Unit 195 Board Meeting Minutes



Unit 195 Board Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF THE UNIT 195, WESTERN MICHIGAN, ACBL BOARD MEETING 
held at Perkins Restaurant in Kalamazoo on Saturday, June 5, 2004

The meeting was called to order by President Dennis Carman at 10:30 PM.

Present were:
President Dennis Carman
district 1 -  Pat Clark, Duane Little, and Joe Manhart
district 2 -  Joanne Molt, Dave Kamm and Alternate Walt Casper
district 3 -  Eugene  Kales, Jackie Oman, and Paul Christ
district 4 -  Alan Bau, Tom Eadie, Judy Euler and Don Jones,
district 5 -  Brenda Walz and Pete Fleming
Tournament Coordinator - Bob Varty
Guests - Nancy Yarbrough, Mary Matthews, Lynn Larson, Allen Schwenk
Board Member absent: - Roger Anderson 

The Minutes of the Board Meeting at Jackson, January 17, 2004 were approved.

The Financial Report was presented by Joe Manhart.  He pointed out that the 
Unit checking account is at $3969 after paying the rent for the Kalamazoo 
Sectional and the total assets are $30,224.  Financial results of tournaments held 
this year are shown under Tournaments Results below.  The report was approved.

Dennis reported results from the District Board Meeting.  The District 12 
STaC will be December 6-12, 2004, (Our Unit will subsidize clubs for $5 of the $6 
per table fee for all of their STaC games that week.)  
    The Grand National Teams District Final was May 22,23, 2004.  The  Flight 
B winners from Unit 195 were Bob Houtrow, Lowell Seyburn, Beth Armstrong, 
Bill Northrop,  and Jan Garth. Jackie DeRouin was the sixth member of that team. 
They will compete in the in the GNT at the New York City NABC in July.
    Dennis was disappointed that the District GNT game was so late in the 
spring.
The Board seemed to agree that it should be after the NABC in March to easily 
May
    We will be electing a new District 12 Director to the ACBL Board.  Our 
newly elected Board  will  vote at the Board Meeting in Traverse City on 
September 11.  The candidates are Bill Arlinghouse and Beverly Gardner who will be 
campaigning  throughout the coming months and will be invited to our September 
Board Meeting.
    Bob McKee(SOMBA)(313-863-4437) was elected new  District 12 
secretary/treasurer replacing Dale Dalliare.  Barbara Jur(also SOMBA) is president of the 
District 12 Board, as well as, First Alternate District 12 National Director. 
    Gene Kales asked about joining in STaC’s with Districts across the Lake 
to have some games in February.  By a straw vote it was agreed that he should 
continue to check on this as he said he would do in January.
    District 12 is running the NABC in Detroit in 2008 and are looking for a 
chairman.  Any candidates?
    
TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
    Jackson Sectional, 66.5 tables,  profit after board meeting free plays 
was still $8
Grand Rapids Sectional, 108 tables, profit $88
Lansing NLM Sectional, 25.5 tables, profit $183

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULING:
    Expected 2005 Sectionals will be in Jackson(January 8,9), Grand 
Rapids(Apr. 29-May 1), Kalamazoo(June 3-5), Muskegon or Grand Haven, Traverse 
City(Sept. 5-7), and Lansing with St. Joseph still a possibility in late October or 
early November.  Limited masterpoint one day Sectionals will be in St. Joseph ?  
and two NLMs in Lansing.  
The Unit Regional stay in Grand Rapids in 2004(August 9-15), 2005 and 2006.

BOARD ELECTIONS
    Board members are elected for 4 year terms and Alternates for 2 year 
terms.  All Alternates and about half of the Board are elected each two years.  
Board members who have another 2 years of their terms remaining were designated 
as nominators for Board members and Alternates.  Their nominations are shown 
below:
  Little         Number to
 District       be elected   	Nominators           Candidates               

    1       		2
	Regular			Duane Little        Pat Clark, Joe Manhart, Nancy Yarbrough         
	Alternate			            		Lynne Larson

    2       		2   	
	Regular			Dave Kamm         	Roger Anderson, Joanne Molt               
	Alternate						Dennis Blodgett

    3       		1   
	Regular			Kales, J. Oman  	Paul Christ, Darryl Haynes 
	Alternate						Harry Oman

    4       		2   
	Regular			Bau, Eadie       	Judy Euler, Don Jones, Dave Shaffer, Marian Vyverman
	Alternate			           		Allen Schwenk

    5       		1 
	Regular			Pete Fleming      	Brenda Walz                  
	Alternate			          		Bob Ploegstra

    Where there are the same number of candidates as positions those 
candidates are declared elected and are underlined above.  Thus, Elections for 
Directors will be held in three little districts(1,3,4).  The two highest vote counts 
will elect 2 directors in 1 and 4 and one will be elected in 3. (If there are 
any mistakes in this listing please let me know immediately)
There was a lot of discussion of how to distribute ballots and letters.  I 
have arrived at this plan:  Enclose newsletter, statements, ballot, and return 
envelope to each member in the districts requiring voting.  Fold, or stuff in 
envelopes, newsletter for members who are not voting.  Mail packets of 
unstamped pieces to major game sites for distribution to members attending their games 
with adequate stamps to be applied to mail those not distributed in person.  
Allow voters to return ballots in enclosed envelopes to bridge centers for 
returning to me(saving the members postage).
Those receiving ballots by mail may use return envelopes to mail ballots to 
me or return the envelopes to a center.  I will expect unused stamps to be 
returned with the grouped  ballots. If additional stamps are needed the provider 
will be reimbursed.  I estimate the total cost of election to be about $225,  
If there are objections to this procedure please get back to me immediately.
    Alan Bau reported on the Unit Webb Site, www.unit195bridge.org.  It has 
passed 300 hits and had Fridays scores posted before the meeting on Saturday.  
Club information is posted.  Alan asks everyone to check accuracy and report 
any corrections to him.  Links are in place to and from the District 12  and 
ACBL sites.
Links or listings of other interesting bridge sites will be posted.  Send 
suggestions to 
Alan.
    Alan Bau reported that the MENTORING PROGRAM at the Kalamazoo bridge 
center is growing with 12 partnerships established and progressing.  The Board 
voted to continue the program, at least, until the next Board meeting.
    Joe tried to explain his procedure for reimbursing NAP and STaC games.  
Club managers are asked to submit a request for the payment of $3 per table for 
their first NAP each month minus $1 per estimated tables for their STaC 
games.  If the variance from the estimated STaC table count is significant 
adjustment can be made.

NEW BUSINESS:
    Eugene Kales moved and it was seconded and approved that the Unit be the 
sponsor(as required by ACBL) for a special 2 or 3 day STaC game to be held at 
the Lansing Bridge Center--probably in August 20-22-- to celebrate its 25 
anniversary. There will be no cost to the Unit.
    Eugene Kales moved that the Board approve his sending to the ACBL Board a 
statement that we support maintaining the present age of 25 as the upper 
limit for junior status in all aspects of ACBL.  All but one member approved.
Eugene Kales moved that we increase the mileage allowance for Board travel to 
$.30.
The motion failed to pass.
    Eugene Kales asked if the Board still agrees to fund 25% of the cost of 
advertising for ACBL approved lesson series which was originally specified as 
Easy Bridge which ACBL no longer promotes.  It was the feeling of the Board 
that the program of support should continue for lesson advertising approved by 
ACBL.
    Joe Manhart commented that he had seen a notice that  “At sponsors option 
the stratification level of a team in a Swiss teams may be determined by the 
average masterpoint holding of all team members.”. (Here quoted directly from 
Reno Recap .
 p. 30, June, ACBL Bulletin)
    The next Board Meeting will be September 11, between Saturday sessions in 
Traverse City at Ruby Tuesdays, East of the playing site on US 31

The Meeting was adjourned at 12: 45 pm.

Respectfully submitted 

Joe Manhart


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