Cincinnati Bridge Association Board of Directors:   
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 17, 2011

Board President Stephani called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.  Present were: Mary Clifton, Cordell Coy, Patrick Hoffman, Gayle Keaney, Everitt Kitchen, Barb Levinson, Potter Orr, Mike Purcell, A.J. Stephani, and Chris Schwartz.  Members Absent: Debbie Cummings; Also attending was Stephanie Richardson.

The April minutes were approved.

Barb Levinson moved that the President appoint a Finance Committee responsible for overseeing the finances of the Unit and conducting a regular audit of the financial accounts.  This Committee should report to the Board as needed.  The motion was seconded and passed.  AJ will formulate and publish the duties of the committee.  He also indicated he will ask the committee to report to the board by at least October about the financial health of the Unit.  This timing was judged important by board members given that P&L statements for the first four months of the year show negative results for each of the first four months of 2011; and losses total about $20,000 through April including a profit of about $5,500 for the Regional tournament.  The committee also will be asked to evaluate separately the financial strength of the Cincinnati Bridge Center and the Cincinnati Bridge Association. 

Potter Orr moved that the president appoint a Tournament Committee to oversee the totality of our tournaments for the year including securing the CBA personnel to run the tournaments. The motion was seconded and passed.  

Ev Kitchen was asked to provide a recommendation at the June meeting for a recipient for the $6,000 charity grant from our District to be awarded by our Unit to a single organization, based on inputs received from board members.  A single recipient is a condition of the grant.  

Gayle Keaney recommended that we communicate more financial results to our membership.  Discussion favored the use of the web-site and quarterly reports.  By the June Board meeting, Gayle will provide board members a recommendation on what information to include in the first new report.  

Potter Orr discussed the P&L from Gayle Keaney for the Regional Tournament.  Net income (profit) is about $5,500 compared to $14,900 from the tournament in 2010.  The $9.400 lower profit is due to a drop of about $13,200 in income due to lower attendance.  Expense control was good resulting in about $3,800 less spending for 2011.  The tournament was run very smoothly with few if any complaints received.

Potter continues to investigate alternative sites for the Regional.  Drawbridge Inn is a candidate but not likely for 2012.  Because of ongoing construction at the Sharonville Convention Center, if we play there for 2012, we will be in a different room with about 13,000 square feet compared to the 16,000 we have used, at a cost reduction of $1,200 (12,000 vs 13,200).

Barb Levinson and Stephanie Richardson reported on the Mentor-Mentee program. About 60 pairs from CBC and 12 pairs from N. Ky are enrolled.  Mentors will play for free for the designated games.  Following discussion of expenses for the program, Mike Purcell made a motion that the committee be provided a $300 budget in addition to the costs for the mentor free plays.  The motion was approved with a nay vote from treasurer Keaney who stressed the need for more pre-planning of budgets. 

AJ asked for and received board concurrence that Mike Lipp will be the NAP coordinator for the Unit as part of his position as CBC coordinator

The meeting was adjourned at 6:49.


Everitt Kitchen
Recording Secretary