PNC 2005 SPRING NABC

PITTSBURGH

MARCH 10-20

FINAL REPORTBy

Roni Gitchel, Tournament Chair412-687-5227roni@pitt.edu

LOGO

Tom Donnelly, a graphic artist, from District 5 volunteered to create a logo for our national. He came up with a few designs and we chose the design that was the most popular.

As much as I love the three-color logo that was designed, I will caution you that it is easier to have one color only. Screen charges and/or printing on registration, giveaways, and etc. sometimes cost considerably more for the three-color design that for one color. In many cases, we were able to use the grayscale version of our logo to save money.

BANNER

A banner, using the logo created by Tom Donnelly was made up in time for the 2002 summer national. Several bids were received ranging from the $160 that we paid, to a higher figure of $594. We originally only ordered the one banner and ACBL handled displaying it at all of the nationals. Later we did order a second banner and it was hung at various regionals and sectionals.

The cost for the banner was the same no matter how many colors were involved.

PNC 2005 SPRING NABC

PRE TOURNAMENT ESTIMATED

BUDGET

HOSPITALITY/ENTERTAINMENT $100,000REGISTRATION $ 28,000I/N PROGRAM $ 20,000PRE-TOURNAMENT VIP $ 2,500TITLE SPONSOR $ 10,000FUNDRAISING $ 10,000VOLUNTEERS $ 10,000TOURNAMENT CHAIR $ 8,000PUBLICITY $ 2,000CADDIES $ 2,000TOURS/SPECIAL EVENTS $ 2,000PARTNERSHIP $ 500PRIZES $ 1,000TRANSPORTATION $ 15,000TABLE GIVEAWAYS $ 15,000INFORMATION $ 2,000RESTAURANT GUIDE/PROGRAM $ 1,000MISCELLANEOUS $ 10,000WORKERS APPRECIATION $ 2,000

TOTAL $241,000

LOCAL CHAIRSCHAIR WHEN TO APPOINT WHO

TOURNAMENT 2-3 YEARS RONI GITCHEL

FUND RAISING 3 YEARS ARLENE PORTJUDY HAFFNER

FINANCE 18-24 MONTHS AUBREY GEORGE

VOLUNTEER 12 MONTHS JUDY HAFFNERARLENE PORT

ENTERTAINMENT 12-18 MONTHS LOU JOSEPHERNIE RETETAGOS

TOURS 12 MONTHS TRUDY COHN

INTERMEDIATE – NOVICE PROGRAM

18 MONTHS PAT RASMUS

INFORMATION 6-12 MONTHS KEN & BARBARA BERGMAN

REGISTRATION 12-18 MONTHS SANDY FLEISCHMAN

PARTNERSHIP 6-12 MONTHS MARY CARNS

PROGRAM-RESTAURANT GUIDE

12-18 MONTHS SANDIE SPEARTERRY BACHENHEIMER

CADDY 12-18 MONTHS MARCELLA RETETAGOS

PUBLICITY 2 YEARS RONI GITCHELLOU JOSEPH

TRANSPORTATION 18 MONTHS WIL BEDARD

PRIZES 6-12 MONTHS GAIL HASTINGS

PRE-TOURNAMENT ENTERTAINMENT

6-12 MONTHS FLORINE WALTERS

INTERNET/WEB SITE 18-24 MONTHS PETER MOLLEMET

WORKERS APPRECIATION

6 MONTHS PAT SPOONER

DISTRICT DIRECTOR/CHAIRPERSONASSISTANTS

6 MONTHS ALICE WILLIAMSLYNN RAFFERTY

TELEPHONE PUBLICITY 6 MONTHS MARY ANNE MCNEIRNEY

FUND RAISING

We had a surcharge on all District 5 events (regionals, NAOP and GNT) of $1 per session per person. This started in 2000 when we thought that the national would be in 2003. We then eliminated the surcharge in 2001 when the tournament was moved to 2005.

Unit 142 voted to add the surcharge to their sectionals for around two years. The Greensburg Bridge Club also added the surcharge to one of their sectionals.

We have had 50/50 raffles. As an incentive to get the players to buy the raffles we gave away promotional pens or buttons when they bought three tickets for $5.00 (one ticket cost $2.00). We bought the promotional items on closeout and paid about $.25 - $.35 per item. Often the winner of the raffle would donate the money back to the tournament. This was a mixed blessing. We were happy to get the extra money, but often people would not buy tickets in the future since they did not want to donate winnings and would be embarrassed not to do so.

We sold lottery tickets based on the 2003 February, Pennsylvania state lottery. This was a lot of work for the person in charge (Pat Rasmus), but we did make over $1000.

We held weeklong district STACs in the summer. Again, we earned about $1000 per STAC.

T-shirts were originally purchased for promotional purposes only. We hoped to break even on them, but actually made money. Shop around before you buy. We were able to get 100% white cotton shirts for $2.50 each and a screen charge of $60.00 (they saved the screen and we were able to use the same screen for future purchases). They were also manufactured locally, could be picked up and there was not shipping charge. Mixed reviews came in on the shirts. We used a simple small pocket three-color logo on the shirt. Some people thought it was classy by going with that idea and others commented that they would rather have a colored shirt or a large logo over the chest. We eventually did order red shirts for our volunteers to wear at the tournaments (cost for those was $3.25 including the same screen) and did sell the leftovers. T-shirts were given out to all of the directors working in District 5 and at the Nationals. We then sold them locally for $10 each. We also gave them out as section tops at District 5 regionals (charging the regional the cost only). Leftover shirts were sold at the NABC for $5 (the sign showed that they were on sale) and the leftover red shirts were sold for $7. We ended up making a nice profit on the shirts.

We used the information from the DC NABC and Houston NABC to form our sponsorship packet. If you plan to use any of that information, you should check with Nancy Foy and insure that the demographics, etc. are still accurate. Then look at what we offer for each of the sponsorship levels. Make sure that you can and that you will come through with what you promise. Make the changes that will fit your area.

Stationary was selected and ordered for the fund raising aspect of the tournament. This was also used for contacting the restaurants in the restaurant guide.

Remember that the money from each sponsor is great but they do require extra work from you and from the ACBL staff. As soon as you have the schedule, begin assigning games to the sponsors. Let them know which game they are getting. Some won’t care, but many will. Keep ACBL updated on these games – they will need it for the web site, program guide, etc. Then look at what you promised them. Arrange for everything as early as possible. Believe me, you will be happy to have everything under control

We were very fortunate that the CEO of PNC has a wife that plays bridge. She took the packet to her husband and they agreed to be our main sponsor ($40,000). Sharon then contacted several other companies and they agreed to be daily sponsors for $5,000. Then we had a local player agree to be our $10,000 program guide sponsor. Better yet, he decided he did not want an ad on the back cover and we were able to get another $10,000 sponsor. Then we had another local player get several other $5,000 sponsors and groups of ten $50 gift certificates from restaurants (these were used as prizes in our poker tournament and for a daily drawing held for volunteers).

We were even luckier to have Arlene Port and Judy Haffner offer to be in charge of fund raising. They talked to everyone they know and some that they did not. They sold games to everyone. Judy and I got things off by setting a good example and naming games after my father and her mother. Arlene and Judy then did not accept no for an answer. People even started naming games after players that are still living and are important to bridge. This money came from both individuals and businesses. They never gave up and had more sponsors than we could have dreamed of obtaining. Most sponsorships came from the Pittsburgh area but we did get some from other units and people in District 5.

The following pages include our fund raising packet, along with some words of wisdom from Arlene and Judy.

January 20, 2005

Dear Nancy,

Enclosed are 3 copies of our tournament proposal. If anyone else is interested, you can send them a copy. As you will see, most of the demographics comes from the ACBL files. Please note there are two Page #12’s. We exchanged these pages, depending on who we were contacting. We primarily used this proposal for corporate solicitation. Several people said it was impressive, but, honestly, knowing people and enlisting their help was really the main reason we were successful.

Getting individuals and companies to name games was quite a different matter.

This was our strategy:Find the wealthiest people you know and put them on your committee!Go to individual clubs and ask them to honor/memorialize endeared members past

or present. (special workers, directors, teachers, etc.)Identify special partner relationships and ask former partners to name a gameAsk family members to participate by honoring husbands, wives, etc. Many were enthusiastic about this because if the person was still alive they could play in

the named event with them. If not, the game could serve as a remembrance. Deceased parents was a big thing.

Find those who either still work at a company or have retired and have a good relationship with their companies and have them ask if we could solicit them or if they

would ask.When we played at a game, we would ask everyone at our table if they knew

anyone we could hound.BUT MOST OF ALL: We were relentless in announcing naming

opportunities and begging everyone. People would see us and run the other way. (we think)

Actually, when some people found out others were doing this, it became a popular thing to do.As with everything else, the harder you work at accomplishing your goals, the more goals you accomplish. Needless to say, Judy and I really worked hard at this. We started over a year ago and took no prisoners.

Just one more thing: Soliciting strangers was not very successful. Personal relationship communications were at least 95% responsible for our success. So - the bottom line would be to talk to everyone you know. You never know who’s son/daughter is CEO of a big company or even the marketing manager.

Nancy, I hope this is some help to your people. I wish them luck. Begging is not an easy job. See you in Pittsburgh!!arlene

After 29 years, Pittsburgh will once again host the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL)North American Bridge Championships (NABC), March 10-20, 2005 at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. District V of the ACBL, which includes Cleveland, Akron, Pittsburgh and Buffalo and the cities which fall within those areas, is hosting the tournament. This is an event which, as you can see in the accompanying material, brings not only a great deal of revenue and visitors to our city, but much prestige as well.

Hosting the NABC is much sought after and there is great competition between the major cities in both the United States and Canada to have this privilege. The last four tournaments were held in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Long Beach CA. We are honored to be considered a metropolitan area that has the size, the facilities and the name recognition that reconfirms our status as a most important city.

As you can well imagine, this tournament is very high profile on both a local and national level. In order to further promote our city and our tournament, we are requesting community involvement in the form of corporate and individual sponsorship. We are extremely fortunate to have many companies in Pittsburgh that are well known not only for their product, but for their close affiliation to our wonderful city. We are offering different levels of sponsorship, which, considering the large audience reached are extremely reasonable advertising opportunities for products and services. The publicity and promotion from these companies will serve not only to promote this event, but will help to attract visitors and businesses to our area. The more people we have attend our special events, the more we get out the message that Pittsburgh is the best place to be.

Along with this letter, I have included a packet which contains all the information you will need, to learn everything about the ACBL and the Bridge Championships. There are many levels of sponsorship available. We hope you will consider sponsoring the entire tournament, but will be grateful for any form of participation from your company. This is not only a chance to play a large part in promoting Pittsburgh, but is a great advertising opportunity for your company as well. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will be delighted to meet with you to further explain our proposal.

I will get in touch with you in the near future in order to, hopefully, discuss your intent to help District V in their efforts to run a most successful bridge tournament. I look forward to working with you on this important and exciting project. If you wish become a sponsor, all checks should be made payable to PNC 2005 Spring Nationals and mailed to Arlene Port, 5447 Hobart Street, Pittsburgh PA 15217.

Sincerely,

Arlene Port Judy HaffnerFundraising Co-Chairman Fundraising Co-Chairman

PNC Spring 2005 North American Bridge Championships

Would your company benefit from a quantifiable, high-impact, grassroots promotion? Now, you have an exceptional opportunity to reach educated, sophisticated, qualified buyers who spend about $1 Billion per year on travel, lodging, food and beverage, tourism and shopping at:

The ACBL: 2005 Spring North American Bridge Championship in Pittsburgh, PA.

The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a not-for-profit organization and the main sanctioning body for duplicate bridge tournaments in North America. The ACBL has 165,000+ loyal members and operates:

Three North American Bridge Championship (NABC) tournaments.8,000+ members attend each National tournament12-16,000 tables of 4 players each over 11 days at each tournamentParticipants spend $10+ million on travel, lodging, food and beverage,

tourism and shopping at each tournament

1,100+ local and regional 1,000 - 2,000 members attend over 4-8 days Participants spend $250,000 - $3, million on travel, lodging, food and

beverage, tourism and shopping at each tournament

3,500 sanctioned ACBL clubs.

Detailed demographic, historical and event information are provided for your review:Page#

1/2. About Bridge, the ACBL & and NABC3. ACBL Demographics4. Who Plays Bridge?5. Online Bridge6. Sponsorship Opportunities and Packages7 a. Title Sponsorship8 b. Day Sponsorships9 c. Single Event Sponsorship9 d. Sponsorships in-kind10 e. Individual Sponsorship Opportunities

Take a look and see how this event fits into your promotion and/or sponsorship plans. We are committed to delivering value and results for our sponsors, and are happy to work with you to make the most of this opportunity.

ACBL FACT SHEETWhat is Bridge?

Bridge is the most popular card game in the world. It is one of several related card games played by four people with a deck of 52 cards. Two of the players are partners competing against the other two. All bridge games stem from whist. Bridge whist, the original variation, was introduced in England late in the 19th century. Harold Vanderbilt and friends established the basic rules for Contract Bridge during a transatlantic crossing in 1925, and in 1928 the first national championship was held for the Vanderbilt Cup. The trophy has persisted to this day, and will once again be awarded to the winners of the principal team championship held at the Spring 2002 NABC

About the ACBL

The ACBL traces its beginnings to 1927 with the formation of the American Auction Bridge League. Upon merging with the United States Bridge Association in 1937, the modern ACBL became the sanctioning authority for bridge in North America.

The ACBL is composed of four countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. Twenty-five districts are made up of 315 Units; District 5, host for the 2005 Spring NABC has over members from an area that includes Cleveland, Youngstown, Buffalo Pittsburgh. The ACBL has over 3200 duplicate bridge clubs. The League publishes the Bridge Bulletin and Better Bridge for its 155,000 members.

About the North American Bridge Championships

The Spring NABC will draw 7,000-8,000 women and men, ranging from youths to senior citizens, novices to world champion bridge players, for 11 days of tournament play. About 60,000 hands of bridge will be played each day on 800 card tables, with 7,000 decks in use. In addition to the Vanderbilt Cup, named after Cornelius Vanderbilt, the “father” of contract bridge. This event is the most prestigious team game in the world. The following North American titles will be contested in Pittsburgh:

The Open Pairs I, held over the first weekend; The Open Pairs II, held on the second Thursday and Friday; The Women’s Pairs, held at the same time as Open Pairs II; The Silver Ribbon Pairs, for players 55 and over who have finished first or second

in a regional or national Seniors event; Open Swiss Teams and Women’s Swiss Teams, over the second weekend; and The Mixed Pairs Winners one of these events is considered the equivalent of winning a gold medal

at the Olympics.

ACBL DEMOGRAPHICS

ACBL Membership At Large

Membership surveys indicate the ACBL members are older, better educated, with about average net worth and incomes greater than the national average. They are also likely to be married homeowners, with significant discretionary time and income.

Age

Under 45 5% 45 to 64 38% 65 and over 57%

Education

Some College or Technical or 24% Trade school

4 year Degree 24% Some Graduate Studies 10%

Graduate Degree 28%

Income

$40,000 to $70,000 21% $70,000 to $99,999 20% $100,000 or More 21%

NABC Attendees

ACBL members who attend Nationals tend to be the top of the demographic profile. They are younger than typical ACBL members with their average age being about 10 years younger than the ACBL-wide member average. This segment of the membership has a larger percentage of men, is better educated and has higher incomes.

Pittsburgh will be the host to competitors from over 20 nations. Bridge is a very popular sport throughout the world. There are over 365,000 members of bridge leagues in Europe alone and a total of over 665,000 worldwide. Europe’s bridge stars attend the North American Bridge Championships and their fellow countrymen closely monitor their performance using the ACBL website and daily bulletin.

WHO PLAYS BRIDGE?

Bridge holds a fascination for men and women in all cultures. The roster of celebrity bridge players ranges from sports stars to U.S. Supreme Court Justices, from Microsoft’s Bill Gates to the late Deng Xiao Peng of Ching.

Tennis Champion Martina Navratilova is an enthusiastic bridge player. She wrote the foreword to the ACBL Club Series instructional book. Other sports figures with a passion for bridge include basketball Hall of Fame member, the late Wilt Chamberlain, baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, Whitey Herzog, Tim McCarver and Wes Parker. Four members of the 1993 world champion Toronto Blue Jays - All Stars Paul Molitor, John Oelrud and Joe Carter, along with Ed Sprague, a hero of the 1992 World Series - used to pass the time in the locker room by playing bridge. They still play, but with different teams and different partners.

Microsoft’s Bill Gates has a passion for bridge, a diversion that already consumed his friend, investment guru Warren Buffet. On a train trip during the winter of 1999 across the Gold Rush West, he surprised Buffet by flying in their regular bridge partners for a 24-hour marathon game of cards.

Before his death in 1990, Malcolm Forbes (father of Steve Forbes) encouraged the readers of his magazine, Forbes, to learn bridge to sharpen their minds. “If you can count to 13, you can play,” Forbes often said. Other media personalities who find bridge a stimulating pastime include political columnist James J. Kilpatrick and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

The late Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip was an avid bridge player. Even Snoopy has been given sanctioned master points and named an Honorary Life Master. Hollywood is loaded with entertainment figures that love to play bridge, such as Omar Sharif (“Bridge is my passion”). Others include Don Adams, Meredith Baxter, Clint Eastwood, Lee Majors, Mike Connors, Peter Graves and Bruce Geller, creator of Mission: Impossible television series. And don’t forget the late George Burns, to whom bridge was just as important as his ever-present cigar.

In the world of politics, bridge has many enthusiastic supporters. The most well known is the late Chinese Premier Deng Xiao Peng, who played bridge underground even when it was outlawed by Mao. Later he was honored as Bridge Player of the Year.

The Corporate America vs. U.S. Congress matches brought together some of the nation’s leading political and business figures. Warren Buffet, the most successful investor in the world, enjoys playing bridge perhaps even more than he likes playing the market. Laurence Tisch and Jack Dreyfus play the game every chance they get. And top money experts like James Cayne and Alan Greenberg actually have been bridge champions.

Congressional leaders past and present who enjoy the game include the likes of Hank Brown, Lynn Martin, Rudy Boschwitz, Bob Kerrey, James Leach, Arian Strangeland and Kay Bailey Hutchison. Many notable jurists are also bridge fans, including two former

world champions. U.S. District Judge Amalya Kearse and administrative law judge Beth Palmer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is a Life Master in the American Contract Bridge Leagues. The late Carl Rubin, a federal judge, was a former ACBL president.

Perhaps the quote that best exemplifies people’s passion about bridge is from Warren Buffet, who said, “Bridge is such a sensational game that I wouldn’t mind being in jail if I had three cell mates who were decent players and who were willing to keep the game going 24 hours a day.”

On-Line Bridge Fact Sheet

Bridge is thriving on the Internet. On-line table counts continue to grow. Additionally, there are literally hundreds of websites devoted to bridge information - teaching, news and current events. An informal survey conducted showed that 56% of respondents are currently playing on-line bridge and another 29% haven’t tried it, but are interested.

On-line Bridge Websites:

ACBL’s online bridge service Bridge Player LiveEBU Online Bridge Club E-BridgeFloater Microsoft Network Gaming ZoneOKbridge Pogo.comSwan Games WinBridgeYahoo Games

Bridge Information SitesMind Sports Worldwide News, games, articles and linksGreat Bridge Links Bridge LinksEcats Bridge informationGiovedi Bridge Italian siteTotally Bridge Jewish bridge siteBric Bank Turkish bridge siteBridge in Russia Russian Bridge siteBridge Is It Norwegian siteGreat Bridge Links Bridge Link SiteBridge.On.Net English On-LineBridgeweb Netherlands On-line Bridge MagazineBridge to Bridge Dutch Bridge LinksROL Bridge Italian Bridge MagazineBridge Forum Polish Internet Bridge MazazineTurkish Bridge World Magazine Turkish Bridge World MagazineBridge Magazine London Bridge MagazineBridge Plus UK Bridge MagazineBridge+ French Bridge MagazineKibitzer On-Line Chicago Contract Bridge Association

NewsletterBridge Canada Candaian Bridge MagazineMerseyside and Cheshire Bridge English NewsletterBridge World U.S. Bridge MagazineBridge Today International Bridge MagazineIMP Dutch Bridge MagazineThe Bridge Companion Teaching NewsletterPost-Mortem New York bridge magazine

Dansk Bridge Danish Bridge Magazine International Bridge Press Association Bridge Press Assn. Svensk bridgemagasine Swedish Bridge Magazine Pittsburgh Bridge Association Website Unit #142 District 5 Website Newsletter, information guide.

2005 SPRING NORTH AMERICAN BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPSPONSORSHIP PACKAGES - OVERVIEW

TITLE SPONSORSHIPExclusive naming rights for the 2005 Spring NABCAbsolute saturation of all Guest Groups* and the ACBLPossible to co-sponsor with business partner

AD BOOK SPONSORSHIPExclusive naming rights for the 2005 Spring NABC Ad Book which contains tournament schedule, restaurant guide and company and individual ads.Full back cover advertising spread for your company(Note: This publication is distributed upon registration and will be used by attendees during the entire tournament)

DAY SPONSORSHIPCompany blitz day - full visibility in all playing areas & daily materials Big Bang for little bucks

SINGLE EVENT SPONSORSHIPCompany sponsored competitions and/or receptionsTargeted to specific Guest Group*Perfect for special products/services

SPONSORSHIPS IN-KINDEach player receives a “gift” provided by you at a sessionPerfect for sampling and getting your brand in the participants’ hands

*Guest Groups:Seniors (55+), College and High School Students, Military, “ABA”, Diplomats/Expats, Gay/Lesbian, Regional and Club Players, Commuters, Newcomers, Experts.

Price List for Corporate and Individual Sponsorship

$40,000 Tournament Title Sponsor

Exhibition Booth Near the Primary Playing Area Three Feature Articles in the Daily Bulletin Local and National Placement and Advertising in the Daily and the ACBL

Bulletin Attendance at VIP Hospitality Functions for the Day You Sponsor Banner (provided by you) prominently displayed during the tournament Front Cover and Article in the Bridge Bulletin Tournament Participation in awarding Vanderbilt Cup Click-Through Advertising Space On the Local ACBL Websites $5,000 Donation from ACBL Charity Foundation in your company name Registration Gifts and Bags with ACBL/Your Company’s logo

$10,000 Ad Book Sponsorship

Exhibition Booth Near the Primary Playing Area Feature Articles in the Daily Bulletin Back Cover of the Program Guide Publication Attendance at VIP Hospitality Functions for the Day You Sponsor Banner (provided by you) prominently displayed at the NABC tournament Local and National Placement and Advertising Click-Through Advertising Space On the Local ACBL Websites

$5,000 Daily Sponsorship

Naming Rights for One Tournament Day (subject to availability) One Feature Article in the Daily Bulletin Advertising in The Bridge Bulletin Click-Through Advertising Space On the Local ACBL Websites Exhibition Booth Near The Primary Playing Area Attendance at VIP Hospitality Functions

$,1000 Single Event Sponsorship

Exhibition Booth Near the Primary Playing Area One Feature Article in the Daily Bulletin Local Placement and Advertising in the Daily Bulletin on the Day of Your

Event Attendance at VIP Hospitality Functions for the Day You Sponsor Sponsor Banner (provided by you) prominently displayed at the NABC event

you sponsor.

Title Sponsorship PackageFor $40,000 your company will be granted naming rights to the tournament. All

monies will be spent on promoting your company and on tournament-related activities in Pittsburgh, on amenities for the players, hospitality, and services to the tournament. For $20,000 your company will share sponsorship and all advertising benefits.

Tournament Sponsorship Package A $5,000 Donation from the ACBL Charity Foundation

Sponsor to designate the charity which will be given in (Your Company) name.

Registration Gifts and Bags With ACBL/ (company) logoSpecific gifts to be coordinated with you and our tournament staff

Three Feature Articles in the Daily BulletinDaily circulation for the eleven issues of this publication is approximately

6,000 at the tournament and 3,000 on the website.

Logo Placement and AdvertisingCompany logo will be incorporated into the masthead design and featured

prominently throughout the Daily Bulletins of the tournament.

(Company) Welcome BannerBanner (provided by you) will be prominently displayed in public space

throughout the NABC.

Exhibition Booths Near the Primary Playing AreasOr optionally in the primary headquarters hotel adjacent to the registration and hospitality area.

Participation In Awarding The Vanderbilt CupAs well as the Press Reception room where other national titleholders areawarded their prizes.

Attendance At VIP Hospitality FunctionsWith one such function named for you.

Promotional Items in Addition to the Tournament

Front Cover Promotion And A Special Article In The Bridge BulletinIn the issue that specifically advertises the tournament: December 2004

One Month Back Cover Advertising Space In The ACBL Publications(Circulation 155,000), timed to coincide with marketing of the Spring NABC in

January- February 2005.

Click-Through Advertising Space On ACBL WebsiteDuring the month preceding the NABC.

Click-Through Advertising Space On The Local ACBL WebsitesBeginning one year before the tournament, and banner click-through advertising

on the Pittsburgh National’s tournament site, ACBL District 5 and Pittsburgh Unit #142 websites.

Banner Advertising At the Three Prior NABC’s

Access To The ACBL Mailing ListProviding (Company) with link to 100,000+ potential customers withdemographics that match your criteria.

(Your company ) Day On The ACBL’s Website.The site averages 500,000+hits a month.

Mention Of (Your company) In Press ReleasesIssued pertaining to the Pittsburgh 2005 Spring Nationals.

Optional Promotions Available (Additional cost)

Sponsor International Team Trials and Premier National EventsOne-year Naming Sponsorship available from ACBL (details available upon

request).

Specialty Playing Cardsdesigned with (Company) and ACBL logos on all decks used at the NABC

(excluding decks using pre-duplicated hands). This is also an excellent registration gift.

DAY SPONSORSHIP - $5,000

If you wish to sponsor just one day of the tournament, a day package may offer an intense blitz that suits your promotional needs and budget.

TOURNAMENT SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE

Exhibition Booths near the Primary Playing Areas or HQ Hotel.Placement in a high traffic area.

One Feature Article in The Daily BulletinDaily circulation for the eleven issues of this publication is approximately 6,000

at the tournament and 3,000+ on the website. Your article will be published on the day you are sponsoring.

Sponsor Banner (provided by you)Prominently displayed in public space in primary playing areas.

Attendance at VIP Hospitality Functions for the Day you Sponsor

Sampling Option for SponsorSponsor may choose to distribute a sample of their product to all players participating in competitions on their Sponsor Day.

OPTIONAL PROMOTIONS AVAILABLE

Advertising in The Bridge BulletinIn the issue that specifically advertises the tournament.

Click-Through Advertising space On ACBL Website30 days placement and click-through (specific week to be agreed).www.pghnationals.com (hosted by www.acbl.org)

Click-Through Advertising Space On the Local ACBL Websites30 days placement and click-through (specific week to be agreed).www://my.voyager.net/~shortsuit/www://members.tripod.com/~PGHBridge/

PNC 2005 North American Bridge Championship

SINGLE EVENT SPONSORSHIP - $1,000

Sponsor will be granted naming rights to one NABC - either a regional level competitive event or after-play reception of the tournament (subject to availability)

TOURNAMENT SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE

Exhibition Booths near the Primary Playing Areas or HQ Hotel.

Placement in a high traffic area.

One Feature Article in The Daily BulletinDaily circulation for the eleven issues of this publication is approximately 6,000 at the tournament and 3,000+ on the website. Your article will be published on the day you are sponsoring.

Local Placement and AdvertisingIn the Daily Bulletin of the tournament on the day of your event.

Attendance at VIP Hospitality Functions for the Day you Sponsor

Sponsor Banner (provided by you)Prominently displayed at the NABC event you sponsor.

NABC SPONSORSHIP IN-KIND

Sponsor product samples/gifts distributed as gift during one session of bridge play - 4,000 pieces provided by sponsor.

Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities

$ 800 Naming rights for one of the special 6-Session KO events (0-750 and 0-2000)

$ 650 Naming rights for one of the 4-Session KO events

$ 500 Naming rights for one of the Regionally rated 2-Session events, including Open Pairs, Mixed Pairs, Swiss Teams, Senior Pairs and Senior Swiss Teams

$ 450 Naming Rights for 3-Session Side Game Series

$ 350 Naming rights for a 1-Session “prime time” event, including board-a-match teams, IMP Pairs, and Open Side Games.

$ 250 Naming rights for a 1-Session (Intermediate/Novice) event (Pairs or Teams) or a 1-Session midnight Swiss or KO (knockout team game)

Individual Sponsorship Opportunities

$800 Naming rights for one of the special 6-Session KO events (0-750 and 0-2000)

$600 Naming rights for one of the 4-Session KO events

$350 Naming rights for one of the Regionally rated 2-Session events, including Open Pairs, Mixed Pairs, Swiss Teams, Senior Pairs and Senior Swiss Teams

$250 Naming rights for 3-Session Side Game Series

$200 Naming rights for a 2-Session “prime time” event, including Board –A-Match Teams,IMP Pairs and Open Side Games

$150 Naming rights for a 1-Sission (Intermediate/Novice) event and (Pairs or Teams) or a 1-Session midnight Swiss or KO (knockout team game)

SPONSORSHIP PICTURES

To honor all sponsors were had the sponsor send us a picture of the person that they were honoring (for corporations we used the logo). We also requested a sentence saying something about the person or the business. Mary Lou D’Altorio, our photographer extraordinaire, would then scan the picture, enlarge it to an 8X10 and then add the text. We then displayed all of the pictures. After the tournament the original picture and the enlarged ones were sent to the sponsors. Please keep in mind that this takes time and costs money to do.

We got the idea of the pictures from the Sarasota regional. They would take the original picture and use a spray glue to affix it onto a piece of poster board. They would then do a colorful board around the poster and include the text. Pictures were not returned.

Both ways are great and it really depends on whether you have people with photography/computer experience or an artist in residence.

FINANCE

A checking account, money market account and short term CD’s were established for the PNC 2005 Spring NABC. The finance chair and tournament chair were both required to sign any check or withdrawal for over $500. Either signature was sufficient for smaller amounts.

CD’s were all switched to the money market or checking account by January of 2005 to ensure that money was available for any expenses.

The chairperson would email the finance chair and authorize any expenditures. Receipts were required for reimbursement.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

We were fortunate to have two chairs for fundraising that agreed to switch over to this position when the fundraising part of the tournament was done.

Each chairperson was encouraged to assign as many slots as possible to workers. The volunteer coordinators were in charge of filling in the remaining positions.

At the Pittsburgh fall sectional, prior to the NABC we had potential volunteers fill out forms indicating the committees that they would be willing to work on and if they wanted to work in the morning, afternoon, evening or late night. They were advised that they would be contacted in February to get them scheduled. We also had a link on the ACBL, Unit and District websites.

We were very fortunate and had close to 200 people actually work on the various committees.

A copy of the volunteer form can be found on the next two pages. The second page was actually on the back of the form and was used by the coordinators to schedule the workers.

We had 187 different people working on this tournament.

________________LAST NAME

PNC 2005 SPRING NATIONALSVOLUNTEER FORM

MARCH 10-20

NAME______________________________________________________

ADDRESS____________________________________________________

PHONE: HOME_____________________BUSINESS_________________ CELL_________________________

EMAIL ADDRESS_____________________________________________

Please place an X in the box after each activity that you would be interested in volunteering

A. Partnership ( ) F. Packet Stuffing (Pre Tournament) ( )

B. Information ( ) G. Hospitality/Entertainment ( )

C. Registration ( ) H. Volunteer Committee ( )

D. Worker Hospitality ( ) I. Wherever Needed ( )

E. Prizes ( )

Please place an X in the box after each time period that would be good for you to work.

8:00 – 9:45 AM ( ) 11:00 AM – 12: 45 PM ( )

6:15 – 7:15 PM ( ) 10:45 PM – 12:00 AM ( )

Return this form to either

Judy Haffner, 1680 Murray Avenue, #47, Pittsburgh, PA 15217Or

Arlene Port, 5447 Hobart Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, pittsburgh2@acbl.org

You will be contacted in 2005 about your daily availability and assignment.

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLYPLEASE DO NOT FILL OUT THIS FORM

DATE MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING LATE NIGHT

MARCH 9

MARCH 10

MARCH 11

MARCH 12

MARCH 13

MARCH 14

MARCH 15

MARCH 16

MARCH 17

MARCH 18

MARCH 19

MARCH 20

HOSPITALITY/ENTERTAINMENT

Lou Joseph did a great job on setting up the scheduled entertainment. Considering the budget restraints for entertainment he is unbelievable. We decided early on to spend most of the $100,000 budgeted on the hospitality end. We allocated $80,000 to hospitality and $20,000 to the entertainment. I encourage everyone to do the same. We had several bands and the people that went loved them, but the number of players that attended was always small. I strongly advise you not to spend a lot on the bands. The cost per person will not justify the expense.

We did have a hold ‘em Poker Tournament on the first Saturday night and the players seemed to really love the event. We had a problem that may have been unique to Pittsburgh, but the tournament had to end by 1:00 AM since the union workers had to move everyone out by then. Because of that we had to start no later that 11:30 and some players were not done playing bridge yet. One hundred people played and we could have had 200 if there had been more word of mouth publicity and a later start time. We offset some of the cost by charging a $10 entry fee to play. There were no complaints about this. First prize was $250 in Pittsburgh NABC script, 2nd prize was a large basket of Pirate memorabilia, third a $100 restaurant gift certificate and the remaining prizes were $50 restaurant gift certificates. All but the script were donations. We had told the restaurants that we would be awarding the prizes early in the week in order to get people going to their restaurants.

We served food after the afternoon session and after the evening session. Be prepared – they will charge you an arm and a leg for the food. Expect it to be expensive and then it will only seem like highway robbery and not armed robbery. Nancy Foy advised to plan on food for 75% of the players. Probably only 50% eat, but the ones that do, eat a lot. Her advise worked out really well. We also realized that the fast pairs were done after the seniors and then had them divide the afternoon food in half, so that both groups would be fed.

As for cash bars, we found that we only needed one after the evening session. The catering company charged $100 per bartender and had a $250 minimum per bar. We tried it for a few days in the afternoon and never went over $50 taken in. They would not change the minimum to $500 per day, so we eliminated the afternoon bar. Due to high charges from the catering company, it was impossible to offer free soft beverages.

For the food servings, I strongly urge you to have the facility pass out the food. We had signs up asking people to take one serving per person and as usual that meant nothing. You will not be please when you see someone walking out with 6 dessert bars at $4.00 each, plus 27% tax and gratuity. And believe me, many people will do this. It is worth the expense of paying servers and having enough food for all.

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE & COSTS

Thursday, March 10 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Karen Dryer Trio $350

Friday, March 11 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Big Band Dance $1400

Saturday, March 12 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Hold ‘Em Poker $6000

Sunday, March 13 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Karen Dryer Trio $350

Monday, March 14 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Karen Dryer Trio $350

Tuesday, March 15 5:00 – 7:30 Harmony Line Chorus $250

11:00 – 1:00 Karen Dryer Trio $350

Wednesday, March 16 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Betters Quartet $675

Thursday, March 17 5:00 – 7:30 Harmony Line Chorus $250

11:00 – 1:00 Karen Dryer Trio $350

Friday, March 18 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Betters Quartet $675

Saturday, March 19 5:00 – 7:30 Karen Dryer $150

11:00 – 1:00 Rich Mansfiled and the Rhythm Pigs

$1400

$13600.00

We had some additional Audio Visual costs of $2000 to the convention center.

ORIGINAL PLANNED HOSPITALITY

DATE SENIOR HOSPITALITY LATE NIGHT

3/10/05 $2927.52

3/11/05 $742.00CHEESE & CRACKERS

$8992.73HOT DOGS & CHIPS

3/12/05 $273.34PRETZELS & CHIPS

$10,939.53PASTA & ROLLS

3/13/05 $469.79GIANT COOKIES

$4596.89DESSERT BARS

3/14/05 $623.87BROWNIES

$8054.38CHICKEN DRUMMETTES

3/15/05 $531.42GIANT COOKIES

$8472.32SLIDERS

3/16/05 $377.34PRETZELS & CHIPS

$8446.00FRUIT CUPS

3/17/05 $742.00CHEESE

$6616.30PIZZA

3/18/05 $438.98GIANT COOKIES

$2873.44GIANT COOKIES

3/19/05 $377.34PRETZELS & CHIPS

$9401.08BEEF/TURKEY CARVING STATION

3/20/05 $2000.00 @ 4:30CHEESE, FRUIT & CRACKERS

GIVEAWAYS

We decided that we wanted to give something to the players each session. Originally we thought that this would all be non-edibles since the convention center caterer wanted to charge us a corkage fee of 50% of their price for any item that we wanted to give away. Yes – you are reading this correctly. I confirmed that if someone donated bananas to us, and they sold bananas for $1 each that they wanted us to pay them $.50 each. There was a change in catering managers and the new one was willing to be more reasonable after our District President wrote a letter stating that our hospitality budget would be cut to purchase other giveaways if they continued to be unreasonable. They charged us a flat fee of $250 (plus 27%) for the entire week and allowed us to give away bananas, chocolate gold coins and cheese crackers each afternoon. They allowed us to choose the items and we supplied a list to them in advance of what we would be giving out. The chocolate was donated and we were able to purchase the bananas and crackers for $.11 apiece. There was no delivery charge for any of this.

With that out of the way, we decided to give the edible items away each afternoon. During the morning and evening sessions we gave out other items that you will see listed on the following page. The same item was given out in the morning and evening each day, since most players were playing both of those sessions. We purchased most of the items for under $1 each by shopping a lot and looking for closeouts. I can refer you to some good closeout sites, if you like and you can then go to your own vendors to purchase items. I am NOT in the ad specialty business and do not care where you buy your merchandise. Due to purchasing large quantities demand extra discounts. Remember, there is a cost for shipping and you also must have a place to store the items. You can check with Jeff Johnston about having some things sent to ACBL.

When ordering giveaways, there is often a screen charge and sometimes you can use the same screen if you order more than one item from the same company. Also, pens and pencils typically do not have screen charges. For the screens, there is also a surcharge for more than one color. Also, the logo sometimes cannot be transferred to small items and you have to use text instead (e.g. PNC 2005 Spring NABC Pittsburgh March 10-20). I also found some good items but could not get them imprinted. Purchasing gold foil address labels, typing the text logo on them and affixing them to the items solved this. An example of this is the pill boxes that were on closeout for $.15 each.

A word of warning - One sponsor told me that they were sending 3000 pens and I planned on giving them away one morning and evening. They never arrived and I ended up using leftovers for the second Saturday.

GIVEAWAYS

TAPE MEASURES – 1000 THURSDAY, MARCH 10

TOTE BAGS – 2400 FRIDAY MARCH 11

CALCULATORS – 2400 SATURDAY MARCH 12

PENS FROM SPONSOR SUNDAY, MARCH 13

GOODWILL DAY GIFT MONDAY, MARCH 14

BAG CLIPS – 2400 TUESDAY MARCH 15

FLASHLIGHTS – 2400 WEDNESDAY MARCH 16

PILL BOXES – 2000 THURSDAY MARCH 17

STAPLERS –2400 FRIDAY MARCH 18

PENS – 2400 SATURDAY MARCH 19

SHOE SHINERS –1200 SUNDAY, MARCH 20

The pens scheduled for Saturday March 19 were given out on Sunday March 13 and leftovers were given out on March 19.

FOOD GIVEAWAYS

FRIDAY, MARCH 11 2:00 BANANAS

SATURDAY, MARCH 12 2:00 CHOCOLATE COINS

SUNDAY, MARCH 13 2:00 CHEESE CRACKERS

MONDAY, MARCH 14 9:00 PM CHOCOLATE COINS

TUESDAY, MARCH 15 2:00 CHEESE CRACKERS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 2:00 BANANAS

THURSDAY, MARCH 17 2:00 CHOCOLATE COINS

FRIDAY, MARCH 18 2:00 BANANAS

SATURDAY, March 19 2:00 CHOCOLATE COINS

SUNDAY, MARCH 20 2:00 CHEESE CRACKERS

The reason for giving away the chocolate on Monday evening is that it was Goodwill Day and the Goodwill item was distributed on Monday afternoon.

HARD CANDY

Of course, the players always like to have bowls of hard candy available. They like it even better when there are chocolates mixed in. We had bowls at Information, Partnership and Intermediate/Novice. Remember the players all have either a big purse or a deep pocket. They will pick out the “good ones” and make sure that they have enough for the week, each day.

We spent around $600 on the candy and averaged $3.00 per pound for this.

REGISTRATION

Sandy Fleischman chaired this busy committee. It sounds easy to give things away to people but the hours behind the scenes are unbelievable. Of course, she did a wonderful job and everyone was thrilled with their gifts.

After much discussion, we decided that we would get garment bags as our registration gift, only if we could find ones that we truly liked. We ended up finding a really nice bag for $8 each This bag generally retails at $28 per bag. ACBL only pays $5 toward each registration gift, but we decided that we were raising a lot of money and wanted something nice for the players and we would pay the difference. We then were very fortunate when one of our committee members had an in with Leeds. We then were able to get a similar bag (with an additional pocket) for $6 each. They also agreed to store the bags and deliver them to the convention center at no additional cost.

We were also very fortunate to have several sponsors donate items for the bags. Eat N Park donated Smiley cookies, Cardinal Health supplied the chocolate gold coins (they gave us 30,000 – 2 per registration bag and given out at the table), Glaxo Smith Klein gave us Tums and OsCal, E Bridge donated mouse pads, Heinz gave us small bottles of Ketchup and pins (ketchup and pickle) and discount coupons were given by Phil Rothman at Seven No Trump. The program guide/restaurant guide also went into the bag.

The good news was that we had so many things to give away. The bad news is that the bags had to be stuffed. We had crews of 10+ people stuffing the bags for five days for 2-6 hours at a stretch. Stuffing those bags does require many hours of labor.

Registration hours were 8:30 – 9:45 AM, 11:00 – 12:45 PM, 6:15 – 7:15 PM and 10:00 – 11:30 PM. The late night hours were unique to Pittsburgh. We felt that the garment bags were large and people may not want to carry them all day. This gave the players an opportunity to pick them up on the way home.

Nancy Foy told me to plan on 3500 bags. At times I thought that we would run out, but we ended up with around 35 left over. Her estimate was right on.

ACBL supplied the registration cards and pencils. They also supplied the plastic bags for the registration items. However, we promised the primary sponsor (PNC) that their logo would go on the bags and we had to cover the charge for this.

RESTAURANT GUIDE

Sandie Spear and Terry Bachenheimer did an unbelievable job on the restaurant guide. Six months prior to the tournament they walked through the entire area around the convention center. They spoke to owners and managers and many restaurants offered a discount to players showing their convention card.

The month before the tournament, they wrote letters on tournament stationary to the restaurants reminding them of the tournament and sending them a promotional pen as a reminder.

Restaurants were grouped for different areas near the convention center (Downtown, Strip District, Mt. Washington, etc). They were then given 1- 4 forks, determined by the chairs on the quality of the food given the type of establishment. They listed the price range of the establishment by giving it 1-4 $.Then they gave it a club to indicate cash only, a diamond for close proximity to the convention center, a heart for restaurants voted to be in the top 25, and a spade for a top bargain.

I am not including the guide here since it is 27 pages long in the word file. If anyone really wants to see it they may contact me and I’ll be glad to forward the file.

A word of warning here – ACBL only allows 32 pages in the program/restaurant guide and you are responsible for paying for extra pages. Due to our numerous sponsors and large restaurant guide we did go up to 52 pages. However, it was worth it. The sponsors all got mentioned and the restaurant section was a hit.

What really amazed us was that a few days into the tournament, we received a few calls from other places saying that they wanted to send over discounts, etc. for our players. Word really got out the to businesses in downtown Pittsburgh.

Another big help here was the Pittsburgh Convention of Visitors Bureau. They manned a table (at no charge to us) and had menus available for a large number of the restaurants. They also made registrations for the players. If this is offered

to you –ACCEPT – I think it is a big plus.

TOURS

Trudy Cohn was the chair here and was smart enough to have a diligent, and industrious committee working on the tours with her. Tours were planned for Monday through Saturday and most of them sold out. There was a staffing schedule for their booth but they were there most of the time promoting the tours and Pittsburgh. The schedule did not matter since they were always there. A docent was also assigned to go on each of the tours.

The Website did have a link for players to sign up for the tours in advance and some players did so. Most of the other players bought their tickets at the booth. Please remember to have the bulletin advise people that if they show up without a paid ticket they will be accommodated only if there is room on the bus.

A listing showing the tours and information about them follows.

Bridge Trips and Tours

Monday, March 149:30-11:30 2 hour guided trolley tour of Pittsburgh. Cost-$20 Maximum 30 people.

Tuesday, March 15Docent tour of the Carnegie International Art Show 9:30-12:00 Cost-$10. Maximum 30 .History and Landmarks Foundation architectural guided walking tour of Grant Street 10:00-11:00 am. Cost $5. Maximum 15 people.

Wednesday, March 16Tour of the Frick mansion, Clayton”. 9:15-12:00 Cost-$2`0 Maximum 30 persons.

Thursday, March 17Guided tour of the Heinz History Center 9:45-11:45 Cost-$8 maximum 25.Friday, March 18National Aviary “Breakfast with the Birds” 7:45-9:45 Cost $15 Maximum 30.Guided tour of the Andy Warhol Museum 9:45-11:45 Cost-$10 Maximum 30

Saturday, March 19Guided tour of the Allegheny County Courthouse designed by Henry Hobson Richardson9:45-10:15 Cost-$10 Maximum 15 people.

Descriptions of Tours

Molly’s Trolleys Sightseeing Tour- 2 hoursFrom “Steel City” to “Renaissance City,” Pittsburgh has recreated itself over the past several decades.  Join our

professional step-on guides on a journey of the remarkable history, stunning topography and charm of Pittsburgh.  Travel

through our Golden Triangle, which was formed by three rivers and is bordered by new river front parks, and learn

about Pittsburgh’s wide variety of cultural attractions.Relax and enjoy a narrated tour of Pittsburgh highlighting the city’s magnificent array of museums, rivers and historic landmarks.  The Pittsburgh tour contains historical information, interesting facts about famous Pittsburgh products, companies and people and a ride on the Duquesne Incline.

Frick Mansion- ClaytonTake a journey back in time to the early years of the 20th century.Visit Clayton the home of industrialist Henry Clay Frick. Thismagnificent structure is one of the nations most intact Victorianresidences, containing ninety - three percent of the original artifacts.Clayton was opened to the public 1990 after a $ 6 million restoration .

Thousands of visitors have enjoyed the art, elegance, style and warmthof Helen Clay Frick's " dear old home ", and so can you. The Frick Art and Historical Center is a fascinating complex of museums and historical buildings located on over five acres of lawns and gardens in Pittsburgh's residential East End. The Center is devoted to the interpretation of the life and times of industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick. Exhibitions of fine and decorative art are also presented at the Center.Clayton, the restored Frick family home is the cornerstone of the Center. In addition to Clayton, visitors enjoy: The Frick Art Museum; The Car and Carriage Museum; the Greenhouse; the Frick children's playhouse, now a Visitors' Center and Shop; and The Café. Entertaining, educational programs are available for all ages, all year round. Those who prefer may simply stroll through the grounds at no charge.

Carnegie International

For over 100 years, the Carnegie International has been the premier North American showcase for the best new art and new artists from around the globe.

This year marks the exhibition's 54th installment, on view from October 9, 2004–March 20, 2005, at Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The exhibition features 38 artists from five continents, a diverse and exciting array of established and emerging artists, all at the forefront of contemporary art. Their work is equally varied from painting, drawing, and sculpture to photography, film, and video.

CARNEGIE INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBIT

Join us for a tour of the Carnegie International, thepremier North American showcase for the best new artand artists from around the world.  A trained docentwill lead you through some of the 400 works by 38artists from 5 continents.  Sign up now for thismorning tour on March 15. Cost, includingtransportation, is $10 and will leave the Westin hotel at9:30.

SENATOR JOHN HEINZ REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER

Step inside a 1790 log cabin, find out about theUnderground Railroad or climb aboard a 1940 Pittsburghtrolley.  Five floors of interactive exhibits bring250 years of our region's history to life.  If sports are your thing, a new 20,000 square-foot exhibit has just opened featuring recreated environments,interactive elements, video presentations, artifactsand trophies from Pittsburgh's rich sports history.Pre-register for this docent led morning tour on Thursday, March 17.The cost of the tour is $10 which includestransportation.  We will leave the Westin Hotel at 9:45am.

Downtown Pittsburgh Walking Tour

Tour some of downtown's finest historic buildings -during this 45-minute walk along Grant Street, once the eastern edge of our frontier town and now Pittsburgh's grand civic boulevard. We will also see and discuss -several modern skyscrapers and historic churches, and pause in Mellon Square Park to view the surrounding architecture.Allegheny County CourthouseALLEGHENY COUNTY COURTHOUSE AND JAILThe Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail was designed in 1883 by Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson and is recognized throughout the world as an architectural masterpiece. The building is characterized by Romanesque details such as Syrian arches, Byzantine Capitals, late French Gothic dormer windows, and French Renaissance roofs.

The Andy Warhol MuseumPresents the work of one of the most influential American artists of the second half of the 20th century.  It is also a primary resource for anyone seeking insights into contemporary art and popular culture. This museum features extensive permanent collections of art and archives and is vital forum in which diverse audiences of artists, scholars and the general public are galvanized through creative interaction with the art and life of Andy Warhol. 

National Aviary-Breakfast with the BirdsNATIONAL AVIARYFRIDAY MARCH 18BREAKFAST WITH THE BIRDS. LEAVES WESTIN HOTEL AT 7:45 RETURNS 9:45.

From the smallest of hummingbirds to the towering Red-crowned Crane, the National Aviary features a wide variety of colorful--and camouflaging--birds that will amaze you! The sights and sounds of these winged creatures are both entertaining and educational.

COST-$15

INFORMATION

Everyone told me that Barb and Ken Bergman were dependable, reliable and would do a fantastic job. They were right. Those two were always there in their red shirts answering everyone’s questions. They supervised a large staff and had them placed at key spots in the convention center and the connecting hotel. Nancy and Jeff suggested the red shirts as a way of identifying volunteers. Knowing that others would also want a shirt, I ordered 200 of the them and all volunteers were entitled to one. They were so popular that on Thursday we put them up for sell. Earlier in the week people were wanting to buy one and I held off until I knew that most of the workers that wanted one had one. Of course, selling those shirts, as well as the left over white ones was another job for the information desk.

Members of this committee had to be familiar with the convention center, hotel and the downtown area. The main questions were about where the games were being held (the daily bulletin was near by for this information) but this desk was a catchall for all types of questions.

Barb & Ken made up a list of expected questions and their answers for their committee members. This list follows.

INFORMATION

Medical

Hospital – Allegheny General Hospital 320 E. North Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA (412) 321-8421

Mercy Hospital 1400 Locust Street Pittsburgh, PA (412) 232-8111

Doctor Or 1-800-468-3537Dentist

Emergency Medical Services Bureau 700 Filbert – Dial 911

Transportation

Checker Cab - (412) 381-5600Yellow Cab - (412) 665-8100Peoples Cab - (412) 681-3131

Port Authority Transit – Bus Information534 Smithfield St.(412) 255-1356

The ‘T’Underground Stations Steel Plaza

Wood StreetGateway Station

Above Ground Stations Station SquareFirst AvenuePenn Park

Hours – 4 AM to 1 AMRides from Downtown to Station Square are $1.50 during off-peak hours.

Greyhound Bus LinesEleventh St. & Liberty AvenueFare & Schedule Information 1-800-231-2222

Banking

ATM’s National City – First Floor Westin PNC – 667 Penn Avenue Kwik E Mart – 212 Tenth St. – Across from Westin

Banks PNC Bank – 2031 Penn Avenue – Strip District – (412) 762-7820 Fifth & Wood Street – (412) 762-2021

Citizens Bank – One Mellon Bank Center – (412) 234-0745 National City – 445 Smithfield Street – (412) 288-5577Dollar Bank – 537 Smithfield Street – (412) 261-8400

Shopping

Pharmacies CVS Pharmacy – 610 Wood Street – (412) 471-9294 429 Smithfield Street – (412) 261-4846

Eckerd Drugs - 623 Smithfield Street – (412) 471-8882 519 Penn Avenue – (412) 391-0969

Convenience Stores 7-Eleven - 601 Penn Avenue – (412) 471-2022 643 Liberty Avenue – (412) 261-6556Kwik-E-Mart – 212 Tenth Street

Wine & Spirits Store - 959 Liberty Avenue – M-TH 11-7 Fri-Sat. 11-9 529 Liberty Avenue – M-TH 11-7 Fri-Sat. 11-9

Beer Distributors – None in the downtown area. If desperate – Northside Beer & Beverage 1304 Federal Street

Pittsburgh North Side (412) 322-5111

Department Store Kaufmann’s – 400 Fifth Avenue – (412) 471-7000

Grocery Strip District – On Penn Avenue from 15th Street to 22nd StreetYou can find almost anything you want.

Churches

Trinity Cathedral325 Oliver Avenue(412)232-0349

First English Evangelical Lutheran Church615 Grant Street (412)471-8125

Smithfield United Church622 Smithfield Street (412) 281-1811

Saint Mary of Mercy Roman Catholic Church202 Stanwix Street(412)261-0110

First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh320 Sixth Avenue(412) 471-3436

Church of the Epiphany1018 Center Avenue(412) 471-0654

There will be a Downtown Churches Map at the Information Booth

Synagogue – Rodef Shalom Congregation 4905 Fifth Avenue (412) 621-6566

Attractions

John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center/includes Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum1212 Smallman StreetHours – 10 AM to 5PM DailyAdmission – Adult $7.50 Seniors (62+) - $6.00

Andy Warhol Museum117 Sandusky Street – Just over the 7th Street Bridge on the North Side(412) 237-8300Hours - 10 AM – 5 PM - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10 AM – 10 PM – FridayAdmission – Adults $10.00

Seniors (55+) - $7.00

Duquesne Incline1220 Grandview Avenue(412) 381-1665Hours – 5:30 AM – 12:45 AM – Monday thru Saturday

7:00 AM – 12:45 AM – Sunday

Cultural Events at Theatres

Calendar of Events will be available at the Information Desk

Post Office

625 Stanwix Street700 Grant Street

AAA

538 Smithfield Street(412) 338-4300

There will be maps of the downtown area and shuttle/parking information available at the information desk.

PARTNERSHIP

Mary Carns had her own ideas on how to set up this area and to avoid chaos in the partnership area.. She had seen mob scenes at the Partnership area at other NABC’s and wanted to avoid this. Having an extra worker each session (her husband) helped to make this job easier. Mary assigned a leader to work all three sessions each day. She also had greeters and a microphone person.

Mary sent each of her workers a letter a few days before the tournament. The letter included a copy of their individual work schedule and instructions on the overall duties in Partnership. She also sent them a copy of the convention card. For those workers that were local, she did have a training session the week before the tournament. A copy of the Instructions and partnership card follows.

Mary also had the Pittsburgh NABC Website have a link to an online partnership area where players could hookup with others prior to the tournament. I did observe a good deal of activity in this area. This is set up through an outside of ACBL vendor and there is a charge for this.

Mary designed a partnership card that she felt would assist the committee in finding the right partners for people signing up. ACBL does supply their standard partnership card and if you want to use your own, you must pay for the printing of the cards.

BackgroundWe need to accomplish a large volume of work in a finite time, with relatively untrained workersWe need to find a balance between doing the theoretically best job, and doing the best job that we can within the constraintsMost players want to play with Eric Rodwell, but wouldn’t consider playing with someone who has slightly fewer points than himself, so we have a thankless job

GuidelinesMatch players/pairs looking for a partner of a team, for the immediately following session ONLYPlayers who wish to be partnered for a future event may go to the online partnership

desk at http://hipard.comPlayers who wish to be partnered for a future event may report to the partnership

desk for the partnership session immediately preceding the session that they want to play

We will destroy all cards at the end of a session. No cards will be carried overAnyone who promises to look for a partner for a player for a future event will be

personally responsible for carrying out the promise (PLEASE DON’T DO THIS)Players must be PERSONALLY PRESENT to obtain a partner. If a pair is looking for 1 or more players for a team, only one member of the pair need be present

Do not agree to find a partner for a player who isn’t physically present in the partnership area; do not take contact information for a player; if we can’t find them

by calling on the microphone, they won’t get a partnerAll players wanting a partner must register through the regular process. Please don’t agree to look for a partner for a player “behind the scenes”. If you do this, please don’t ask anyone else at the desk to help you

The Place and the PlayersPhysical setup of the deskThere will be a table/tables with partnership cards available near the entry point for

the lineThere will be a single line, enforced by guides

There will be a “reception” area where the Greeters accept cards from the next person in the line

There will be a “back area” where the “Matchers” work to create partnershipsThere will be a microphone

There will be a bulletin board for players’ use. This may be used for any tournament-related messages; not just for partnerships

Depending upon the physical setup and the amount of space available, I have requested chairs where players can wait. These should be within hearing range of

the microphone but not so close as to worsen the already crowded conditionsSupplies

Partnership card

A sample is enclosed.

Please familiarize yourself with all of the entries on the cardWorker schedules

A copy of the schedule for your sessions is enclosedBridge event schedules

I have enclosed the bridge schedules for your sessions

I have annotated the schedules to include

A description of the event

The point divisions for the event

The future sessions of the event, if applicable

Ongoing sessions which probably won’t need our help except for fill-ins

Example: someone on a 2 – session team or pairs gets ill

A list of Novice/Newcomer events

If player wants to enter these events, direct him to the Novice/Newcomer desk

Please familiarize yourself with the events for which you will be creating partnershipsPlacards used in matching

I created small signs with the name of the event and the guidelines for matching. A sample is included in the Leader’s materials

Signs

The ACBL will provide a poster with the Bridge Schedule for each session

I made a sign advertising the online partnership desk. It will be in the Leader’s packet and should be posted where the players can see it.HoursNote that the “official” hours say that the desk closes 15 minutes before game time. We won’t be done by then. Expect to stay until just before game time. Have your

partner buy the entry.Please arrive at the desk 15 minutes before the scheduled starting timeThe partnership desk is open on most days for the following 3 sessions

8:30 until 10:00 AM

This session is actually 2 parts, since games start at 9:00 and 10:00.

At 9:00 there is a side game, and some days, the beginning of a KO

At 10:00 there is a Senior Pairs, sometimes a Fast Pairs, and sometimes a KO

11:00 until 1:00

This is the busiest session and will have the most staffing

6:15 until 7:30

This will probably be the slowest session

Exceptions to the above hours

The first Thursday

Noon until 1:00

5 PM until 7:30

The second Sunday

8:30 until 10:00

All games, except for ongoing National Events, start at 10:00 that dayRoles

Chairperson—otherwise known as Mary

May be present for the morning session to train new workers/leaders and to do matching

Present for the pre-afternoon session to train new workers and to do matching

Will not be present for the evening session unless special circumstances

Responsible for staffing desk and for getting subs in an emergency

Makes final decisions about any situations

Will give you a packet at the beginning of the day that has all the materials such as bridge schedules, worker schedules, a copy of the guidelines, and signs

Chairperson’s assistant—otherwise known as Gail

Present for the morning session when Chairperson isn’t present

Acts as a substitute for missing workers or for especially busy sessions

Will be the Leader for 1 dayThe Leader

Each Leader is responsible for 1 day (generally 3 partnership sessions)

Leader’s general responsibilities

Arrive at partnership desk 15 minutes before the session begins to set up equipment, receive training, and help with training the Greeters

Acts as the direct supervisor of the Greeters

Solves any problems which arise in the absence of the Chairperson or Chairperson’s assistant

Be familiar with all events and all duties at the desk

Leader’s specific responsibilities

Will be detailed below under “The Process”

Usually will be one of the Matchers

Might start the session being one of the GreetersThe Greeters

If you don’t already know that you are a Leader, you are a Greeter

Main role is to collect the cards from the players

Please familiarize yourself IN ADVANCE with your duties. We have a lot to do in a short time, and all will function best if everyone understands his role

Arrive at partnership desk 15 minutes before the session starts, to help set up, to receive training, and to help with training if this isn’t your first session

You are the interface between the players and the partnership desk

If you can’t make it for a scheduled session

Please call me in my room at the Westin as soon as you know you won’t make it

Please try to get a substitute

Please make every effort to attend scheduled sessions; the functioning of the desk depends on you

The Microphone person

Calls the players when a match has been made

May be any of the people working, assigned as neededThe Process

Players pick up cards, fill them out, and get in line (single line)Greeters

call the next person in linequickly review the card

make sure all requested information is on the card

A sample is enclosed

Items:

“POINTS”

asks how many masterpoints the player has

—for a pair, just the most points should be listed. If more than one set of points is listed, CIRCLE the most

If a player has very few points (i.e. under 100), determine from him whether he really wants to play in a Novice/Newcomer event.

The Novice/Newcomer desk is separate from ours—we don’t yet know where it will be but if necessary direct the person to it

Anyone, including a Novice/Newcomer can play in a “regular” event if he wishes

“EVENT”

Many players aren’t familiar with which events are being played this session

You will be provided with an annotated bridge event schedule (yours is enclosed; we will have a printed one available for you to use during your session).

Please study the event schedule in advance and be aware of what events exist, and what their requirements are

clarify which event the player wants (writing “Pairs” on the card isn’t sufficient since there is more than 1 pair game per session)—if event isn’t clearly indicated, write it on the card

make sure that the player is qualified for the event he wants

make sure that the player understands when (if any) the future sessions are of his event

NOTE: All KO’s are bracketed; All Side Games are Stratified, All Pair games (except National Events) are either Flighted or Stratified); Compact KO’s can only have 4 players; other KO’s and all Swiss teams can have 4 to 6 players

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU PLAYED BRIDGE?”

“TEAM QUESTIONS”

Make sure person indicates how many more players he is seeking

This line will be used only if person is looking for a team

Check boxes

Are you willing to “play up”

Are you willing to accept a partner from a lower strat

You don’t play Standard American or 2/1 GF

If this item is checked, determine what system (example: Precision, ACOL) the person plays and write it in the blank space at the bottom of the card

Most cards won’t have any of the items checked

Blank Space at the Bottom of the card

Fill in special information here

This space will usually be left blank

Do not ask the questions below; only fill in the space if the person volunteers the information

Examples of what might go in this space:

Player won’t play with a man/woman

Can play Standard American but prefers Precision

Wants to be the 4th on a team but will play in pairs if necessary

And, you have to determine all of this in a very short time!Based upon masterpoints and the specific requirements of the event, assign an event with strat or flight, write it at the right end of the “event” line, and CIRCLE it (I think

I”ll get red pens to use for this)

This is VERY IMPORTANT

This is the main information that the matcher will use

We are pretending that each strat of an event is a separate event. For example Stratiflighted Pairs consists of 6 different “events”:

Flight A/X

Strat A >3000 points

Strat X <3000 points

Strat X “elective” <1500 points

I made up this designation to use for players who qualify for Flight B/C/D but want to play in Flight A/X

Flight B/C/D

Strat B 1000 – 1500 points

Strat C 500 – 1000 points

Strat D < 500 points

An appropriately filled card will have something like “Flighted Pairs B” or “Strat X-elective” written by you on the card

For the National Mixed Pairs, indicate whether the player is looking for a male or a female

Tell the player to remain within hearing distance of the microphone and he will be called when we have a potential partner/team for him

Depending on how long the time is, you won’t have very long to accomplish all of this. If you are familiar IN ADVANCE with the card, the events, the strats, and flights

you will be in the best position to work efficientlyDon’t make any promises we can’t keep (players aren’t guaranteed a partner, but we

do our best, and most players will get a partner)The card has to get from the Greeter to the matcher. We’re not sure how this going

to happen, because I haven’t seen the physical setup yet.Call the next person

Matcher(s)If the process works efficiently, it may be able to be done by just one person,

especially in the morning and evening sessions.

The Chairperson or the Leader will do the matching

If 2 people are needed at the pre-afteroon session, both the Chairperson and the Leader will match

Receive card from greeter, and put in appropriate pile, in order of number of Masterpoints

The greeter will have assigned a Flight/Strat where appropriate, use this

I have created “placards” (little signs), for each event

Remember that for our purposes an event is one flight/strat of an event. See the explanation under “Greeters” for the 6 different events contained in “Stratiflighted Pairs”

They will be used to label each pile of cards

They have the “Instant Match” guidelines on them MATCHING

Determine whether card qualifies for an “Instant Match”

Concept of the Instant Match

In response to my anxiety over how we were going to accomplish the overwhelming task of matching many players to partners in a short period of time with a group of previously inexperienced workers, we (mostly Gail) came up with what we hope will be a streamlined way to match partners/teams

The basic concept is, if possible, match a card as soon as you get it rather than letting a large group of cards pile up

Within each event (by the above definition, i.e. a separate strat is a separate event), if 2 touching cards are within a certain range of points, they are an “Instant Match”

This method recognizes that a more accurate match may have eventually been made if we waited for more cards, but it has efficiency going for it.

The “Instant Match” is different for each event since the span of points existing in the event is different

Guidelines for Instant Match

KO teams (they are bracketed, so there is a continuum)

If either pair <6000 MP’s, match if lesser is within 2/3 of greater

If both > 6000 MP’s, match

Stratified A

If both 1500-3000, match if lesser is within 750 points of greater

If either > 3000, match if within 1000 points

If both > 6000, match

Stratified B

Instant match: If within 500 points

Stratified C:

Instant match: If both > 300

If both 150 – 300 , match if within 100

If both < 150, match if within 50

Flight A/X, Strat A

Instant match: If either < 6000, match if within 1500 points

If both > 6000, match

Flight A/X, Strat X

Instant match: within 500 points

Flight A/X—Strat X elective

Instant match: match if lesser is within 2/3 of greater

Flight BCD – Strat B

Instant match within 200

Flight BCD – Strat C

Instant match within 200

Flight BCD – Strat C

Instant match within 100

If more than one card qualifies for a match, use the “how long have you been playing bridge” as a tiebreaker

If card doesn’t qualify for an instant match, leave it in its appropriate place in its pile

Proceed to the next card

THE RED ZONE

Late in the session, we need to relax the matching requirements.

I don’t know what “late” is, right now. It depends on how many unmatched people there are.

My suspicion is that for the pre-afternoon session “late” is about 20 minutes before game time

For the morning and evening sessions, which are much less busy, “late” might be 10 minutes before game time

After the first few days we should have a better idea how this is all going to work.

Process:

Cards will already be arranged in order by number of MP’s and in separate piles according to event/strat

Match in order, 2 by 2

Use “how long have you been playing bridge” as a tiebreaker

Especially at the upper edge, there may be some large discrepancies

At the edges of the strats, you may need to consider matching someone “up”

Use the result of the check boxes as a guideline for whom to use

On days where there is a team game you might be able to add an unmatched person to a team

Give the pair of cards to the Microphone PersonMicrophone Person

Get a pair of cards from the matcherCall the 2 names on the microphone

I hope we have an area where those we call can come up and meet with the microphone person without interfering with the Greeters/Matchers

If both people show up

tell them you have made a match

give them each their own card

tell them to discuss whether they want to play together

if they are playing together, they don’t need to come back

if they aren’t going to play together, and want to try for a new partner

come back (we need to have a way to do this and come to the microphone person, not the greeters)

write in the blank space on the bottom of the card the person whose partnership they declined (otherwise we might match them again)

put the cards back into the process

if one person doesn’t show, call again in 5 minutes

after the second call, if one person doesn’t show, put the one who showed back into the process

put the one who didn’t show into a pile of “No Shows”

sometime toward the end of the session, call the “no shows” and if they show up, see if they still want to be part of the process; if so put them back in the pile, but note on the card that they were a no-show

if someone is a no-show twice, he can’t get a partner via the desk for this sessionClosing

Shortly before game time, destroy all remaining cards, put away our suppliesWe need to talk to the ACBL about where our supplies will be stored

SummaryMy vision of how it will all work:

The workers will be prepared by knowing what their roles are, the events, the requirements for the events, what information needs to be on the cards

In the morning

there will be 3 people there

1. Gail or me

2. the leader

3. a worker

We will all get there 15 minutes before the desk opens

I will orient the leader, then we will orient the worker

At the early portion of the session, all 3 of us will be greeters.

As soon as the line slows, and there is a reasonable # of cards, I will start to match.As soon as we only need 1 greeter, the leader and I will match together; essentially I

will teach the leader to match. If this works smoothly, by the second half of the morning session (the pre-10:00 portion) the leader can do the matching, with help if

necessary by me or GailAt 11AM,

I will be there, along with the leader, and 3 to 5 other workers. The number of workers depends on how many sessions are starting that day, and partially on how many people I was able to get.

Start of session, if we have enough greeters:

Leader will match, with help from me

workers will greet,

I will do microphone and generally help out. If there is a crush I will stay the whole time. If there isn't I might not be there. As the line slows, one greeter could become a matcher; and one could become the microphone person

In the evening,

The leader and one worker will be there

The worker will greet

The leader will match and do the microphone

The leader will help with greeting if it gets busyThere is a Worker appreciation Room:

2322 in Westin ROOM 2322 AT THE WESTIN WILL BE THE WORKERS APPRECIATION SUITE. IT WILL BE OPEN FROM 9 AM UNTIL 7:30 PM (IF SOMEONE WANTS TO RELAX

THERE AT CLOSING IT WILL BE ALLOWED).

_________ points Name________________________________ [if you are one of a pair, put the points of the partner with the MOST points] _____________ # of years I/we have been playing bridge  Event__________________________________________________ If for a team, need (circle 1) pair 3 for a team 1 for a team Check any that apply: I/we are willing to:

     “play up” in a higher strat/flight if we need to     accept a partner/pair from a lower strat/flight     I don’t play Standard American or 2/1 Game Force

Partnership Card

SECTION TOP PRIZES

Nancy Foy typically selects the section top prizes, but since I love to shop she allowed me to choose them, with her approval. ACBL will pay for 2000 prizes and allows $6000 total for payment. This includes the cost of the prize, screen charge and shipping.

We selected a junior padfolio from Leeds and a telescopic flashlight. The cost went a little over the $6000 allocated and we paid the difference. Our regionals always have a large selection of prizes and we wanted the players to have a choice here, as well.

Gail Hastings chaired this committee and was in charge of distributing the prizes. Jeff Johnston made sure that a list of winners magically appeared at this booth each morning. The committee people then would scratch off their name as they collected the prize.

I truly wanted to pay section top prizes to all section tops for all strata. I also wanted to pay first thru third when they scored an event across three sections. However, I was not able to get the list to include this and let it go. I did not want the people at the prize desk to have to go through the lists, daily bulletins, etc.

ACBL policy is that if they think that they won a prize, let them have it. I strongly agree with this. If someone came up and said that they were second in a national event and do they get a prize. They really earned one and it is fine to give them one.

INTERMEDIATE/NOVICE

Pat Rasmus did a super job here. She was at the I/N area morning, noon and night. Novices are insecure and do require a lot of handholding. We had a separate registration gift for them (convention card holder) as well as having the regular registration packet for this group. They also had their own partnership area.

All I/N events are held in their own area and away from the other players. The only complaint here is that their playing area was down the hall and did require extra walking. If something closer had been available, it would have been better.

Publicity was done beforehand with novice flyers (see one on the next page) and notifying local teachers, directors, etc. Some free games and half priced games were offered on the flyer.

A novice party was held after the afternoon session on the first Saturday. We served wine, soft drinks, cheese, crackers and fruit. Since it all had to be purchased from the catering company, it was expensive. We actually had much more than was needed and put the leftover food outside of the playing area before the evening session. The players loved it! They actually thought that it was just for them.

We also had novice giveaways that the other players did not receive. These were given away during the afternoon sessions along with the edibles (chocolate coins, bananas or cheese crackers). A list of those giveaways follows. We spent around $1 - $1.50 each on these.

Special 299er Events at the Pittsburgh NationalsMarch 10-20, 2005 at the David Lawrence Convention Center

Free Lessons 10:00 – NoonSaturday, March 12 with Jerry Helms

Sunday, March 13 with Marti Ronemus

Monday, March 14 with Barbara Seagram

Free Games1:00 and 7:30 Friday, March 11 for players with 0-5 points

1:00 Saturday, March 12 Bridge Plus for players with 0-5 points1:00 Sunday, March 13 Easy Bridge for players with 0-49 points1:00 Monday, March 14 Happy Duplicate for players with 0-49

points

Special Gold Point Event1:00 and 7:30 Wednesday, March 16 NABC 49er Pairs

(Players must play both sessions as this is a playthrough event)

Half Price EntryPlayers with 0-100 points buy an entry March 11, 12, 13 and receive a half price coupon for March 18, 19, or 20

Cocktail Reception and Book Signing5:00 Saturday, March 12

Join us for an IN Reception and book signing by Barbara Seagram

For more information or answers to any questions contact IN Chairman

Pat Rasmus at prasmus@adelphia.net or 716-649-4634NOVICE GIVEAWAYS

(200 OF EACH) TO BE GIVEN AWAY IN AFTERNOONEACH MORNING &AFTERNOON – THEY WILL GET THE SAME AS OTHERS AT

NIGHT

SEWING KITS – WITH LOGO

MECHANICAL PENCILS – WITH LOGO

HATS WITH LOGO

PAPER CLIP DISPENSERS WITH LABEL TEXT

SCRATCHPADS

MAGNETIC LIGHTUP HANDS

TRAVEL MUGS WITH TEXT

FM SCAN RADIOS WITH TEXT

COFFEE MUGS

CLOCK/TAPE DISPENSER

CADDIES

Marcella Retetagos has been in charge of caddies at the Pittsburgh regional for many, many years. She has the lists of names and knows them well. Therefore, she was a natural for this job.

Jackie Matthews advised us on how many caddies we needed to have available for each session and Marcella was in charge of filling up those slots. She used our regular caddies and supplemented it with bridge players, their spouses and relatives. The adults were necessary for the daytime games during the week when the other caddies were in school. Jackie also has several caddies that travel to all of the nationals and they work as her head caddies.

We supplied bright yellow t-shirts to the caddies. They had our logo on the front and said caddy on the back. This made the caddies very easy to find and identify. I talked to many caddies in advance and it was clear that they did not want an apron, vest, fanny pack or hat (it messes up the hair) to wear. I ordered 250 t-shirts, since I did not want them to be wearing dirty ones. That was probably too many. 150-200 would have been good. These cost $3.55 each since they were colored and had two imprints. Again, they were ordered and picked up locally, so there was not charge for shipping.

We also allocated $500 for the tournament for Jackie to purchase snacks, etc. for them to eat. Any leftovers from hospitality also went to them. The caddies do appreciate this extra. They are paid $30 per session and going out to dinner is not cheap.