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ACBL Finances
The prime agenda item for the ACBL Board of Directors at our fall meeting was to enact a budget for 2008. This process is getting better. For the first time, we had 10 months of actual current year figures to work with; much better than the 8 months we've had in the past. The forecast for 2007 anticipates an excess of revenues over expenditures of $1.27 million. Membership income is up, as is tournament income. Investment income is much higher than in 2006, because we have cash from the sale of our product store inventory, because of the excess of revenue over expenses and because we sold our headquarters building.

Our staff salaries and other costs are well down from 2006. In addition to the product store staff, we have merged jobs in other areas. We did not hire either a new Marketing Director or a Chief Financial Officer in 2007, though we do expect to fill these positions. Building expenses have gone down with the headquarters sale, and marketing/education expenses are significantly lower than in 2006. Finally, our tournament director costs nearly broke even with revenues generated.

We also budgeted for a surplus in 2008, without increasing any fees. Therefore dues, sanction fees, club fees and director costs will remain at 2007 levels. How much of a surplus we have in 2008, or if we even wind up with a surplus, depends on several factors.

ACBL Headquarters Move
First, and most obvious, we will incur expenses because we have to move from our current headquarters building. The Real Estate Committee has come up with a short list of four cities; Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando and Dallas. It is estimated that a move within the Memphis metro area will cost in the $50,000 range, though it could be more depending on renovations, office furniture and the like.

It will likely cost much more - perhaps in the $500K range - to leave the Memphis area. Very few of our current employees will transfer, meaning we will have to hire and train almost a totally new office staff. Some functions, like the Bulletin operation and our meeting planning functions, can probably remain in Memphis if we so desire, as these functions can be effectively performed without much central office interaction.

This decision will be made at the Detroit Board meeting in March. There is a lot to consider, not the least of which is our Memphis staff. We have a number of very dedicated, hard-working professional employees, many of whom have given ACBL many years of their working career.

Exempt Status of ACBL Directors
Another major issue that has potential financial ramifications is the IRS status of our directing staff. Depending on how the Department of Labor (DOL) rules, we could be liable for back overtime payments, and perhaps payments for travel time. At issue is whether tournament directors are "salaried" or "hourly" employees. The former are exempt from overtime provisions of labor law, while the latter are not. We hope to hear more in December, but sometimes these rulings take a long time. A lawsuit demanding back overtime has just been filed by two directors.

Related to the above, ACBL management has announced new procedures for running STaCs. A small number of salaried directors, employees believed to be exempt from overtime even under a very strict DOL interpretation of policy, will manage all STaCs. Often this will mean a director will run several STaCs at one time. This should help reduce costs because it will mean that fewer directors will be needed overall to run tournaments. Memphis is also exploring new methods of charging regional and sectional tournaments for directors, and is expected to present a proposal at our spring meeting.

Masterpoint Changes
The Board approved several changes to masterpoint (MP) formulas and games allowed. For bracketed KO team events, the 1st overall award will be based on the average masterpoint holding of all the teams in the bracket, rather than on the size of the entire field. For 4-round KOs, 2nd is 70% of 1st, 3rd is 45% and 4th is 35%. For 3-round KOs, 2nd is 53% of 1st. Winning the 1st match will now be worth up to 3 MP. So while the second match premium still exists, it has been reduced. Match awards in Flight A/X in strati-flighted teams at tournaments will be increased. There are other changes, which you can check out when the San Francisco Board meeting minutes are published on the ACBL web site (www.acbl.org).

Game Changes
Super club championships, unit-wide championships, unit extended team games, unit-wide and district-wide charity games and 49er pairs will be eliminated. This will leave but one class of unit championships, but the number allowable will be increased from 16 to 24 with a fee of $1.25/table. Units and districts will now be allowed to hold the Fund or Foundation games presently available to clubs (charity, junior, international or education), with a limit of 4/year per district and 4/year per unit. The fee structure will be the same as that at clubs, and there will now be a masterpoint cap of 6.00 for all of these games. The maximum overall masterpoint award for open club rating point games, including internet clubs, will increase to 2.50, calculated @ .10/table. Overall awards will be available only such club games of 16 or more tables. Awards for invitational clubs will be increased proportionally. Check the Club Manager Newsletter or with Carol Robertson at the ACBL club department for effective dates for all of the above, and with specific questions you may have.

The "Shanghai Seven" Incident
Considerable attention, both before and during our meeting, was given to the fallout from an incident that occurred at the world championships in Shanghai. During the awards ceremony, as the team of US women who won the Venice Cup was photographed on the podium, one of the team members held up a sign saying, "We did not vote for Bush". As might be expected, this generated a heated and voluminous e-mail exchange as soon as the pictures hit the internet, both on the merits or lack thereof in what was done, and on what actions might be taken in response. The New York Times wrote a column on it, and it was featured in news stories and blogs all over the internet. As a result, we on the ACBL Board were inundated with memos, many from non-bridge players! While we generally crave publicity for our game, it's probably fair to say that none related to this matter painted bridge in a favorable light. This issue went before the United States Bridge Federation (USBF), which issued a statement implying that the 6 players on the team acknowledged that the USBF has a right to insist that things like this not happen in the future. The statement did not mention the non-playing captain.

Volunteer of the Year
During the NABC in San Francisco in November, it was announced that Forum editor Ken Monzingo was named ACBL Volunteer of the Year by ACBL President Sharon Fairchild. Ken has been involved in many District 22 volunteer activities for many years. He is chairing the 2009 San Diego NABC and, with Bonnie Bagley as co-chair, is also in charge of the Las Vegas NABC here in District 17 next July. Congratulations, Ken!

Potpourri
The first of two District 17 charity games for 2008 will be held on Tuesday afternoon, February 12. A notice will be sent from Memphis sometime in January. Dan Morse from Houston is ACBL President for 2008. Wording was changed to clarify that clubs can hold one club appreciation game per sanctioned session during October. Junior players under 16 can play free in NABC regional-rated events. All juniors (under age 26) are eligible for $10 off coupons per session for all events at NABCs. New administrative guidelines for ACBL club games and club director accreditations were agreed to. A committee will be formed to study the requirements for becoming a Life Master and other rank changes. The trimester stipend to help cover non-meeting related expenses of being an ACBL Board member was raised $250 to $1000. The Board terminated the policy of reimbursing board members for transportation costs of their spouse/significant other to one board meeting per year.

Your input and suggestions on any of the above topics (or any other issues you wish to raise) are always appreciated, whether you agree or not. I have heard from many of you regarding the Shanghai incident, and I thank all of you for sharing your thoughts on that matter. My phone number is (505)662-3036, you can e-mail me at peanutcat@aol.com, or write me at 2175 La Tierra Road, Los Alamos NM 87544-2766.