THE VILLAGE CARD CLUB
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
August 8, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Cecil Grattafiori at 2:10 pm.

Attending: Cecil Grattafiori, Jim Bicknell, Peg Birzer, Ginna DeThomas, Lillian Estes, Pam Harris, Cathy Irving, Teri LaBove, Becky Rice, Richard Robertson and Barbara Stiff.

Becky moved that these items be added to the agenda: the Community Fair; the Christmas party; and fall class prices. Cathy seconded and all approved.

Becky noted that a change needed to be made in the July minutes; they were amended to read: “The sanction for April 3, 4, 5, 2009 has been received”. Jim made a motion that the agenda be approved as amended. Ginna seconded the motion and all approved.

Cecil asked the Board to approve Bob Davis as Chairperson of the Conduct and Ethics Committee and the addition of Maureen Morgan to the committee. Teri moved that the Board approve these additions, Becky seconded and all approved.

Board member reports:
Pam reported that there have been 115 attendees to the summer classes so far and that many more signed up for the remainder of the classes. They have been well received. Cecil noted that he has had nothing but favorable comments regarding the classes. Jim noted that he has not received teacher invoices, class rosters and deposit slips for all these classes. Pam said she will get that to him ASAP. He also noted that two instructors did not charge the club for their services. The board expressed their gratitude for all the work that Pam has done.

Becky reported on the table count for June. There has been a 5.6% increase from January through July of last year. She noted that the free mini lesson by Greg Bono was a huge success. She thanked Greg for giving his time and for Ray Banks who assisted. Becky also noted that the NLM NAP (0-500) game that was scheduled ran as a regular game and the NLM NAP will be rescheduled for Wednesday morning, August 27th. The Sunday, September 28th Team Board-A-Match will be an Open Stratified Team game. The mentor night has been re-scheduled for September 24. There was some discussion on the growth of non-sanctioned games.

Jim reported that he will be posting the end-of-the month report. There was a slight loss for the month of July. He then noted that he had a discussion with Lillian and Cecil regarding the return of the position of Payroll Clerk. Cecil said he felt this was a needed change. Pam moved to add the Payroll Clerk, Peg seconded. The motion passed with one member abstaining, as she had not had time previous to the meeting to study the matter.

Teri reported that seven new members have joined the club, for a total of 795 members.

Lillian reported she has tried unsuccessfuly to contact by phone and e-mail the company that furnished a different convention card, so the matter will be dropped.

Cathy noted that the Village Card Club is not on the POA clubs web site. She will contact the POA to see that the club is on the listing. Cathy plans for the newsletter to be out in September and asked for a bio of each board member to be e-mailed to her before September 1. There was further discussion regarding the size of the newsletter with Robbie noting that he will try to get the information on the web. There was then some discussion of the information that Cathy and Ginna received from a workshop they attended in Las Vegas regarding teaching bridge to students. Pam and Becky will look into the matter. Discussion was held regarding Cathy’s proposal for a 299er tournament in the fall of 2009. She noted that Ned Irving had agreed to chair the committee, with Ginna assisting. Cathy moved that an ad hoc committee be set up to study the feasibility of our club holding such a tournament, Ginna seconded and all approved.

Cecil asked that the item under New Business entitled “Procedure for handling problems at the club” be tabled until the September meeting.

Lillian noted that the Better Bridgers have been having problems with their materials being moved. Teri will try to bring some plastic storage bins, which may help keeping their materials together. We must let these groups know we appreciate their contribution.

need for a copy machinea the problems . Pam agreed to check with instructors as to their need for such equipment. Cecil asked that the board members give this item some thought.

Becky made a motion that the proceeds from the November 20th charity games at the VCC be sent to the Glenhaven Youth Ranch. She had asked for input from the Games Committee and it was their decision that the proceeds be sent to this charity. She noted that they have a great web-site if the board wanted more information. Jim seconded the motion and all approved.

Teri asked for volunteers to help with the Community Fair to be held at the Co. She will need help manning the booth from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

Ginna reported that she and Nan Medcalf have made some plans for catering the Christmas Party this year. , but Cecil felt that the party could be held to $1200, which was the amount spent last year. Teri had a question regarding Christmas gifts for the Directors, but the committee has yet to discuss this issue.

Pam then asked for input from the board members regarding fees for fall classes. After much discussion, Pam felt that they should continue the present prices for the fall, as some of the suggestions, such as changing the Club class to a twelve week class with Play and Learn included, would take a great deal of work to implement. A motion from $3.00 to $5.00 was made, Becky seconded and all approved.

Cathy then asked for permission to put a basket in the entry for the charity “Knitting for Noggins” at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Members may yarn Cathy will mail them to the hospital. They use 30,000 of these caps in a year. She so moved and Ginna seconded and all approved.

Teri felt that our club had done nothing for the recent disasters in Arkansas. Discussion was held as to how this should be handled, with Cathy making a motion that the President be in charge of donations for disasters, Peg seconded and all approved.

Jim made a motion that the meeting be adjourned, it was seconded and approved. The meeting was adjourned at 3:55 pm.

Submitted by: Peg Birzer, Secretary Subject to Board Approval