“DRAFT”

Minutes of Unit 194 Annual General Meeting Halifax

April 15, 2021 via Zoom

Present: Linda Tuff, Maureen Donovan, Brian Delong, Fran Delong, Art Donahue, Lydia Prange, John Dow, Jim Kirby, Marilyn Bennett, John Olsen, Elizabeth Legacy, Gerry Callaghan, Marilyn Rudolph, Virginia Giza, Michael Covey, Katherine Chapman, Marjorie Wandler, Dave Etter, Rob Williams, Anne Hughes, Jack, Scott Rappard, Frances DeLong, Ron O’Brien, Tim Margolian, Jane Fillbee, Leo Weniger, Leslie Ruggles, Julie Small, Priscilla Kenny, Bilgin Batman, Don Wright, Joanne Lynds, Roy Perry, Jean MacKenzie, Jamie Muir, Bruce Watson, Julie Williams, Bill Halliday, Dan Landry, Alan Thompson, Audrey MacGillivary, Anne Hughes, Kathie Macnab and several others arrived after call to order.

Call to Order 5:08 P.M by Linda Tuff

Motion: Approval of the minutes from the Annual General Meeting of Unit 194, November 2019, was made by Marilyn Bennet and seconded by Lydia Prange.

President’s Report: ( see full report at the end of this document ).

There were no penalties incurred regarding cancellation of any of the tournaments scheduled for 2020/2021.

The ACBL has sanctioned the Valley tournament for September 2021 subject to local restrictions and guidelines.

Linda expressed the appreciation of the Board for the retiring Board members including, Maureen Donovan, Mike Tanner, Lydia Prange and Bill Knoll.

Edgar Blinn is retiring, and Linda expressed, on behalf of the Board, her sincere appreciation for Edgar’s outstanding dedication to Unit 194 and bridge in general.

Treasurer’s report:

Gerry Callaghan gave the Treasurer’s report. (see attached)

We are up to date with our GST filings.

There is only one tournament included due to Covid cancellations. The February 2020 Halifax tournament had a profit of $2,222.00. Currently there is a surplus of $54,000.

It was noted that the Can- At funds are no longer separate because of the HST filings. Assets were combined on September 18, 2020.

Motion: Jim Kirby moved that the Financial statement be approved. This was seconded by Art Donahue, all approved.

Proposed Changes to the Unit 194 By-Laws:

There were a number of By-Law issues arising from the cancellation of the Maritime Bridge Line. As such, the following By-Laws, 6.3 and 7.8 have been amended.

The Maritime Bridge Line Editor to be replaced by the Webmaster.

Motion: This was moved by Art Donahue and seconded by Dave Etter.

Bill Halliday is currently the Webmaster and has kindly agreed to take this on.

New Business:

Leo Weniger, The District representative, reported that the ACBL is making organizational changes that he believes are significant. These changes will be effective as of 2024.

Some of the changes include:

Districts will be combined and there will be elected Representatives. There will be 13 Regional Districts.

Due to the great disparity in voters among districts, Leo felt it was very imperative that we investigate this matter and determine what action if any, should be taken. It was suggested that Leo and Kathie attend the next Unit meeting for a full discussion.

Appointment of the Auditor:

Motion: Jim Kirby moved that David Etter be appointed the Accountant for the Unit. This was seconded by Art Donahue.

Nomination Committee Report: presented by Jim Kirby (attached)

The slate of candidates to represent Unit 194 are:

Executive

Jim Kirby, President

Brian Delong, 1^st V.P.

Elliot Kaizer, 2^nd V.P.

Secretary - Jean Mackenzie

Treasurer - Gerry Callaghan

Past President: Linda Tuff

Area Representatives:

Counties of Yarmouth, Shelburne and Digby: Paulette Mitchell

Counties of Queens and Lunenburg: John Olsen

Counties of Annapolis, Kings and Hants: Fran Delong

Cape Breton: Irene Jones

Counties of Pictou and Antigonish: Ron O’Brien

Counties of Colchester and Guysborough: Marylyn Rudolph

Halifax County: Art Donahoe

Halifax County: Tim Margolian

Halifax County: Elizabeth Legacy

Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland: Marilyn Bennett

Newfoundland and Labrador excluding the Avalon Peninsula: Marilyn Bennett

Ex-Officio Non Voting:

The Unit Tournament Chair – John Dow

The Can-At Chairs – M. Donovan, Linda Tuff and Gerry Callaghan

The Webmaster – Bill Halliday

The Zone 1 Director of the CBF

Motion: Jim Kirby moved to accept the new slate of Board Members. Seconded by Art Donahue.

Linda Tuff, President thanked all attendees for taking the time to attend.

Adjourned: 5:40 PM.

Respectively Submitted, Maureen Donovan, Unit 194, Board Member

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Unit 194 President’s Report

Annual General Meeting, April 15, 2021

In 2020 and there were no tournaments held due to Covid restrictions. A small glimmer of light is at the end of the tunnel as the ACBL has sanctioned our Valley Sectional, Oct 1-3, 2021, subject to Provincial Health Guidelines. Simply obtaining the sanction offers hope yet as a Unit we may still face may hurdles relating to in person play. Will players come? What will the new protocols be? Many questions for the new and returning board members of Unit 194.

The Unit held virtual Zoom board meetings in April 2020, June 2020 and in February 2021. Items discussed included: The Unit did not suffer any financial penalties when the sectionals and Can-At were cancelled. Revision of the By-Laws as the Maritime Bridge Line is no longer in existence. Organizing the AGM and appointing the Nominating Committee. The Zoom meetings offered the board an easy way to communicate, and I suspect, will be quite useful in the future.

I would like to thank those board members who are retiring for their time and dedication to our board: Maureen Donovan, Bill Knoll, Mike Tanner, Joan Gillam and Lydia Prange. Also, Edgar Blinn has retired from Directing. All members will certainly miss Edgar as he has been a fixture on our tournament scene forever. We thank him for his dedication to bridge and hope to see him at the table when we resume playing.

I will remain on the board as Past President for the next two years and look forward to working with the current and new board members. Collectively I am confident we can work towards a bright safe future for all bridge players.

Respectively submitted,

Linda Tuff