Allan Morris Writes

27 March 2018
Last Tuesday the board met for the last time in this financial year. It was a pleasure to acknowledge the contribution over a very long time of Alan Turner. Alan will not be lost to NZ Bridge as he has agreed to stay involved with education.

It was also a pleasure to mention the re-election of Karen Martelletti who has led the modernisation of our systems. When the board next meets on the 8th April it will be a pleasure to welcome John Skipper to the team. The board also acknowledged Kay Nicholas and Sue Brown who put their names forward for election to the board. It is gratifying to see an active interest in serving NZBridge.

Whilst on personnel changes the board resolved the appointment of Tony Thomson who will be joining the constitution review group. This group is being led by Russell Wilson and comprises Alan Dormer and Alister Stuck. The intention is to put a consultative document to the membership and then submit a final draft to the regional conference to be held on the 15th July.

With the appointment of John Skipper to the board there will be a vacancy on the NZ Bridge Foundation. Once we define the skill sets required we will be seeking expressions of interest.

The board is presently reviewing roles and responsibilities of board members. These will be finalised and approved at our board meeting on the 8th April. Following that meeting we will be in a position to know what skill sets are required to fill a vacancy on the board. Again we will be seeking expressions of interest.

The board hopes our more consultative and transparent approach is meeting the expectations of the membership. We recognise as we seek to grow membership, new players to our game have no idea of the role of NZ Bridge. We have agreed to put together a small profile document that can be shared with new players as they start on the lessons journey. I don’t have all the numbers of people undertaking beginner lessons. I can however share a couple of stories. Omokoroa who have a membership of 32 have 27 undertaking lessons. Auckland has 70 new players in its intake.
We are 6 months into our Regional Bridge Mates trial. Early evidence shows the programme is working well. We now have Bridge Mates in every region.

Financial performance to 28 February is good. Whilst we have spent a little more on the transformation we have saved close on $30,000 on board meetings.
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At our meeting we approved the withdrawal of the current social media policy document to be replaced with our “Social Media best practices”. This will be circulated shortly. We need to be conscious of respecting people and their privacy.

Recently Richard Solomon met a member of the Chinese Bridge Federation. They are keen to explore an exchange where players can come to New Zealand, play a little bridge and then enjoy the beauty of New Zealand. There may be an opportunity for players to visit China in reverse.

Richard departs early April on an extended holiday. NZB permanent secretary Alister Stuck has agreed to cover for Richard. The board has also appointed Alister as Secretary of the NZ Bridge Foundation.

Best Wishes
Allan