Season's Greetings, Unit 223

Another year has come and gone. I'm just now recovering from Thanksgiving (four house guests who arrived and came down with stomach flu), and contemplating putting up some decorations for the holidays. And shopping; got to get cracking on that. All the folks I be-gift pretty much live in other states and time zones.

Our local clubs started having holiday parties in October. Is there any group of people who enjoy a party more than bridge players?! Food and bridge! It just doesn't get any better than that!

We're considering going to a regional tournament between Christmas and New Year's Eve, all depending on how Mother Nature treats I-70. Local club games seem to die off in the crush of holiday activities in December, so I will be "hungry" for some bridge by then, and there is an added bonus – my baby sister lives next door to the tournament.

At a recent tournament, the director, David of "David and Judy"� fame, said, "Smile at your opponents. They'll wonder what you're up to."� Good advice. Seems to me that ACBL's Zero Tolerance is really working. It's been a long time since I have encountered any serious rudeness at a duplicate game or tournament. Anyway, here's hoping that this season of kindness extends through the coming year; do lots of smiling at both the opponents AND your partner.

Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year to all of you out there in Unit 223.

Congratulations to the following Unit 223 Members who have advanced in rank:

New Junior Masters:
Gary Goeckner, Effingham, IL
Donna Murphy, Worden, IL
Kathy Vanni, Marion, IL

New Club Masters:
Judith Hayes, Bethalto, IL
Larry E. Hayes Bethalto, IL
Mary Kernan, St Louis, MO
Richard Messinger, Alton, IL

New Sectional Masters:
Linda Brofka, Marion, IL
Julia Bruner, Edwardsville, IL
Billie Jacobini, Cobden, IL
Carol Phillips, Godfrey, IL
Judy True, Wood River, IL
Gloria Zupanci, Edwardsville, IL

New NABC Masters:
Carol Windland, Glen Carbon, IL

New Life Masters:
Eric Bizzell, Beecher City, IL
Leona Bullock, DuQuoin, IL
Elizabeth Metcalf, Edwardsville, IL

New Bronze Life Masters:
Susan Pensoneau, Collinsville, IL

New Silver Life Masters:
Stan Albin, Neoga, IL

New Gold Life Masters:
Marcia Darnell, Murray, KY

New Diamond Life Masters:
Dalton Darnell, Murray KY

Special congratulations to Eric Bizzell, Leona Bullock, and Elizabeth Metcalf for achieving Life Master Rank.

Also, a tip of the hat to Dalton Darnell. He is (I believe) only the second Unit 223 Member to achieve Diamond Life Master by garnering more than 5000 points. When you see Dalton at a tournament, congratulate him on this stellar achievement. If you don't know Dalton, look for a friendly smile, a baseball hat, red suspenders, and a big blue pillow tucked under his arm.

Unit Census

At the close of the year we had 386 members in the following Ranks:

Rookie (0-5) 41

Junior Master (5+) 30

Club Master (20+) 43

Sectional Master (50+) 50

Regional Master (100+) 45

NABC Master (200+) 18

Life Master (300+) 26

Bronze Life Master (500+) 59

Silver Life Master (1000+) 58

Gold Life Master (2500+) 15

Diamond Life Master (5000+) 1

Your Rank on January 1, 2012 will be the rank in which you compete in masterpoint races for the remainder of 2012. Winners of the 2011 masterpoint races (Ace of Clubs and Mini McKenney) will be announced at the sectional tournament at Kentucky Dam Village in March, and awards presented to the top three finishers in each category and rank.

By the way, one year ago we had 390 members, so our Unit has remained relatively stable in terms of membership, but it sure would be nice if we had grown some. So a suggestion for a New Year's Resolution: Invite a friend to a club game sometime during 2012.