Page 4 - ABF Newsletter June 2024

ABF AGM and Board Meeting ABF Board changes At the ABF’s Annual General Meeting held in Bris- bane on 24 May, the ABF Board for the period 2024- 2026 was announced as follows: • Allison Stralow, Western Australia (President) • Jenny Thompson, Victoria (Secretary) • Dagmar Neumann, NSW (Board member) • Richard Ward, Queensland (Board member) The ABF Council elected Dr Laurie Kelso and Julian Foster as Supplemental Councillors for a period of two years. David Fryda, the ABF Executive Director was also ap- pointed as a Supplemental Councillor. David makes recommendations to the Council and the Board for the adoption of policies promoting the objects of the ABF. He also oversees employees and contractors of the ABF. David has weekly meetings with key personnel to discuss issues and make rec- ommendations. Phillip Markey continues as ABF General Counsel as does Professor Michael Bryan as Deputy Legal Counsel. Retiring Board Members Rob Ward joined the ABF Board in 2020. I thank Rob for taking on the role of Treasurer in January 2023 and for his considered contributions to the Board. Rob will remain as Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, where his skills will continue to be utilised. Chris Mulley stepped into the role as Secretary on short notice. His attention to detail and carefully considered views will be missed. This is not a farewell to Chris as he will continue as a BAWA delegate on Council, and he has also offered to assist Phil Markey on legal matters as necessary. Sue Falkingham filled the vacancy as an Ordinary Board member in 2023. The Board thanks Sue for stepping in when needed and for her contributions to Education. We wish her well as she continues to introduce a significant number of new players to our game. Retiring Councillors ABF Councillors are an integral part of the adminis- tration of bridge in Australia. Thank you to the retir- ing councillor Rosemary Mooney from the Northern Territory for her time on the ABF Council. A warm welcome to Eileen Boocock who replaces Rosemary as an NTBA delegate. Retirement of ABF Secretariat Jane Rasmussen Jane made the move from Victoria to Canberra 181⁄2 years ago to take on the job as the ABF Secretariat. She quickly learnt the skills necessary to master the role, especially the Masterpoint System when she was in charge for some months as the ABF was tran- sitioning from one person to the other. Jane’s knowl- edge of scoring programs, technology and dealing machines is second to none. When myABF came on- board, Jane kept herself abreast of all the updates and was able to help people when they could not navigate their way. We will not lose Jane from the bridge world, as her intent is to increase playing club bridge and attend some more national congresses. A huge thank you Jane, enjoy your retirement. New Constituent Association of the ABF A new entity, Bridge NSW Limited, has been formed to replace New South Wales Bridge Association Lim- ited. The ABF Council, in accordance with Clause 32(2) of the ABF Constitution, approved the with- drawal of New South Wales Bridge Association Lim- ited as a constituent association of the ABF. Bridge NSW Limited will become the constituent associa- tion of the ABF for New South Wales, effective from 31 May 2024. Capitation and Masterpoint Fees Two resolutions relating to Capitation and Master- point fees were tabled at the Annual General Meet- ing and amendments to the resolutions were pro- Page: 4 Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: June 2024