American Contract Bridge League
Minnesota Gopher Unit 103
Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, June 18, 2020
via Zoom
Our thanks to all who continue to volunteer for the good of bridge in our great state!
On line were: Warren Nelson, Larry Huiras Kathy Beckman , Rajiv Kapidia, Amy Dutton, Sue Greenberg,
Keith Thompson, Connie Nelson, Matt Belau, Lance Chamberlain, and Patti Huiras
Meeting was called to order by President Warren Nelson at 10:00 am.
Warren thanked Larry for putting together the Zoom meeting. Connie Nelson and Matt Belau were
welcomed to the Board as new Directors. Connie is replacing John Koch who had resigned, and Matt is
replacing Larry who had to resign as a voting member of the Board due to his employment by the ACBL.
Larry will continue to serve on the Board as Property Chairman and Publicity Chairman.
Minutes of the Sept. 25 meeting were presented and a motion to accept was made by Raj, second by
Sue, unanimously approved.
Financial Report for the period ending March 31 was presented and a motion to accept was made by
Kathy, Second by Matt, unanimously approved.
Old Business:
By-laws: Kathy said that we shouldn't delay voting on the new By-laws which can be voted on
electronically.
Connie made a motion to accept the new draft of the By-laws; have electronic voting by the
members; and Warren will update the expiration term of the Directors. Second by Sue,
unanimously approved.
Warren complimented Kathy and Larry on the job they did updating the By-laws.
Awards Banquet: Warren has the awards and Sue has the medallions. Warren will get the
certificates to Sue who will mail them out.
Vice President role: With Larry resigning as a voting member of the Board, a new Vice President
needs to be made. Sue had said she would fill that role, but has no interest in moving up to
President. The Board unanimously approved this.
New District Director: Warren explained that there are two candidates for this position --
Deanna Liddy (who had come to a previous meeting to introduce herself), and Jade Barrett.
Connie raised the question of ACBL going from 25 to 13 Districts. Larry said this has been
tabled for the time being. Warren, as President of the Unit, will cast the vote for the Unit later
this summer. Warren will send Sharon Anderson a thank you note from the Unit for her service.
New Business:
ACBL Fees: Effective 4/1 tournament fees have gone up. They had not previously gone up since
2016. This will mean the Unit will not make as much money on a tournament.
Annual Calendar of Events:
Kathy brought up the need for this calendar in order to have all the tournament paperwork in to
the ACBL when they want it (sometimes 6-12 months before it would seem necessary). Items
that need to be included in the calendar are taxes, legal forms (990C and 990EZ), Awards
Banquet, etc. Suggestion was made that this would be put together with Patti's assistance and
then emailed to the Board on a regular basis to keep an updated, rolling calendar.
Resumption of Club and Tournament Activities:
ACBL has cancelled all tournaments for the remainder of the year. This impacts the I/N and
Regional that was to be held in the Fall. Next year it is Unit 178's turn for that event. Will have
to work with them to see if they will have an I/N and Regional. The Unit can have 3 I/N Regional
Tournaments a year, but they need to get scheduled quickly. Kathy will work with Terry
(Regional Tournament Coordinator) to see if they can find dates for 2021.
A discussion about GNT and NAP qualifiers was brought up. Also an on-line tournament was
brought up. Larry said that the Unit can host an on-line tournament, but no sectional or team
formats are available. In a discussion about clubs opening Keith said the people he has talked to
refuse to think about going to the Club until there is a vaccine. St. Paul has no plans to open
until the first of Sept. at the earliest.
Membership has been affected -- Warren said that the Unit was up 40 this last month. Larry
said that overall membership in the ACBL continued its downward trend at about 2% per year,
but that new membership was up 4.7% over last year. Warren will get Raj a list of members to
contact to see what their status is.
Larry is following up with Mounds View Community Center to try and get a refund on the
deposit for the Oct. tournament. Hoping to get at least 50% of the deposit returned ($1250).
Warren will cancel the Duluth tournament; doesn't think there will be a deposit issue.
Amy asked about the clubs re-opening. Club Managers have received info for reopening with
stringent guidelines.
Board Meeting Reimbursement : It was determined that the attendees at Board meetings (live
or Zoom) should still receive the $35 reimbursement.
Next Meeting: August 20 at 10 am via Zoom
Motion to adjourn made by Sue, second by Raj. Unanimously approved.
Submitted by Patti Huiras, Secretary
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