RABA BOARD MEETING – October 20, 2004

 

PRESENT: L. Ackerman, L. Allen, D. Bradley, J. Bridges, W. Marsland, L. Meacham, L. Sanders and M. Spence.

 

ABSENT : A. Booke, P. Clark, W. Foster, and M. Perlson.

 

The minutes of the August 31 meeting were approved as revised. The agenda for this meeting was accepted.

 

Warren Marsland provided a balance sheet and detail of the treasurer’s report for the minutes and distributed a summary for discussion and review. He noted that extraordinary expenses in 2003-4 were for the TAP and in 2004-5 were for plaques. The Fall Sectional attendance was down, but the loss was lessened due to sponsorships.

 

Committee Reports:

 

Lois Sanders asked about having plaques and trophies available for display at RABA events. The consensus was that they should be displayed and Margie Spence said that she will provide cloth bags to protect them during storage and transportation.

 

Election of Officers:

 

The following slate was proposed and elected unanimously:

            President                                             Jim Bridges

            Vice-President                                     Margie Spence

            Treasurer                                             Warren Marsland

            Secretary                                             Lew Allen

            Executive Member at Large                Lois Sanders               

 

The following committees were proposed, pending the consent of those not present:

            Newsletter                                          Alex Booke

            Publicity                                             Michael Perlson, Jim Bridges,

                                                                        Arlene Bristol, Marilyn Goldman

            Sunshine                                              Lynn Ackerman

            Awards                                               Margie Spence

            Nominations/Election                         Warren Marsland, Doug Bradley

                                                                        Liz Meacham. Lynn Ackerman, Lew Allen

            Audit                                                   Mary Gerner

 

Tournament Results

 

Warren distributed his report on the Fall Sectional and focused on the weaknesses that can be addressed for future tournaments. He noted that the Unit has authorized each playing area to experiment with starting times for the next year.

 

Spring Sectional

 

The Sectional will be April 8 – 10, 2005. The question of whether the Unit Growth Seminar with an instructor from Memphis should be presented at the Sectional or Regional was discussed without resolution. The schedule was set as 1:30 and 7:30 on Friday, 10:00 and 3:00 on Saturday and 11:00 Sunday with a play through. The Saturday event will be Stratified Pairs, play through. The strata have typically been 0 – 300 for C, up to 1000 for B and unlimited for A. Lois reported that the trend has been to raise the C level to 500 and B to 1500. Warren suggested that the Swiss stratification be based on the total points for the team as opposed to those of the highest player. The consensus of the Board is to use the traditional limits for the strata but to use the total team points for the Swiss teams. Jim Bridges will call Memphis to find out if that’s permissible. There was some concern that there may be a delay in the start of the game while the stratification is determined. In addition to the above, 0 - 5 “Newplicate” and 0 – 100 “Newcomers” events will be offered if attendance warrants. Lynn Ackerman will serve as tournament chairperson; Warren will chair the Intermediate/Newcomer events; Bill Foster will do partnerships. Liz Meacham will serve as co-chair for Friday and Saturday and Margie Spence will help on Sunday. Warren will get details on the Unit Growth Seminar and work with Lynn and Liz to schedule it. Jim will call Tim’s Trim to see if they’re willing to serve as sponsor again.

 

Future Tournaments

 

Liz Meacham will investigate facilities in Mt. Morris for August 6 – 7 and serve as chair with Lynn helping. The chair for the Fall Sectional (Sept. 30 – Oct. 2) will be determined at our next meeting.

 

RABA Events for 2005

 

Teams will be February 27; LM/NLM will be May 22 and the Open Pairs will be December 11, all at the Green Lantern. Men’s and Women’s Pairs will be at an evening game, probably June 9, to be determined at the next meeting.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the service building in Allens Creek Valley (the town home complex where Lew Allen lives). The address is 61B Water View Circle.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Lew Allen, Secretary