March 2025 - 9

A MESSAGE
FROM THE
PRESIDENT
I
PRESIDENT
Margot Hennings
VICE PRESIDENT
Cindy Shoemaker
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Bronia Jenkins
CHAIR, ADVISORY COUNCIL
Richard Popper
Board of Directors
Region 1 * Darlene Scott
Region 2 * Mark Aquino
Region 3 * Joann Glasson
Region 4 * Margot Hennings
Region 5 * Dennis Carman
Region 6 * Barbara Heller
Region 7 * Larry Sealy
Region 8 * Jeff Overby
Region 9 * Rebecca Brown
Region 10 * Cindy Shoemaker
Region 11 * David Lodge
Region 12 * Jacqueline Zayac
Region 13 * Tim White
To contact a district director,
visit acbl.org/boardofdirectors.
n this space in her February article, Bronia said that her job as executive director
of the ACBL is hard, but that she loves it. Her passion and enthusiasm
for making our organization better shines through
in everything she does. Leading the ACBL is difficult,
whether as the executive director or the president. The
rewarding moments for me, as president, come from
meeting you - the members and volunteers - and taking
your input back to the Board and to Bronia to help
effect change where possible.
One of the areas where I - together with the entire
ACBL Board - am actively seeking your input is on
how we can make our tournaments more attractive
to you, the players. In 2017, I chaired a task force that
conducted a thorough review of tournament frequency,
tournament attendance, tournament events and
player satisfaction. Many recommendations resulted
from this study and a number of actions were undertaken
to address problems that were identified. Some actions were successful,
while others were stalled, often for lack of a robust IT infrastructure to support
initiatives. In these intervening years, progress has been made in terms of IT
capabilities as well as cultural changes that make some recommendations more
palatable. However, there is much work still to be done.
In the introductory article in the January Bulletin about my goals for this
MARGOT HENNINGS
year, I outlined an approach to understanding specific issues and identifying
potential solutions to the problems tournament organizers face. Everything
is on the table: types of events offered, masterpoint awards, best practices for
staffing, better marketing for alternative tournament types (e.g., combining sectionals
and non-Life Master regionals to create " Glitter Point " opportunities for
all levels of players at one location), flexibility to offer online tournament-style
events that support our face-to-face clubs, and lots more.
* In her regular online " chats " with unit and district presidents, Bronia has
been gathering concerns about both sectionals and regionals.
* Board members have been actively communicating with their tournament
coordinators and tournament chairs and summarizing their conversations.
* Board members have been attending tournaments in and outside their districts,
talking with players to see what attracts them to certain tournaments and
not to others, and to gain insights into organizer strategies to providing customer
satisfaction in the face of increasing costs and attendance that is in most
cases still significantly below pre-Covid numbers.
* The three main topics of Staffing (including paid Tournament Directors
as well as our invaluable but unpaid volunteers), Scheduling (how many
tournaments there are and when they are held), and Schedules (number and
type of events likely to maximize attendance at tournaments) will be the focus
of Board/management/staff collaboration at our upcoming Board meetings in
Memphis.
All of your Board members, Bronia, and I welcome your thoughts on these
topics. Looking forward to seeing you at the tables and listening to your ideas! 2
March 2025 | Bridge Bulletin |
9
http://www.acbl.org/boardofdirectors
March 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2025
