Chuck Armbruster's Letter | ||
10 November 2014 |
November 3, 2014
To: Board of Directors, Orlando
Metropolitan Bridge Center
Dear Friends,
I am disappointed and
dismayed by the dissension that currently threatens our bridge club. In my
opinion the problem arose because of a set of clumsily written by-laws of
questionable validity written almost thirty years ago when OMBC was a very
different entity from what it is today. Presumably these by-laws were adopted
(no one seems to know by whom) to protect the interests of the original bond
holders whose bond purchases made possible the construction of the club
building. Over the years the number of such bond holders has been reduced
significantly by redemptions.
The support of OMBC, both financial and
otherwise, no longer comes from the few bond holders who remain but from the
large number of loyal players who play regularly and frequently. I count
myself in that group but there are many more as you all know. I personally
have played almost daily for well over ten years and have paid over $20,000 in
entry fees. Yet we have no direct representation on the Board of Directors and
cannot even call ourselves members since membership per se does not exist under
the current structure.
For these and other reasons and to avoid in the
future the kind of duress to which we are all now being subjected I urge the
Board to consider hiring an attorney to draw up a new set of by-laws to replace
the existing antiquated and inadequate set. I would hope that under the new
by-laws OMBC would make membership possible to those players who pay the annual
club dues (perhaps $200 initially). These card-carrying, voting members would
elect members to a new Board of Trustees. Members would also receive a small
discount (perhaps $2) on their daily entry fees. Players who are non-members
would be welcome to play anytime and would pay the usual $7 entry.
I
would also hope that the restructured OMBC under its new by-laws would do away
with the term “club owner”. Current “club owners” own nothing, as recent
events have dramatically demonstrated. An entirely new system for assigning
game directors would have to be addressed as would director compensation.
I am writing to you out of my deep concern for OMBC and its future. The events
of the past few weeks, whether in substance or execution, have been corrosive
and destructive. The disillusionment of several of OMBC’s most active
supporters will prove costly indeed. Let’s bring OMBC into the 21st century
, a club that is governed by a Board of Trustees that is transparent and
represents its true constituency.
Chuck Armbruster
armbruster@umsl.edu
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