, was a judged a success. Ken reported on his discussion with Linda King regarding the possibility of scheduling additional Unit Games in Hollister. She thought one additional game in Hollister per quarter would be acceptable. The Hollister facility is limited in space, allowing a maximum of 11 tables. Linda will check the availability of the Dunne Park facility and report back to Ken. The Board approved Ken’s circulation of a survey to determine Unit member’s interest in and frequency of additional games in Hollister
- New Business
- a) The Board discussed having access to Directors who would be interested in supplementing Al Peponis’ direction of the Unit games when he is unable to preside. Ken has been in touch with one Director who was interested. In Hollister, Skip Pack is working on becoming a Director with Linda King’s assistance.
- b) In response to the Board’s desire to increase both numbers of players and active participation in the Unit, Joanne Wicker described her experiences with student bridge programs. She participated in the very successful San Francisco based SIBI program which coordinates with public and private schools and private groups interested in youth bridge. Some of the high school level players she encountered have gone on to participate in both national and international games. Joanne taught classes under SIBI’s auspices and was especially pleased with the positive response of a group of youngsters from a less affluent community. The ACBL supports the youth programs, providing materials including books and equipment as well as a stipend for teachers. The teachers have to obtain accreditation through ACBL which program is described on the ACBL website. The Board felt that the SIBI program was an inspiring long term goal but that the Unit did not have the ability to engage in such a youth program at this time. Joanne had several interesting proposals for increasing participation in the Unit’s games: such as theme games, hat day, pizza day and so forth. She suggested that mini-lessons prior to a game would garner interest and support from the Unit members.
Ext Meeting May 1, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Meeting Adjourned at 12:20
Respectfully submitted,
Dian Wood Picone, Secretary