Monday, July 31, 2017
Bennett Jacobstein called the meeting to order at 8:05 PM
- Bennett announced that Word Cup 8 will take place July 7 – 11, 2018, at the Airport Marriott in Burbank, California. Bennett and Dave Postal will be co-directors. There will be no Early Bird. Winter suggested that there be a Night Bird instead. There was a request that a tour of Hollywood be organized for July 6 in lieu of the usual Early Bird. A show of hands indicated that almost everyone present hoped to go to Word Cup 8.
- Deborah Baggett volunteered to sub for Melissa Brown as member liaison.
- Melissa Brown (Member Liaison), Henry Yeung (Webmaster), Janice Kaye (Treasurer), David Wood (Tournament Coordinator), Mike Johnson and Winter (Ratings Committee) volunteer their time on an ongoing basis to keep our organization running smoothly. We could not function without them. We have no paid staff. More volunteers are welcome. There are many ways to help.
- Helen Flores asked members to suggest ways that WGPO could help promote club participation in their communities.
- Keith Hagel asked for volunteers for the Nominations and Elections committee. Winter volunteered. Ruth Hamilton proposed that the voting procedure be changed so that officers be elected at the annual Word Cup. Proxies would be allowed. This would require a change to the bylaws. There was a mixed response to this suggestion. It was agreed that the present system needs improvement. Winter suggested looking at other web voting options. David Goldberg suggested voting take place at local clubs and/or tournaments.
- Mary Attwood inquired about the financial health of WGPO. Keith Hagel reported that we have $5,100 in the treasury. Due to fund-raising efforts, the Word Cups are pretty much self-supporting.
- Keith Hagel asked how many would come back to Springfield for a tournament. A fair number of those present said they would.
- Helen Flores wanted to know if the membership felt it was easy to contact the board and if they felt we were listening.
- Fran Galt asked about assessing dues. Helen Flores replied that we don’t need the money, and it’s simpler not to have dues.
- Mike Johnson wondered if we should get liability insurance coverage for our directors and tournaments. Helen Flores said we should ask our lawyers. Carolyn Atchison suggested that we ask people to sign a waiver. It is possible for directors to get a rider on a homeowner’s or business policy to cover tournament liability. WGPO would have to be a formal organization in order to get coverage. Bennett wondered about registering as a non-profit.
The meeting was adjourned.