District Director's Report
July 2006 ( Rich DeMartino)

Chicago NABC

The Chicago NABC was held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in a lovely part of the city, very near Lake Michigan and the Magnificent Mile, with all of its well known stores and architecture. Attendance was 13,373 tables, slightly lower than the pre-tournament projection of 13,500 tables. The playing space was first rate for the NABC events and adequate for the Regional events. All of the playing space was on two adjacent floors of the Hyatt, which is ideal.

Never having been in Chicago previously except in the airport, I was very impressed with how lovely this part of the city is. There are numerous outstanding places to eat, either a short walk from the playing site or a relatively inexpensive cab ride away. The only serious complaint I heard is that several players had difficulty obtaining rooms at the main hotel and either had to pay higher room rates and/or travel further than desirable.

The biggest news at this NABC is that eight District 25 players won National Championships, six for the first time. The Flight B GNT was won by Allan Wolf, Russell Friedman, Frances Schneider, and Bernard Schneider from Connecticut. Geof Brod, Steve Earl, Jay Stiefel, and Rich DeMartino won the Senior Swiss Teams (first NABC win for Geoff and Steve). New England players dominated this event, with 13 players finishing in the top seven overall, a magnificent performance.

Finally, Dick Budd and Doug Doub won enough masterpoints to become New England's eighth and ninth Grand Life Masters. Congratulations to all of the above players. Well done.

Top Ten Finishers in NABC Events from District 25

GNT - Flight B

GNT - Flight C

Bruce LM - 5000 Pairs

Senior Swiss Teams

NABC+ Fast Pairs

Open Swiss Teams

HIGHLIGHTS OF ACBL BOARD MEETING

Financial Status

As reported previously, the budget for the 2006 calendar year is a net profit of $63,000. For the first four months, income exceeded expenses by $110,000, a favorable result. To address the problems which surfaced late last year, Management has assured the Finance Committee and the BOD that they have implemented several actions to improve their performance in budgeting and forecasting.

Directors and Officers Insurance Coverage (D&O)

On July 10, the BOD voted to purchase D&O Insurance from the Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company that covers all ACBL Units and Districts as well as the ACBL. Previously, Districts and Units had the opportunity to purchase D&O coverage on an individual basis but few had done so (to the best of my knowledge neither the District nor any Unit in Disrict 25 had purchased this insurance). The insurance covers Unit/District officials as well as committee members for actions taken in that capacity.

To qualify for coverage, the District President and Unit Presidents must sign a waiver form. My opinion is that each Unit should sign this form and send it in as quickly as possible. Our lawyers have raised a couple of concerns that are documented in the materials sent to you. If you need further clarification of the issues, please call the insurance agent or me. Whatever each Unit does is up to the Unit but I urge all Unit Presidents to take care of this matter as quickly as possible. In order to receive coverage retroactive to July 11, the target date for submitting the form is July 26.

Senior KO Teams

Senior Events - Age

NABC Appeals