Mr. Ken Monzingo
President ACBL
Dear Mr. Monzingo:
I am writing to express my concerns about several issues that have surfaced in ACBL over the last several months. I feel the ACBL is at a crossroads and needs to change the way it is run.
First of all, I propose that ACBL should be run like a large for-profit corporation with strong, experienced executive management who have been there and done that. If this had been the case, I strongly believe the ACBL would not have lost over $2MM during the last two-three years and several other issues would have been handled. It appears the ACBL tries to make up this loss by passing down extra fees and cutting programs that are counter to the ACBL mission statement.
It appears the ACBL does not understand who their customers are. It is the 3200 clubs who bring in the new players year after year. Recently, the ACBL passed along significant fee increases to the Clubs/Units which will have a negative impact on all their customers. In addition, the BOD reduced the Cooperative Advertising reimbursement by $250.00 but left in tact the two day wine and dine of BOD spouses. Customer satisfaction is a major metric within a large corporation. When you have dissatisfied customers we all know what happens. These type actions are a slap in the face to the Clubs and thousands of volunteers who work extremely hard to grow the membership for ACBL and are short-term planning actions. We need long-term planning.
There also appears to be a major personnel issue at Corporate. I realize that anonymous letters are difficult to deal with, however, I would suggest to you that where there is smoke there is fire and sweeping these issues under the rug to allow them to simmer will only allow them to get bigger. This is another area where strong leadership is needed.
I also believe that the method of electing the BOD should be critically examined as well as the number of members on the BOD. We need fewer people but with strong, proven business/management/financial backgrounds who also have a good understanding of duplicate bridge. This select group should then be able to make tough, informed decisions and not have to worry about who they might offend.
Information Technology: This area appears to be in serious disarray with no stated strategy. How can an organization this size be so out of touch?
Youth Bridge: I believe the ACBL needs a long-term strategy for middle school and high school students. This will pay off in the long-term.
Lastly, the cheating scandal. I believe the ACBL should come down very hard on these individuals, to the point of expulsion for life. We simply cannot allow this type of behavior at any level in our game.
I have been impressed with your credentials and trust that you can provide the necessary leadership to address these issues. I realize you only have one year but hopefully you can make something happen.
Sincerely,
Terrell W. Holt
President District 11
Past President Unit 164
Past BOD District 11 and Unit 164
One response to “District 11 President Speaks Out”
I share the concern about ACBL’s problems and direction. I’m less certain that running ACBL like a ‘business’ is a good idea. In fact, I think part of the problem is that it’s being run like a business. Too many businesses I’ve worked for seem to exist to enrich management while looking for short term profit maximization and exploitation of customers. ACBL members are not customers, we’re members and should be treated as owners rather than as sheep to be sheared. My District 23 board member says the one question ACBL should be asking is ‘what can we do to make owning a club desirable.’ I tend to agree that this is basic in the survival of our game in the US.
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