Silber is a former specialty publisher and retail marketing executive with General Mills, who took the ACBL helm three years ago. That background helps in the publishing of books, magazines and a product catalog, as well as making the game a retail product again. In a partnership with e-bridge, the league has beefed up its Internet presence and now offers games online, against computers or people. It also offers free download software so individuals can teach themselves how to play. Any activity these days has many things it competes with, but bringing younger people in is easier with the Internet.
Computers also make it easier to keep track of point earnings at thousands of games each week.
When membership was free, it neared 200,000, but dropped off once dues were charged. It's like the same people who complained about their taxes, but still wanted the fire department to show up. Changing an image and turning around an organization is no small job, Silber says. But it's working. One indicator is a rise in catalog sales, which necessitate a move into a somewhat larger fulfillment center, next door to the headquarters.