MINUTES

Cleveland Whist Club

Board Meeting, Unit 125, Wednesday January 6, 2010

Present: Bev Carter, Geraldean Jones, Eva Lefton, Peter Miller, Sue Pisanelli, Frank Scali, Susan Stark, Roz Sukenik, Kathy Wolford, Kermit Wolford, Wayne Ward, Mary Lou Vermerris, Ginny Young.

Guests: Sharon Fairchild, Doug Henderson.

Absent: Harriet Kitay, Ellen Miles

The meeting was called to order by the president, Ginny Young, at 5:40 PM with a quorum present.

The minutes of the last meeting on November 11, 2009 were approved as submitted with no changes following a motion to accept by Wayne Ward with second by Kermit Wolford.

Treasurer’s Report: no new report at this time.

President’s Report:

Doug Henderson has requested assistance with the Cleveland Youth Bridge Program that he is starting. He needs duplicate boards to use in the classroom. Discussion about the Unit’s boards reveals a need for new boards for the Unit. A motion was made by Sue Pisanelli and seconded by Bev Carter to purchase 2 sets of new boards for the Unit and to give a set of old boards with the cards in them and the carrying case to Doug Henderson for use in the Youth Bridge Program at the Cleveland Schools.

The April Sectional is coming soon. This is the time for electing new board members. The board needs nominations for Board Positions. Jim Stahl, Woody Ban, and Rosemary Kleis were suggested as nominees. Five members are going off the board; Susan Stark, Eva Lefton, Peter Miller, Wayne Ward and Cathy Wolford. These 5 members will form a committee to present 5 new nominees for the board.

The Summer IMP League will need a new director to run the program this year.

Patty Tucker will speak at the Rock and Roll Cleveland Regional Tournament on January 15 and 16, 2010. A light meal will be provided for the attendees.

Frank Aquila could not attend this meeting but will attend the next meeting to discuss the Vichill League scoring.

Committee Reports:

Vichill League: Peter Miller discussed the Summary of the September 26, 2009 Meeting which had been sent to Board Members prior to this meeting. With the summary was a survey proposal. There was much discussion. Should the Vichill be changed from a September to April league to an April (or May or June) to November (approximately) League, dropping the Summer IMP league and creating a winter IMP league? Should we drop the current 9 or 10 team brackets? There are still concerns about the numbers and the location. There was no consensus about the proposals and concerns. The survey will be left as is with the addition of a place for the zip code of the survey respondent. The Survey (4 copies) will be placed on the tables at the next Vichill league contest in Solon. There was a concern that we reach the snowbirds that participated in the successful Summer IMP league.

Scholarship Committee: Don Southam has sent a letter to the board commending Donna Largent for her excellent work with the Scholarship Committee. Bev Carter discussed the concerns of the Scholarship Committee. There is $1500 in the Scholarship Committee Fund currently. The previous main fund raiser for the committee was the sale of the Entertainment Books. These books are no longer popular and thus no longer a good source funds. The other fund raiser (the 50/50 raffle at the sectionals) is also not a good source of scholarship funds. Scholarship cards (like the local school fund raising cards) were suggested. Any other suggestions would be welcomed.

Old Business:

In private session, the board discussed the need for a new director for the Wednesday night Whist Club Game. The two candidates will be asked to attend the next board meeting with a developed plan for improving the attendance at the Wednesday Night Game to present.

New Business:

Sharon Fairchild distributed copies of her District Director’s Report from the ACBL National in San Diego. Highlights of her report included: CEO reports that membership is up with a current active membership of over 162,000. The Club Director’s Handbook has been updated and is available on the website; the ACBL Disciplinary Sanction Guidelines were revised.

Some of the areas addressed in the revised Sanction Guidelines include: egregious slow play, failure to notify an official of a score you know to be wrong, purposely failing to disclose partnership agreements with intent to deceive, intentionally changing a score, playing or being present at an ACBL sanctioned event while serving a term of suspension.

A preliminary budget for next year was passed showing a $65,310 deficit for the year. Game sanction fees and ACBL Membership dues were increased. These dues increases are the first in five years and will take effect April 1, 2010. TD session fees will also increase.

Sharon also reports that the National ACBL Foundation has increased the amount to be given to District 5 from $20,000 to $30,000. Only 1 charity, The Gathering Place, has been suggested so far. Further suggestions of worthy charitable organizations are needed.

Doug Henderson reported on the progress of the Cleveland School Youth Program that he is starting in January. Two schools, Riverside and Daniel Morgan Elementary Schools, will be used.

Eva Lefton will be absent at the next meeting.

Add Scholarship Fund Raiser discussion to the next meeting’s agenda.

The meeting was adjourned at 7PM following a motion by Sue Pisanelli and seconded by Frank Scali.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sue Pisanelli

The next board meeting will be held on January 27, 2010 at 5:30 PM at the Solon Party Center. Hospitality will be provided by Roz Sukenik.