I attended the ACBL Board of Directors Meetings and the Spring NABC in Louisville, Kentucky in March. The weather was great the vast majority of the time. The highlight of my trip was visiting Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum. My Dad raced a couple of thoroughbreds in California in the 1980’s, but he never had the opportunity to race a horse at Churchill Downs. My grandmother was born in Boone County, Kentucky, about 1 ½ hours north of Louisville, so it was very nostalgic for me to finally visit her home state. I understand that the bourbon trail is wonderful, but I
was unable to be a tourist for more than one day. After all, I was in Louisville for the Board Meetings and bridge!

You can read full ACBL Board Report from the Louisville Meetings or here are some of the highlights:

• We are having a better year than budgeted so far in 2024.
• The decline in membership has slowed considerably. Our membership is down 1.2 percent from last year, but there are more new memberships and guest memberships than we had last year.
• The Board voted to divide a motion into two separate motions which impact the board. The first motion was to increase the stipend for the Regional Director position from $3,000/year to $6,000/year. The vote was 7-5-1. I voted in favor of the increase to cover more of the costs being incurred to visit both Districts. I want anyone to be able to hold this position and meet with their constituents, not just people who can afford to pay for the expenses incurred to effectively perform the duties of the position. The second part of the divided motion was to have the Fall Board Meeting held on Zoom rather than in person. This motion failed by a vote of 3-10. Meeting for three days on Zoom and not being able to discuss things with my colleagues between sessions are two reasons why I voted against the online meeting.
  Informal discussions often lead to informed votes.
• The EDGAR (Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach) software has examined over 7,700 members since February 1, 2024. Some of the first members to be examined were the ACBL Board of Directors. I am pleased to report that everyone on the board received a green
  rating which means that they are not cheating. As a member of the Appeals & Charges Committee, I can assure you that the people who are identified as red (cheating without a doubt) are proceeding through the disciplinary process.
• Here is some great news for our F2F clubs. They may now each run two (instead of one) Club Championship Games each quarter.
• The category of Life Member has been removed. All of the active Life Members will be considered paid in full through December 31, 2024. Beginning in 2025, the Life Member designation will disappear and all Life Members will be required to pay full dues and sign the arbitration clause that our other members have already signed to renew their membership.
• All ACBL COVID protocols will be removed effective May 13, 2024.
• Several updates and clarifications were approved to the Codification regarding Chapter X – Sectionals. If you want more information than what is included in the Board Report, I suggest you read this section of the codification for the changes taking place on April 14, 2024. Here is a link to that section. 
• The Competition and Conventions (C&C) Committee will be putting forth a proposal in the summer to add a fourth flight to the NAP’s to mirror the GNTs. If you read the Board Report, you will find that two Board members voted against this motion. I was one of the two and I voted no because I (and one colleague) wanted it implemented immediately since the NAP cycle begins again in June. The reason it is not being put in place for another year is because of IT’s inability to get the system upgraded.
• The location of the Summer, 2027 NABC has still not been approved. It is between Chicago and Las Vegas. The Board asked ACBL Management to determine the best location.

I encourage you to read the ACBL Board Report for additional information including all of the appointments that were made at the Louisville Meetings.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact me at region12director@acbl.org or jackiezayac@gmail.com.

I hope you enjoy the beauty of Spring!

Jackie Zayac
Region 12 Director