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MARKETING EFFORTS

Our Marketing Dept. is researching how to best familiarize schools and non-member teachers with our School Bridge Lesson Series Program as well as MiniBridge.  We have requested proposals from three marketing firms familiar with the K - 12 audience.  These proposal requests also include a component for promoting college bridge.

Our Education Dept. is continuing to research the potential for Bridge Camps.  I heard rave reviews on the one in New York after the NABC and I am hopeful that we can sponsor more of them.  Some of us feel it can be done on a Regional basis which would make it more accessible.  I'll keep you updated on these efforts. 

We're excited about a membership drive that will benefit the American Bridge Teachers Association (ABTA).  The ACBL will donate $5 to the ABTA for every new member recruited by any accredited teacher Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 this year.  Our recent ACBL membership survey showed that only 12% of our members learned about the ACBL from a teacher.  We hope that this will encourage our teachers to assist in recruiting new members..

These are some of the ways your membership dues work to promote bridge.

Speaking of membership, our dues-paying members have increased 0.6% from the same time last year.  Our total membership, including unpaid Life Masters, is 0.9% greater than the same time last year.  This figure is now 167,984.  Our membership figures have shown steady increases for a while now.

Now for some great news!  There is a new cable station being formed called Edge TV.  We are about to sign a contract with them to put Bridge on TV.  Details are still being worked out but we expect a minimum of 14 hours of exposure during the year with broadcasts into more than 1 million homes.  If we can make it work, that should more than triple in '06.  I feel very strongly that this must be done in a very SIMPLE format.  I don't know how many of you remember the old Goren show which did have a huge audience because of its simplicity.    I do believe we must get bridge down to the most basic level if we are going to make this work.

I have only one Orlando motion I can tell you about.  That's because the Journal is not out yet.  The only reason I know about this motion is because Jim Kirkham and I made it.  We are proposing that the United States Bridge Federation (USBF) must receive Board approval for any major decision.  Currently they make all decisions about International competition which pertain to the U.S.  Lately they have made some bad decisions, in my opinion.  The most recent one involves our own Gene Freed.  The John Onstott (New Orleans) team won the right to represent the U.S. in the Senior Teams which is about to take place in Istanbul, Turkey in November.  John Onstott was unable to go with the team and they asked to augment Gene to take his place.  The USBF first asked their Credentials  Committee to make a recommendation about this.  The Credentials Committee recommended that he not be approved and the USBF Board then accepted their recommendation  They said they didn't think he could compete at that level.  EXCUSE ME!!!  Gene has won this event in the past (2001) and been Second (2002)!  He was approved for augmentation last year but did not go because his  late wife, Louise, was very ill.  I don't understand how a man can be determined to be qualified for an event one year and not qualified a year later.  I might point out that no member of the USBF Board has ever won this event.  They added that they didn't think Gene would have enough time to solidify a partnership with the man he would be playing with.  That would be our own Jim Robison.  Jim and Gene have actually won a National Championship (IMP Pairs, 1998)!  Gene has many other feathers in his cap.  These facts make their decision that much more ludicrous.  As a result of this decision and another recent one, I think it is best if the ACBL Board evaluates all their decisions.

I'll have more about the upcoming motions in Orlando next month.  I hope you can join me there - it promises to be a great NABC at a wonderful location.