Unit 249 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
September 12, 2009, 10:30 am
St. Thomas, Ontario
Call to Order
The AGM was call to order at 10:30am by the President, Jim Brimner.
Present
J Brimner, B Burns, R Fokes, G Hodgson, N Ingram, M Reffell, T Ramsay,
J Lightfoot, T Boyd, C Schmidt, T Rajnovich, R Papineau, C Schmidt, D Watson,
G Shaw, S Jones, T Smith, and C Punter all members of Unit 249 in good
standing. This constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting business
on behalf of the Unit.
Approval of Agenda
Moved by R Fokes and seconded by G Hodgson that the Purposed Agenda
be approved. Carried.
Approval of Minutes of last Meeting
Moved by N Ingram and seconded by M Reffell that the minutes of
the AGM held in Tillsonburg, August 9, 2008 be approved. Carried
Business arising from the Minutes
There was no business arising from the minutes.
President’s Message: Jim Brimner
I am pleased to report that the Unit remains healthy in both membership
and finances. Looking at the report in 2003, we had 930 members in the
Unit and today, we have approximately 1040 members. In the past two months,
we have also had two new clubs affiliate with the ACBL. This year almost
all our tournaments have shown a profit and some with record or near record
attendance levels. These results are due mainly to the work of people who
teach bridge at the local clubs, the excellence of our Tournament Chairs,
and volunteers who spend many hours on our behalf.
This year has seen some major changes in the duties of Directors.
Early in the year our long time very efficient Executive Secretary, Libby
Brawn, resigned as did our Tournament Chairman, John Moser, who was also
responsible for supplies to tournaments. Our Past President, Bob Burns,
accepted the position of Executive Secretary and although a few things
fell through the cracks in the turnover, he has done an excellent job.
Vice-President, Pat Simpson, has taken on the duties of Tournament Chair
and is helped with supplies by Chris Punter. Chris, who switched from Web
Master has taken on the job as Assistant to the Treasure. Richard Fokes
continues as our Treasurer. The Web Master duties have been taken over
by John Lightfoot who has made several changes to the website. George
Hodgson continues to do an excellent job as Membership Chair and is mainly
responsible for some of our increased numbers. A new member has joined
the board, Tom Ramsay from the Guelph area. Norma Ingram and Mavis Refell
continue to represent the Kitchener and Port Franks areas respectively.
An added person at some of our meetings is Paul Janicki who is the
District 2 representative on the ACBL Board of Directors.
The Unit’s objective is still the promotion of bridge and bridge
teaching and to encourage people to stay in the game and play bridge
Since there are vacancies on the Board of Directors of the Unit,
I encourage anyone interested to come forward.
Reports as per Board of Director’s Meeting
Treasurer’s Report: Richard Fokes
Overlapping Kibitzer and District 2 STaC statements remain a problem
at arriving precise year end audited numbers. This concern was brought
to the attention of Paul Janicki: ACBL District 2 Director, Flo Belford:
Unit 166 Sec, and Leo Upenieks: Unit 166 Treasurer. Leo informed us that
new Unit 166 accounting practices ought to resolve this problem. The audited
Financial Statement for Year Ended December 31st, 2007 has been rec'd and
accepted. As of August 31st the bank balance is $57 400 and year-to-date
expenses total $8015.
Appointment of the Auditor
The President thanked L Lucier on behalf of the Unit for his service
to the Unit. Moved by C Punter and seconded by G Hodgson that Len Lucier
be reappointed as Auditor for 2010. Carried
Confirmation of proceedings carried on by the Board
Moved by T Boyd and seconded by T Ramsay that the proceedings of
the Board for 2009 be approved. Carried.
New Business
Discussion re: ACBL’s new policy "Effective May 1, 2009, stratified
pair events at local, sectional and regional tournaments, may be based,
at sponsor option, on the average master points of the pair." It
was agreed to allow/encourage the averaging of master points for stratification
at our tournaments. Awareness of this policy and guidelines for its implementation
to Tournament Chairs and Club Managers will be by the Unit Tournament Chair,
web site, and news letter.
Next AGM
The AGM for 2010 is scheduled for 12:01pm, August 7th, in Tillsonburg
at the Tillsonburg ‘Golden Leaf’ Sectional Tournament.
Adjournment
Moved by J Lightfoot that the AGM be adjourned. Carried.
Minutes from of the Board of Director’s Meeting - Unit 249
Tillsonburg, Ontario
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Present:
Jim Brimner, Bob Burns, Richard Fokes, George Hodgson, Norma Ingram,
John Lightfoot, Pat Simpson, and Tom Ramsay.
Special guest: Mr. Paul Janicki, ACBL District 2 Director.
Absent with Regrets: Mavis Reffell
Meeting:
• The mtg. was chaired by the President, Jim Brimner, who called
the meeting to order at 9:50 am.
• Moved by Pat Simpson and seconded by Richard Fokes that the minutes
of the last Board Mtg., May 2nd in Sarnia, as circulated be approved. -
CARRIED.
Treasurer’s Report: Richard Fokes
• Treasurer’s Report is attached
• Financial Statement for 2007 was presented. Moved by Norma Ingram
and seconded by Chris Punter to approve the Financial Statement 2007 be
approved - CARRIED.
• Kibitzer fees and StaC payments have been straightened out up
unto 2007. Leo Upenieks, Unit 166 new Treasurer, will be itemizing these
two accounts separately from now on to avoid future confusion.
• Sectional Tournament Financial Reports – London $1168.17, Sarnia
($334.70), Port Franks $493.75 4493.75, and Kitchener/Waterloo $1133.35.
• Recommended by the Treasurer to accept the reports.
• Total revenue $5472.24. Total expenditures $3437.99. Net income
($937.66). Bank Balance on January 1st, 2009 $29 336. Balance in the current
account as of July 7th $29,271.
• Moved by Richard and seconded by Norma Ingram that the Treasurer’s
Report be accepted - carried.
• Moved by Tom Ramsay and seconded by Richard Fokes that Chris Punter
be appointed as Assistant Treasurer with signing authority to act on behalf
of the Board in the event the Treasurer is unavailable to carry out his
duties - CARRIED.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
• Summary of policies is still ongoing and was tabled.
• The Tournament Guideline is still ongoing. Discussion looked at
the possibility to average pairs in stratified tournament events. If this
was to occur, it would need to be clearly stated in all advertisement.
The guideline was tabled.
Executive Secretary: Bob Burns
• Report is attached.
• Moved by Bob Burns and seconded by John Lightfoot that this report
be accepted - CARRIED
Committee Reports:
1. Membership: George Hodgson:
• A report was received showing that our membership as of August
2009 is 1,042. George thanked Pat for his follow-up on the In/Out Report
of inactive members in his area. He appealed to Board members to do the
same in their area.
• Moved by George Hodgson and seconded by John Lightfoot that this
report be accepted - CARRIED
2. Tournaments: Pat Simpson
• Report is attached
• Pat reiterated that sectional sanctions need be applied for 1
yr. in advance and regional sanctions need be applied for 3 yrs. in advance
if the District is to protect your dates.
• Chris Punter was appointed coordinating purchasing and upkeep
of to tournament supplies. This is a separate position from the scheduling
and delivery of tournament supplies to sectionals and regional. Moved by
Richard Fokes and seconded by Pat Simpson that this position receive an
honourarium of $250 - carried.
• Moved by Pat Simpson and seconded by Bob Burns that this report
be accepted - CARRIED
3. Web Site Administrator: Chris Punter
• Report is attached
• John Lightfoot has been appointed by the Board as the web site
administrator. Moved by Richard Fokes and seconded by Pat Simpson that
the Web Site Administrator receive an honourarium of $500 to be reviewed
yearly - CARRIED.
New Business:
• Tom Ramsay commented on the new club starting up in Guelph.
Paul Janicki
• Paul was invited to the mtg.
• He spoke on the Districts direction and the importance of keeping
him informed that he might address issues that reflect all Units interest;
such as, senior age, pair averaging, triple point events, and regional
allocations.
• He commented on rising District membership (6773), declining CBF
membership, CBF week in Markham in 2010.
• He provided us with sectional and regional stats.
• He promoted the ACBL NABC in Toronto in 2010.
• He announced that Libby Brawn was selected to the ACBL Charity
Foundation.
Next meeting:
• Bob Burns was thanked for the hospitality in hosting this meeting.
• The next Board of Directors Meeting scheduled for St Thomas is
cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.
• There will be an annual general meeting of the membership (AGM)
in St Thomas at the Jumbo Sectional on September 12th, 2009 at 10:30am.
• ALL CLUB MANAGERS and DIRECTORS, PLEASE, ANNOUCE THIS ASAP OVER
THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO THE PLAYERS IN YOUR AREA
Adjournment: Moved by Norma Ingram that the meeting be adjourned
- carried.
Minutes from of Unit 249’s Board of Director’s Meeting
Sarnia, Ontario, Saturday, May 2, 2009, 10:00 am
Present: Jim Brimner, Bob Burns, Richard Fokes, George Hodgson,
Norma Ingram, and Pat Simpson
Absent with Regrets: John Lightfoot and Chris Punter
Absent: Mavis Reffell
Meeting:
• A quorum being present, the mtg. was called to order at 9:50am
by President Jim Brimner.
• Bob Burns introduced and welcomed Tom Ramsay from Cambridge to
the Board of Directors.
• Moved by Pat Simpson and seconded by George Hodgson that: the
minutes of the last Board Mtg., January 24th, 2009 in London, as presented,
be approved. Carried.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
• Moved by Bob Burns and seconded by Norma Ingram that: the ongoing
summary of policies be tabled. Carried.
• Moved by Pat Simpson and seconded by George Hodgson that: the
Tournament Guidelines be tabled in order that the Tournament Chair has
a chance to prepare a pamphlet of the recommendations. Carried.
Treasurer’s Reports: Richard Fokes
• Financial Report - 2009/01/24 – 2009/04/02 – After income of $3350.51
and expenses of $735.47, the bank balance is $30695.45 plus GIC’s of $20,000.
• Tournament Financial Reports – the Financial Report from the London
Sectional was rec’d. It reported an attendance of 175.5 tables and a profit
of $1012.87. This figure includes the Unit fee of $2.50/table. Moved by
Richard Fokes and seconded by Pat Simpson that: London’s Financial Report
be accepted. Carried.
• Richard Fokes will to run the Unit Pairs’ Championship as a multi-site
event and will be surveying clubs as to the best feasible dates. The date
for the Unit Team Championship will be set once the Unit Pairs Championship
date is established. Due to the decreased interest, decreased participation,
and the fact that it is only necessary to be qualified at the Club level
for participation at the District level, the NAOP and GNT Unit qualifying
games will not be held this year.
• Moved by Pat Simpson and seconded by George Hodgson that: the
Treasurer’s Financial Report be accepted. Carried.
Executive Secretary:
• Discussion arising from the Executive Assistant’s Report (attached)
revisited Board policy re: the payment of Tournament Chair’s honorariums.
Moved by George Hodgson and seconded by Tom Ramsay that: the Treasurer
upon receipt of the tournament financial report and all monies due may
issue the Tournament Chair’s honorarium. Carried. It was also reaffirmed
that budget reports, financial reports, and all monies would go directly
to the Treasurer. The Treasurer is to work closely with the Tournament
Chair.
• The Ace of Clubs certificates were rec’d and distributed to Board
members for presentation in accordance with Board policy.
• The Board approved providing the Board members and the clubs,
by e-mail, with all general information; such as but not limited to, board
minutes, board committee reports, ACBL In/Out report, ACBL Ace of Clubs
& Mini-McKenney reports, and up-dated lists.
• It was noted that on the List of Clubs in the Unit that: Baker’s
BC runs only one game on Friday afternoon at 1:00pm and that club number
23804 is in fact called Cambridge Seniors BC.
• Moved by Bob Burns and seconded by Tom Ramsay that: the Executive
Assistant’s Report be rec’d. Carried.
Committee Reports:
1. Membership: George Hodgson:
• Reported that our membership as of May 2009 is 1,006. From calls
to the membership the most common reason for not renewing membership was
that they didn’t want to go any higher.
2. Tournaments: Pat Simpson:
• Discussion arising from the Tournament Chair’s report (attached)
focused on scheduling of tournaments especially within the Unit in order
to avoid situations of back-to-back tournaments. Pat drafted a Tournament
Schedule for 2010. Board policy is that tournaments should not be scheduled
back-to-back within the Unit or for that matter with neighbouring Unit’s
tournaments.
• It was pointed out, that unless a tournament or special event
has a historical date, sanctioning sectionals 1 year in advance and regionals
3 years in advance is necessary in order to protect their historical date.
To date no sanction has been made for the London Regional in 2010 and this
raised some questions. Pat is to talk with Mary Howe, chair of the London
Regional.
• Pat expressed a disappointment with the web site’s lack at having
the Sarnia tournament page up-to-date. This resulted in the Board questioning
the value and direction of the web site. Jim Brimner is to talk with Chris.
3. Web Site Administrator: Chris Punter
• No report rec’d.
Moved and seconded that all Committee Reports be accepted. Carried
Correspondence:
• Letters from Nancy Hale, Club Membership Dept - ACBL, re: temporary
club suspensions.
• Letter from Flo Belford - District 2 Secretary, re: suspension
of Peter Wong from April 13, 2009 to October 12, 2009 and 1 year probation.
New Business:
• Report from the District 2 general mtg. (attached).
• Tournament supplies were discussed. Moved by Pat Simpson and seconded
by George Hodgson that: an honorarium of $250 be allocated for looking
after tournament supplies, their maintenance and their inventory. Carried.
Pat Simpson is to coordinate their delivery. Richard Fokes will continue
to store and look after their maintenance. Tournament supplies being consumables
do not need Board approval for replacement and repair of necessary supplies.
• Please note, contrary to the Kibitzer’s publication the Board
Officers are:
President - Jim Brimner
Vice-president - Pat Simpson
Executive Assistant and Board Secretary - Robert Burns
Treasurer - Richard Fokes
Tournament Chair - Pat Simpson
Membership Chair - George Hodgson
Web Site Chair - Chris Punter
Member - Norma Ingram
Member: John Lightfoot
Member - Mavis Reffell
Member - Tom Ramsay
and other Officers are:
Disciplinary Chair - Barry Onslow
Unit Recorder - Gary Whiteman
Auditor - Len Lucier
The Board is keenly interested in having a member from the
Chatham - Windsor area serve on the Board.
If you are interested or know of someone who would be interested,
please, contact Jim Brimner or Bob Burns.
Next meeting: Jim Brimner
• The next meeting of the Board will be at the Tillsonburg Sectional,
August 8, 2009 at 10:00 am.
• It is the intent to begin the mtg. as soon after 9:30am as everyone,
who has indicated they will be present, are in attendance.
• The AGM will be held at the St. Thomas Sectional, September 12,
2009. Time TBA later.
Adjournment:
• Moved by Bob Burns that the meeting be adjourned. Carried
Minutes from of Unit 249’s Board of Director’s Meeting
London, Ontario, Saturday, January 24, 2009, 9:00 am
Present: Jim Brimner, Bob Burns, Richard Fokes, George Hodgson,
John Lightfoot, Chris Punter, and Pat Simpson
Absent with Regrets: Norma Ingram
Absent: Mavis Reffell
Meeting:
• The mtg. was chaired by the President, Bob Burns, who called the
meeting to order at 9:05am.
• Letters of resignation were rec’d and read. One from Libby Brawn
who has been a devoted Board member for 17 years serving in several capacities.
Another from John Moser who joined the Board in November of 2002 and worked
diligently as Tournament Chair. The Board accepted their resignations with
regret.
• Moved by George Hodgson and seconded by Jim Brimner that: the
minutes of the last Board Mtg., August 9th, 2008 in Tillsonburg, be approved.
Carried.
Business Arising from the Minutes:
• Moved by George Hodgson and seconded by Jim Brimner that: the
minutes of the last Board Mtg., August 9th, 2008 in Tillsonburg, be approved.
Carried.
• Moved by Jim Brimner and seconded by Pat Simpson to table the
ongoing summary of policies till next mgt. Carried.
• Richard reported that 9 Unit members took part in the Director’s
Course put on by Patty Lee in Mississauga and that 5 applied for and rec’d
the $100 entry fee rebate.
• From the responses fielded from Board Members a conditional Tournament
Guideline was sent to Patti Lee, District Coordinator for Tournament Directors.
The preparation of the final draft of this Guideline has been delegated
to the Tournament Chair.
Treasurer’s Reports: Richard Fokes
• Unit Financial Report 2008/01/01 – 2008/12/31 – Tournament revenue
$6 886.80, membership fees $3 605.02, and sundry Income $1 174.96. Educational
expenses $1334.00. Outstanding income: StaC. Outstanding expenses: Kibitzer,
tournament honorariums, and Board honorariums. Bank balance $31,000 plus
GIC’s of $20,000.
• Moved by Richard Fokes and seconded by George Hodgson that the
Treasurer’s Unit Financial Report be accepted. Carried.
• Sectional Tournament Financial Reports – All sectionals reported
a profit: Collingwood $531.17, Tillsonburg $1653.61, St Thomas $559.14,
Stratford $601.00. These figures include the Unit fee of $2.50/table. Moved
by Richard Fokes and seconded by John Lightfoot that the Tournament Chair
honorariums be approved. Carried.
• Discussion re: existing Board policy that sectionals recommended
entry fees be $10 (May 5th, 2001) was deferred to the Tournament Chair
for inclusion in the Tournament Guidelines. It was recommended that the
Tournament Chair be more proactive in this and other issues that involve
expenses when tournament budgets are submitted.
• Chris on behalf of the St Thomas Tournament requested a change
in format to include knockouts in 2009. After a short discussion the Board
agreed to the change as presented.
• The Board left it to Richard Fokes to set the dates for the Unit
GNT and Unit Championships. Richard still intends to run the Unit Pairs’
Championship as a mult-site event.
• Moved by Richard Fokes and seconded by John Lightfoot that the
Board honorariums be approved. Carried.
Executive Assistant:
• Libby e-mailed in her report and a detailed summary of Board Job
Descriptions.
• Libby recommended that the Board support with a special night
member’s who achieve high or special recognition. The Board approved this
recommendation in principal as it fulfills one of the Board’s Objectives;
however, the onus will be on Club Managers or Owners to inform the Board
of a member whom they feel qualifies.
Committee Reports:
1. Membership: George Hodgson:
• Reported that our membership as of January 2009 is 1,002. This
is down 35 from last mtg.
2. Tournaments: John Moser
• A report was received from John stating that he has rec’d all
2009 Tournament Budgets and completed all sanctions for 2009.
• The London Regional sanction is still to be done.
• All tournament supplies are stored at Richard Fokes’ bridge club
in London. Richard has volunteered to inventory the supplies and order
necessary supply consumables.
3. Web Site Administrator: Chris Punter
• Chris stressed that the web site is dependent on input from the
membership it serves and encouraged Board members to hi-lite this in the
Clubs in their area.
• It was suggested that a section be set up on the web site for
Tournament Chairs that could include tournament guidelines, tournament
chair job description, forms, etc.
Moved by John Lightfoot and seconded by George Hodgson that all Committee
Reports be accepted. Carried
Correspondence:
• A letter was read from Norma Ingram thanking the Board for the
lovely plant.
New Business:
• No new business was tabled.
Appointment of Board Officers: Jim Brimner
• The President relinquished the chair to Jim Brimner to present
and hear nominations for Board Officers.
• The following is the slate of incoming Board Officers:
President - Jim Brimner
Vice-president - Pat Simpson
Executive Assistant and Board Secretary - Robert Burns
Treasurer - Richard Fokes
Tournament Chair - Pat Simpson
Membership Chair - George Hodgson
Web Site Chair - Chris Punter
• Moved by George Hodgson and seconded by Chris Punter that the slate
of officers be accepted. Carried.
• Jim thanked present Board officers for their effort and time.
He welcomed and congratulated those on their new or reappointment.
Next meeting: Jim Brimner
• The next meeting of the Board will be at the Sarnia Sectional,
May 2, 2009 at 10:00 am.
• It is the intent to begin the mtg. as soon after 9:30am as everyone,
who has indicated they will be present, are in attendance.
Adjournment:
• Moved by Pat Simpson that the meeting be adjourned. Carried.
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