 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
The meeting was called to order by Vice President Agnes Snowden, at 9:15 a.m. VP Snowden gave the opening inspiration, and asked for the roll call. Officers present, VP Snowden, Secretary Ms. Simms; Financial Secretary/Treasurer Ms. Lee Ray; Parliamentarian, Mr. Heman Smith; and Sgt At Arms, Mr. Lomie Shannon. Mr. Shannon confirmed that more than twenty Western Section members have signed the attendance roster, so there is a quorum. VP Snowden asked for the minutes of the meeting dated May 29, 2010. Secretary Simms stated that the minutes were previously mailed to all of the Club and Unit Presidents and, without objections, unless there are corrections or additions, moved that the minutes be approved as mailed, there was a 2nd and the motion carried.
Ms. Lee Ray stated that the report covers the period May 25, 2010 – October 20, 2010. The opening balance was $596.04; Income during this period was $6,302.89; Expenses during this period was $5,065.87; the net income was $1,833.06. However, there are still two outstanding checks in the amount of $409.35, thus the bank balance as of October 20, 2010 is $2,242.41. Income from the Spring Tournament was $4,299.06; Expenses for the Spring Tournament were $4,628.52, thus there was a net loss in the amount of $329.46. The Scrip account is $-0-. Ms. Lee Ray thanked everyone for the generous donations that members and various Clubs made to the Section. Ms. Lee Ray submitted her report for audit. Mr. James Lee asked why Scrip is listed as an expense. Ms. Lee Ray stated that it is because we purchase the Scrip from National, however we then we send it back in payment of the Sanction fee. Therefore, although it appears as an expense, in reality it is a “wash”, because players use Scrip to pay their playing fees and all of the Scrip is used to pay Sanction Fees to National. Ms. Lee Ray further stated that she will look into showing it differently on the next report to clear up the ambiguity. Ms. Margaret Ware asked about the bank balance, because the numbers did not add up to the amount shown on the report. Ms. Lee Ray stated that she will go over the numbers and clarify the discrepancy before the meeting ends. VP Snowden accepted the report.
VP Snowden stated that the VP report is all about thanks, due to the support and generous donations of the members and clubs of the Western Section, the Section is able to stay afloat and began this Tournament in the “Black”, as was reported in the Financial Report. VP Snowden acknowledged the guests that were in attendance at this meeting. She introduced Ms. Leola Rucker, the ABA National President. Ms. Rucker invited everyone to attend the 2011 Spring National which will be held in Morristown, New Jersey, and to attend the 2011 Summer National which will be held in Scottsdale, AZ. Next, VP Snowden introduced Mr. George Hudson, VP of the Eastern Section. Mr. Hudson also invited everyone to attend the 2011 Spring Tournament, which will be held in his Section (Eastern); he also informed the membership that he is a candidate for the office of ABA National President, and gave a brief campaign speech, asking the membership to vote for him. Next, VP Snowden introduced, Mr. Henry Irwin, former ABA National President, also a candidate for the office of ABA National President, gave a brief campaign speech, asking the membership to vote for him. VP Snowden thanked each of them for their remarks and for attending the Western Section Fall Tournament.
VP Snowden acknowledged and introduced another National Officer attending our tournament, Mr. Andrew Echols, ABA National Chief Scorer. Mr. Echols usually works our tournaments, however this time he is attending as a player and to give support, if needed, to our Director in Charge, Ms. Gloria Webb.
Ms. Lee Ray, Financial Secretary/Treasurer reported that the discrepancy in the ending balance on her report was due to a mathematical error regarding the income and expense. The report indicated that the total Income was $6,302.89 and the total expense was $5,065.87 leaving balance of $1,833.06 instead of $1,237.02. With this correction, the ending balance is correctly shown as $2,242.41. VP Snowden thanked Ms. Lee Ray for the correction.
Ms. Thelma Lee, Tournament Committee Chairperson, stated that when this Administration took office, the Western Section was in a financial deficit. We had an emergency meeting in San Diego and members and clubs were asked to donate funds to the Western Section in order that we could meet our financial obligations and to hold this tournament. As mentioned by both the Financial Secretary/Treasurer and the Vice President, members and clubs stepped up and made generous donations to put us in the “Black”. Also, at the Sectional Committee Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, the members asked that we hire only Western Section Directors, if possible, to run the tournaments. Thus, only Western Section Directors have been hired for this tournament. Additionally, in estimating more accurately the number of tables and supplies that we would need at this tournament, we have cut expenses by ordering fewer tables, therefore we did not have to pay for a truck rental, and we only had to pay for two hours of hotel staff time to bring the tables from the truck to the playing area. We rent the tables from the local ACBL Unit and the charge is $3.75 per table. Our caddies are the children/grandchildren of our members and they do an excellent job for us. All in all we have done what the membership requested in keeping the costs down. She concluded her report and moved that it be accepted. Ms. Simms 2nd. Ms. Della Willis asked if we are going to return to the Riviera Hotel next year or are we looking at other hotels. VP Snowden stated that we are looking at other hotels also, before making a final decision. The motion carried.
Ms. Gloria Webb, Staff Development Chairperson, reported that Ms. Gertrude Wright and Ms. Helen Scott, from the Sacramento Diamonds, Sacramento, CA, stayed a week-end at Ms. Webb’s house to receive Director’s training for “team games”. Additionally, Ms. Webb assisted in scheduling several Modified Round Robin games throughout the coming year with the Clubs in the Los Angeles Bridge Unit. The Directors are doing very well in directing the Club games. Regarding this tournament, in comparing the table count for the previous years, we have had a steady increase; in 2008 the table count was 188.5; in 2009 the count was 198.5; this year, 2010, the table count is 210.5, so we are growing and we expect a successful tournament. Ms. Webb thanked the Directing staff and Mr. Echols for their hard work and support. She concluded her report and moved that it be accepted. Ms. Faustina Floyd 2nd. The motion carried.
Chairperson, Ms. Stephanie Young thanked VP Snowden for the Appointment. Ms. Young stated that there will be a reception tonight from 5-6 p.m. for the New Players, and there will be a brief lecture on Defense Tips. She further stated that she would like to get more new players into playing bridge. She asked that the more seasoned players be pleasant to the new players when they come to the table, so that they will feel comfortable playing in the games and not feel afraid. Ms. Young concluded her report and moved that it be received.
Chairperson, Ms. Shirley Lee reported that she had submitted, to the ABA National Merit Award and Life Membership Committee, the names of the persons who had been selected last year as nominees from the Western Section, for these awards, but the National Committee Chairperson, Ms. Jane Harris, disqualified the nominees based on a letter that she had received from Ms. Janet Taylor, Pasadena, CA., stating that she is President Pro Tem for the Pasadena DBC, and that the members of the Pasadena DBC thinks that the Western Section Committee did not follow proper procedures for selecting nominees for these awards. Further, Ms. Harris stated that Ms. Taylor and Ms. Harley Wyatt, Los Angeles, CA. called her and told her that the Western Section had not followed the procedure for qualifying and selecting the names of persons to submit as nominees for the two awards. Ms Lee stated informed the members that her committee did follow the proper protocol for selecting the nominees and she also brought a copy of the protocol, as stated in the ABA Handbook for the members to see, if necessary. She stated that the ABA Handbook does not state that the election of the nominees has to be done at an “Open Meeting”, it states that “each Section will develop a procedure to evaluate applications and to prioritize candidates that have been recommended and each Section may submit the name of only one candidate annually to be the National Chairperson, however it is not mandatory for the Sections to participate and the Sectional Vice President must sign the nomination forms as verification that the candidate is the Section’s choice.” Ms. Lee further stated that we did develop that procedure at our last Open Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Ms. Lee further stated that she did not have the names of the candidate at that meeting. Thus the Vice President asked her to notify each Club President to appoint a Representative from their Club to serve on the Committee and who would receive the criteria for nominating a person for the award and to participate in considering all names and documentation submitted by the various Clubs; that the Committee would select and vote for the candidate whose name would be submitted to the National Merit Awards and Life Membership Committee. Ms. Lee also stated that all of the Club Presidents responded and either participated on the Committee or gave her a member to work with on the Committee. She received four (4) applications for Life Membership and six (6) applications for Merit Award. A packet with the applications was sent to all of the Committee members and they reviewed them and Ms. Lee reviewed the applications with the Sectional Vice President. The Committee voted in writing and by e-mail on the candidates of their choice, she has all of the ballots, and the selection was made based on the ballots that she received with the highest number of votes.
Ms. Lee stated further, that when she attended the National Merit Award and Life Membership Committee meeting, she was informed that the Western Section’s nominees had been disqualified because we did not follow proper protocol, when in fact, we did follow proper protocol. The National Committee Chairperson did not give Ms. Lee and opportunity to inform them procedure that the Western Section had in place. Ms. Lee further stated that she talked to the ABA National President concerning this situation, but it was too late for the President to rectify the situation.
Ms. Lee asked all of the committee members who served on her committee to stand so that the membership will know who reviewed the applications that were submitted for review, including the Pasadena DBC Representative, Ms. Clara Satterfield, who, at the time the committee reviewed the applications, was Acting President of the Pasadena DBC. Ms. Lee thanked all of the committee members for their hard work in the selection process.
Ms. Lee stated that ABA National Merit Award and Life Membership Committee treated the Western Section unfairly and that our nominees were unjustly disqualified. Therefore, she asked the membership, since we followed the proper protocol and did not violate the rules for the awards, to reinstate the names of the persons who were selected previously to be resubmitted to the ABA National Merit
Award and Life Membership Committee to receive the awards which should have been bestowed upon them last year.
Ms. Andreda Pruitt asked Ms. Lee to also inform the membership that when queried about the letter, Ms. Janet Taylor stated that she was not aware that she had even sent a letter to the ABA National Merit Award and Life Membership Committee Chairperson. It seems that the letter was signed by her, but she did not know what was in the letter. Ms. Margaret Ware was asked why the names were disqualified. Ms. Lee stated that they were disqualified based on all of the erroneous information that was given to Ms. Harris regarding the protocol followed by the Western Section.
Mr. James Lee asked if the National Committee gave Ms. Lee the proper protocol that should be followed in the selection process. Ms. Lee stated that she gave the National Committee a copy of the protocol that we followed, and the recommendation was for her to bring it back to the Western Section membership for resolution. Ms. Ware will we have candidates for 2011, and Ms. Linda Hines asked will we have four candidates instead of two. Ms. Lee stated that she is recommending that we resubmit the two names that were submitted previously only. The nominees are Ms. Andreda Pruitt, Los Angeles, CA, for Life Membership and Ms. Mignon Benjamin, Los Angeles, CA for Merit Award. Ms. Lee asked them to stand so that the membership will know who the nominees are. Ms. Harley Wyatt stated in the past we always voted for the nominees in the Open meeting, but it was not done last time. Ms. Lee disagreed that it was always the procedure followed, and there was much discussion regarding this matter. Ms. Lee stated, for Clarification, that the National Committee has now recommended that the procedure stated in the handbook be changed and clarified. VP Snowden stated that if anyone wanted to submit proposed changes to anything in the handbook, it should be sent to the ABA National Vice President, Ms. Mary Mason Young.
Ms. Lee’s moved to resubmit the names of the 2010 nominees for the 2011 Awards. Ms. Shirley Gray 2nd. Motion carried.
Ms. Andreda Pruitt reported that she received two (2) initial applications and one second renewal application. The two initial applications are from (1) Karra Manier, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA and (2) Crystal Young, Mt. Saint Mary’s College, Los Angeles, Ca; the one second renewal application is from Candice Manier, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA. Ms. Pruitt stated that applications may be requested between Jan 1, 2011 and Apr 15, 2011. Completed applications are due to the Sectional Chairperson by June 1, 2011. The Scholarship Committee members are: Ms. Pruitt, Ms. Julia Lee, Ms. Shirley Lee, and Ms. Odessia Love. Ms. Pruitt concluded her report and moved to have it received.
Chairperson Mr. Robert J. Friend was unable to attend this tournament, therefore Mr. Tony Lawson is Acting Chairperson. He stated that there are two areas where he has been trying to fill in for Mr. Friend at National. One is on the NTC Committee. The following are some of the issues that the committee has acted on and will be of interest to the membership. (1) The committee has decided to score across the field, not only for the over 2000’s, but for all the fields. Therefore, where there are multiple sections they will score across the fields. If we want to divide fields we need a minimum of 14 tables and a minimum of 5-1/2 tables in each field. (2) The committee has rejected the idea of using 3 Section Knock Outs at National. At National we will continue to have 4 Section KO’s. However, if a Section wants to do a 3 section KO at a Sectional or Grade A, they have the option to do it. Mr. Lawson stated that the other area where he has filled in for Mr. Friend is on the Appeal & Ethics Committee dealing with an issue that was taken to the the Committee at the 2010 Spring Sectional Tournament in Phoenix, AZ. The problem occurred last December 2009, the former WS Vice President, Mr. Charles Townsel, went to the bank, signed a withdrawal slip and withdrew $2,500 from the Section’s checking account. His administration ended January 1, 2010. Subsequently, during the second week of February 2010 he submitted a request to the VP Snowden to be reimbursed for bills in excess of what he had already withdrawn from the checking account. Mr. Lawson stated that the Committee tried to discuss both issues with Mr. Townsel at the Spring Sectional in Phoenix, as he attended the tournament, but he declined to meet with the Committee. There are basically two issues. One is that he claims that the Western Section still owes him $446.00. However, in reviewing his request for reimbursement, and removing those items that are not approved, he owes the Western Section $330+. The second issue was the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from the WS checking account. That issue was taken to the ABA National Appeals and Ethics Committee at the 2010 National Spring Tournament. That Committee reviewed it and decided that it was beyond their scope. It was submitted to the ABA National Board of Directors and it still waiting for a response from the National Board. Ms. Harley Wyatt, Los Angeles, CA stated that she had informed the Sectional Committee in Phoenix, AZ that she was representing Mr. Townsel and that she was willing to meet with them regarding this matter. Mr. Lawson stated that Mr. Townsel did not inform the Committee that he had authorized her to represent him, therefore since he had not communicated with the Committee regarding this they had no authority to meet with her. Ms. Shirley Gray asked if there is a third issue regarding this matter? She stated that she understands that there is a Law Suit pending against the Western Section. Mr. Lawson stated that there is no Law Suit pending against the Western Section, however Mr. Townsel has filed a Small Claims Court action, in Phoenix, AZ against VP Snowden and Ms. Lee Ray for reimbursement of expenses he incurred when he was VP of the Western Section. He claims that VP Snowden and Ms. Lee Ray owes him the $446.00. There was much discussion regarding this matter. The court date is scheduled December 10, 2010. Thus VP Snowden and Ms. Lee Ray will have to go to Phoenix, AZ to appear in Small Claims Court to put forth a defense. There was much discussion regarding this issue because VP Snowden and Ms. Lee Ray do not owe Mr. Townsel, expenses that he may have incurred as VP of the Section, if justified, would be owed by the Section not the two individuals that are named in the action. Mr. Lawson stated that this action was discussed at the Sectional Committee Meeting and the Committee voted to that the Western Section will be responsible for any and all expenses incurred by VP Snowden and Ms. Lee Ray in going to Phoenix, AZ to appear in Small Claims Court. There was much discussion regarding this issue, including whether it would cost more for the Section to pay for VP Snowden and Ms. Lee Ray to go to Phoenix than to pay the amount Mr. Townsel he claims is owed to him. There was also discussion as to whether Mr. Townsel can sue the organization since it is an Incorporated entity. Mr. Lawson stated that if we claim Incorporated Status, the suit can not be heard in Small Claims Court, it would have to go to Federal Court. Mr. Lawson stated that we have chosen not to go that way, and decided to let the Small Claims Court hear the case and make the decision as to who owes whom. The consensus of the membership is that Mr. Townsel has filed a frivolous Law Suit because neither of the persons named is either legally or personally responsible for Mr. Townsel’s expenses. Mr. Lawson informed the membership that Mr. James Lee, Las Vegas, NV and Ms. Thelma Lee, San Diego, CA are the other members of the Appeal and Ethics Committee.
There was a question regarding scoring across the field. Mr. Lawson explained the rule concerning scoring across the field. He concluded his report and moved that it be accepted.
Ms. Gayle Dennis, Hospitality Chairperson, thanked the LABU because the Western Section for any of the candy that is provided for the Bridge players. The members of LABU bring in newspapers for Ms. Dennis to recycle and she uses the money to provide hospitality for the Western Section. Over the past year she has raised over $300.00 for candy. She concluded her report.
Ms. Patricia Banks reported that she continues to put current events on the web site so that members can see what folks are doing in other areas. She reminded the membership that the web site is for everyone in the Section, however if you don’t send her the information, she cannot put it on the web site. She Also stated that she would like to receive camera ready copies for her to use, because she does not make corrections to the information sent to her. Ms. Banks concluded her report and moved that it be accepted.
Regarding the Spring Sectional Cruise that the members voted to have for next Spring. VP Snowden stated that she is running into problems with the cruise lines, due to the economy, the cost of the cruises have increased greatly. Cruises that originate in from the San Francisco or area are more expensive than the cruises originating from Los Angeles/San Pedro or Long Beach. VP Snowden suggested that we go to a hotel/Casino or take the Mexican Rivera Cruise. The Mexican Rivera Cruise will cost around $400 - $500 per person for inside cabins. There was much discussion regarding this matter. After all the pros and cons the membership decided that they want to take the Mexican Rivera Cruise. VP Snowden stated that we cannot collect money for the playing fee while on the Ship. There was discussion regarding this. It was decided that the Club Presidents will collect the playing fees and turn the money over to the Sectional Secretary. There will be no refunds. VP Snowden will contact the travel agent to request a booking for the Mexican Rivera Cruise and will put the information on the Web site, and will contact the Club Presidents regarding the plans for the cruise.
Ms. Gayle Dennis moved to adjourn the meeting. VP Snowden adjourned the meeting at 10:55 a.m.
Respectfully submitted, IDA E. SIMMS Secretary, Western Section - ABA
Western Section Webmaster
stephpat@att.net