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Minutes – Pittsburgh Bridge Association

November 16, 2024

The meeting was called to order by President, June Threlkeld at 2:41 PM.

Attendance: June Threlkeld, Gus Costanzo, Carol Bolen, Mike Pascal, Ken Bergman, Lorraine Hanna, Bill Holt, Kathryn Rector, Ron Franck, Jim Gump, Robyn Ferrell, and Maureen Loeb.

Absent: Patty Wynn, David Loeb, and Terri Tunick (Terri was inadvertently not notified of meeting)

President’s Remarks: June gave a big “thank you” to the board, which she called her “village”. She said all gave their hearts and souls. And she is excited about the newest members coming onto the board.

Secretary’s Report: Bill moved and Lorraine seconded that the minutes from the September 21, 2024 meeting be approved. All approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Mike reported that at the beginning of the year, our treasury had $247,000. Due to the Vanguard account doing so well, we currently have a treasury of $266,000

Mike discussed the status of the $3000 check to the Masonic Center that had been stolen from the mailbox or post office and illegally cashed. Mike met with PNC on (approximately) 11/5/24 and they assured him that the funds will be returned to our account within 7-10 business days. If Citizens National (who was at fault for cashing a check with an erroneous endorsement) does not refund the $3000, then PNC will do so. The Masonic Center was supposed to notify the McCandless police and necessary authorities.

Vice President’s Remarks: Gus also thanked the board and stated that he enjoyed serving.

Gus has looked into bonding our treasurer. He spoke with bridge member, Richard Krauland, who is an employee of Next Tier. Apparently, PNC requires 2 signatures on checks (when the treasurer is bonded). Other banks, only requires one signature. For bonding purposes, Mike is to look into switching our funds to Citizens or one of the other banks.

Elections: Ken discussed the options of motions to elect the new board members. After some discussion from all:

Gus moved and Bill seconded that all 5 seeded new members be elected to the board. All approved.

Gus moved and Bill seconded that all 5 existing board members be re-elected to the board. All approved

New Members: David Loeb, Maureen Loeb, Terri Tunick, Jim Gump and Robyn Ferrell

Existing members: Ron Franck, Bill Holt, Kathryn Rector, June Threlkeld, and Mike Pascal

Carol brought up that some of the existing board members were simply serving the remainder of their 2 year term and that the board should strive to have roughly half of its board membership have their terms completed every year. The above voting in of all 10 board members means that the entire board completes their term in November, 2026. Individual board members are not limited to the number of terms that they can serve, however, should be reelected every 2 years.

The following election of officers took place. All motions were unanimously approved.
Bill moved and June seconded – Ron Franck as president
Ken moved and Kathryn seconded – Bill Holt as Vice President
Bill moved and June seconded – Maureen Loeb as Secretary
Ken moved and Ron seconded – Mike Pascal as Treasurer

New President’s Remarks: Ron said that he would focus on several items during his term. His main focus would be structure and harmony. With that in mind, he will strive to get non-board members onto committees. He will also make education and beginner games a priority, making those games enjoyable, while supporting club managers.

Ron moved and Bill seconded that no committee or board member incur expenses. If a committee member incurs an expense under $50, he can simply mail his receipt to the treasurer. If the expense is more than $50, he must have the prior approval of the President, Vice President or Treasurer. All approved

Ron and Bill will be re-aligning the committees and streamlining job descriptions. Ron wants a job description for all positions by the end of his term. Ron feels each board or committee member should have an understanding of the requirements of that position before accepting it. Ron, Bill and June will be happy to work with any new person on any committee. Ron suggests that board members ask their personal bridge association friends to help them and TRY to get new people involved.

Bill requested back up help for the unit website. He wants to retain ownership, but requests assistance. Maureen volunteered David Loeb.

Bill wants to focus on education, and ensure that all unit teachers are on the same page, and suggested that a committee be formed. The following lessons are scheduled:

Glenshaw, Supervised Play for Bridge Students and Beginners: 6:30 – 8:30 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month except in Jan. Sessions are 1/16 and 1/30.

Mount Lebanon Library for Beginning and ongoing classes at Wednesday from 6:30 – 8:30 PM on alternating Wednesdays starting in February.

Richard Finberg offers Online session followed by a review on Zoom at 3:30 PM on the first Monday of each month. Individual lessons are also available.

Lorraine stated that ACBL funding is available if classes are held at community colleges.

Patty Tucker has been holding regional sessions with teachers of gifted students. A session in October in Pittsburgh attracted much interest. Lainey may have a list of the teachers that attended. For the Jump Start teachers receive a $400 stiffen if they complete 8 lessons.

No update on Mentor/Mentoree Program.

Gus suggested that unit members drop off used Bridge Bulletins at doctors’ and dentists’ offices.

Ron continues as unit manager and manages all inventory. June is now on the District 5 Board. Board approved a $100 stiffen for each of the 3 unit members who qualified to play in the NAPs in Memphis.

Good feedback on Fall Sectional except for the team events. Not enough 499 players participated to hold an event. Maureen suggested changing the upper limit of master points to 750 or 999. This will be investigated for the Summer Sectional. Spring Sectional was cancelled due to conflicts with NABC, and due to the fact that the snow birds won’t yet be back.

The Pro Am will be held on the 3rd Saturday in May.

There’s an Angel Fund to assist unit members who have difficulty paying the ACBL membership fees. Previously the membership chair called members who didn’t renew; if this practice is continued, members who state financial issues as the reason for non-renewal, these folks could be referred to the Angel Fund. Discretion is extremely important.

Unit 229 in Zelienople has expressed some interest in joining our unit. Should they want to proceed we’ll assign a small group to assess the situation, and perform due diligence.

Next meeting will be held on January 18, 2025

Respectfully submitted,
Carol Bolen (1st half) and Maureen Loeb (2nd half)

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