District
Director's Report
December 2007 (
Rich DeMartino)
San Francisco NABC
The Fall NABC was held at the Marriott in beautiful San Francisco. Attendance was a fantastic 14,859 tables, about 1,500 tables more than pre-tournament estimates. Only Orlando in 1992 (14,980 tables) and Las Vegas in 2001 (16,818 tables) had higher table counts for a Fall NABC.
Two main reasons for the great attendance are that San Francisco is a fantastic city coupled with the fact that the NABC started on Thanksgiving Day instead of the week before. The playing space was all in one hotel, a big plus, and there were plenty of tourist attractions and great places to shop within walking distance of the hotel. Finally, San Francisco is one of the great dining cities in the country and there were many excellent places to eat all types of fine food. A few board members have been advocating that we hold more NABCs in our most popular cities and this NABC certainly supports that view. It also appears to be a widely held opinion that starting the NABC on Thanksgiving Day is clearly best. Boston 2008, unfortunately, will start the week before Thanksgiving but the following four Fall NABCs will start on Thanksgiving Day.
As you can see below, New Englanders did OK in the NABC events but not as well as in recent NABCs. I believe all who were fortunate enough to be in San Francisco had a truly great time.
Top Ten Finishers in NABC Events - District 25
|
Karen McCallum, Exeter NH |
1 |
WOMEN'S BAM
|
Phyllis Fireman, Chestnut Hill MA |
6 |
SENIOR KO TEAMS
|
Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT |
3/4 |
| Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT | |
| Pat McDevitt, Brookline MA | |
| John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT |
BLUE RIBBON PAIRS
|
Richard Zexkhauser, Cambridge MA |
10 |
MINI - BLUE RIBBON PAIRS
|
Randolph Johnson, Suffield CT |
10 |
Highlights of ACBL Board Meeting
CEO Report
CEO Jay Baum reported that membership has increased by 992 players since January 1. The new member total for 2007 is 9,694, which is 354 more than last year. Tournament attendance is also generally good, being slightly above 2006. The CEO estimates there will be 325,000 online tables for 2007, a large increase. With this increase plus a small increase in Club tables, Jay reported that we have a very realistic chance to reach 3,000,000 sanctioned tables for the first time in ACBL history.
Financial Status
For calendar year 2007, Management is currently projecting a gain of $1,272,000, which is well above the 2007 budgetted gain of $206,000. There are numerous reasons for this very favorable result, including: higher revenue than anticipated ($400,000); lower salaries due to terminations ($225,000); lower benefits costs than budgeted ($340,000); and, the gain realized on the sale of the Memphis building ($100,000).
For 2008, I am pleased to report that the Finance Committee is projecting a profit in excess of $400,000. What makes this news even better is that there are NO proposed changes in fees for 2008.
International Fund Month
A motion to cancel International Fund month failed 22-3. Obviously, this motion was submitted as a result of the recent incident in the Venice Cup.
Headquarters Location
As announced in the "From the CEO" column in the November ACBL Bulletin, the headquarters building in Memphis was recently sold, as previously planned. The building had been on the market for over a year. A combined BOD/Management Committee has been appointed to select a future home for the ACBL. Initially, about 20 cities were considered; the list was reduced first to 9 cities and then to the following four cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Memphis, and Orlando. The Committee will evaluate these cities based on various criteria and is hoping to have a firm recommendation by the Spring Board Meeting. Presently, the ACBL is in the first of three six-month options to rent space in the current headquarters building. Moving out of the Memphis area could involve significant costs but if sufficient incentives are available from one of the other cities, leaving Memphis is a viable alternative.
As always, the full minues of the Board Meeting will be posted on the ACBL Website within the next 10 days or so. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require additional information.
Top 25 Masterpoint Winners – San Francisco NABC
|
Name |
Total Points |
Points Won in NABC+ Events | ||
|
1. |
Karen McCallum, Exeter NH |
132.79 |
126.03 | |
|
2. |
Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT |
88.84 |
72.65 | |
|
3. |
Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT |
77.41 |
70.00 | |
|
4. |
Pat McDevitt, Brookline MA |
76.95 |
70.00 | |
|
5. |
John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT |
74.66 |
72.65 | |
|
6. |
Debbie Benner, Fairfield CT |
64.72 |
||
| Arthur Crystal, Fairfield CT |
64.72 |
|||
|
8. |
Nathan Glasser, Somerville MA |
63.16 |
||
|
9. |
Barry Margolin, Arlingto MA |
62.56 |
||
|
10. |
Lloyd Arvedon, Bedford MA |
60.17 |
51.09 | |
|
11. |
Richard Zeckhauser, Cambridge MA |
60.00 |
60.00 | |
|
12. |
John McLaughlin, Melrose MA |
55.46 |
51.09 | |
|
13. |
Matthew Raider, Portland CT |
47.64 |
||
|
14. |
Bud Biswas, Lexington MA |
45.98 |
||
|
15. |
Phyllis Fireman, Chestnut Hill MA |
44.56 |
40.00 | |
|
16. |
Larry Bausher, West Haven CT |
40.09 |
||
| Steve Becker, Old Greenwich CT |
40.09 |
|||
|
18. |
Brian Duran, Somerville MA |
38.32 |
||
|
19. |
Joseph DeGaetano, Atkinson NH |
37.28 |
1.72 | |
|
20. |
Mark Aquino, Jamaica Plain MA |
35.56 |
11.90 | |
|
21. |
Barton Buffington, North Kingstown RI |
34.91 |
||
|
22. |
Penny Lane, Williston VT |
34.39 |
||
|
23. |
Lea Selig, West Hartford CT |
34.08 |
||
|
24. |
Donald Sondergeld, Hubbardton VT |
33.25 |
||
|
25. |
Brenda Montague, Swampscott MA |
31.78 |
Top Platinum Masterpoint Winners – 2007 NABCs
|
Name |
Points Won in NABC+ Events | ||
|
1. |
John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT |
327 | |
|
2. |
Karen McCallum, Exeter NH |
266 | |
|
3. |
Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT |
234 | |
|
4. |
Doug Doub, West Hartford CT |
233 | |
|
5. |
Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT |
228 |
Leading Masterpoint Winners – All 2007 NABCs
|
Name |
Total Points | ||
|
1. |
John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT |
383 | |
|
2. |
Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT |
369 | |
|
3. |
Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT |
312 | |
|
4. |
Karen McCallum, Exeter NH |
297 | |
|
5. |
Doug Doub, West Hartford CT |
233 |
ACBL Goodwill Committee & ACBL Charity Committee Appointments
It gives me great pleasure to announce the following appointments to the ACBL National Goodwill Committee and the National Charity Committee. These are lifetime appointments honoring players who have contributed substantially to bridge in our District.
National Goodwill Committee
|
Luke Gillespie, Wayland MA |
|
Joyce Stiefel, Wethersfield CT |
|
Phyllis Bausher, West Haven CT |
Members selected to the Goodwill Committee are those who spread goodwill among our players, consistently behave in an exemplaty manner and are highly ethical at the bridge table.
National Charity Committee
|
Mary Witt, Bloomfield CT |
|
Stuart Whittle, Waltham MA |
Both Mary and Stuart are actively involved in promoting bridge. Mary has done much of the administrative work required to run Connecticut Sectionals on a volunteer basis for the past several years. Stuart has been instrumental in promoting I/N participation at sectionals and is also Chair of the I/N Registration/Prizes Committee for the 2008 Boston NABC.
The 2008 Spring NABC will be held in Detroit from March 6 through March 16 at the Marriott in the wonderful Renaissance Center. The Renaissance Center has everything any player might need without ever going outside. The Chairs have worked very hard to make this a great NABC. I urge you to peruse their website for details on this NABC (www.detroit2008nabc.org). Hope to see you there. The Summer NABC is in Las Vegas and, as you all know, the Fall NABC will be in Boston.
Rich DeMartino
District Director