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

The Annual Christmas Party was held at the Eagles Hall on Sunday, December 13. After the first session of bridge and dinner, ballots were passed out and it was announced that all four Board nominees were elected. As a result, John Adams, Lou Arevalo, Charles Bennett and Karen Frogner are now members of the Unit 448 Board of Directors with three year terms. It was informally agreed that a transitional meeting between the new and old Board would be held sometime soon. In addition, the revised Bylaws were approved. The advisory vote for the dealing machine failed, but the the Bridge Mates advisory vote passed 24-20.

Unit 448 Board Meeting Minutes November 2015

The meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m. by President Chris Kent at the SYSA Bingo Center.  Attending were Chris, Jodi Kimbrell Donna Carter, Marty Burdick, Louise Saylor and Norma Hols.  Absent were Sue Norton, Steve Sickel and Mick Soss.  Also attending was Charles Bennett, Unit web master.

The October minutes were approved as written.

The Treasurer reported a bank balance of $12,307.19 and said the Charity game netted $1,662 which was presented to the Salvation Army.  The report was accepted as presented.

The Christmas game was discussed and it was decided to change the membership meeting to occur after the dinner, during dessert.

Marty Burdick, Chair of the Nominating Committee, made a motion on behalf of the nominating committee, to add Lou Arevalo’s name to the list of candidates for the Unit Board.  The motion was approved.

Chris asked if the Board members had any reaction from the membership regarding the By Law amendments.  Louise mentioned a few questions she received.  The amendments will be presented as currently written.

The ballot for the membership was presented.  It was suggested and approved that the maintenance of several hundred dollars per year be added to the cost of the dealing machine on the ballot.  Charles Bennett said his preference would be for the Bridge Mates as being more useful to the Unit and the clubs than a dealing machine.

Some Club directors have asked about using Unit game sanctions for club games to increase master point awards.  The Unit now has 24 sanctions per year available and uses about 15 of them.  The Board approved letting clubs use some of the extra sanctions.  A sanction for a club would have to be requested by a Board member.

The Board approved a change of web site provider recommended by Charles Bennett after a trial run..  The new web site would cost $65 per year, nearly a third of the current cost, and be easier to change and update.

The dates of the 2016 Unit games were set: January 24, February 28, March 13, April 17, May 22, July 17, August 21, September 18, October 23, November 20, and December 11.

The site for the February 2016 sectional was discussed.  The Comfort Inn has raised the cost to $400 plus tax per day and this was felt to be excessive.  The Red Lion Inn at the Park has offered a room for $200 per day and Jodi was authorized to contract for this if she thought it appropriate.

A motion was made and passed that the Unit again sponsor a table at the Corbin Senior Center Health Fair.  The cost, if paid now, is $180 and will go up in a few weeks.  The motion was approved.  The people at the Fair expressing interest will be given a free bridge lesson and presentation by Brenda Simpson and Doyle Crook with volunteers from the Unit helping.

The Unit Policies and Procedures were briefly discussed by the Board.  It was generally recognized that the current Policies and Procedures need to be reviewed and updated. 

Respectfully submitted, Norma Hols, 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

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.