District 8 President's Report
District 8 President's ReportThe holidays are upon us. How did the year go by so fast?
Your District 8 Board has been working for you all year long -- overseeing the details of our five regionals, two Sectional-Tournament-at-Club (STaC) events, Grand National Teams and North American Pair competitions and updating bylaws and standing rules. Our District-wide games, hosted in October by local clubs, raised $1264 for the District 8 Youth Bridge Camp. Thank you, Marilyn Croft, for overseeing this event.
Also thanks to Scott Davis for overseeing the District 8 StaC weeks. We had 1002.5 tables in play during October StaC week. Thanks also for a great job by our director in charge, Rick Beye. Mark your calendars for the upcoming StaC, February 1-7, 2016.
As president of District 8, I receive many of the other districts’ newsletters that are still being published and sent out via snail mail. It is very interesting to see what issues and concerns these publications talk about. The costs of publishing a print newsletter seems to come up quite often, and that’s the very reason the District 8 Advocate is an electronic newsletter. If you’re reading this message, then you’re hooked up to the newsletter. Please tell your bridge friends to check it out. There are many who miss it. A big thank you to Karen Walker, the editor, and all five Unit reporters who keep us up to date with bridge news.
Another thing that I find most interesting is the membership numbers and geographical makeup of the districts. Most of the state of Texas and all of Mexico comprise District 16. I am a transplanted Texan who grew up in Fort Worth and I comprehend the distances from north to south and east to west. It is a long way from Amarillo to Houston -- not to mention Mexico City! Their GNT and NAP events are held in the center of the state, which makes sense but is still a long distance for many people. When you compare our District’s geography to many of the other districts, we are actually very lucky to have not so far a distance to travel to our grassroots final events. I figure that 3.5 to 4 hours is the longest anyone has to travel to have the opportunity to represent our district at the national finals of the GNT and NAP at the Spring and Summer ACBL national tournaments.
Speaking of the North American Pairs, congrats to all of our players who have qualified and will be traveling to Reno in March to play in the Flight A, B and C events (see the story in this issue). The District Finals site this year was moved from Springfield to Champaign, which is more centrally located for our members. I hope that next year we’ll see even more participants in this great event. The playing site was very nice and next year, the church service will not be an issue. (You had to be there to appreciate that comment!) Sometimes the unexpected can happen!!!
Here’s to a happy holiday season for all of our members and their families. And a happy and prosperous New Year with lots of masterpoints coming your way. Best wishes, Martha
If you have questions or suggestions about District 8 Board activities or other bridge matters, please contact me at martha@marthaleary.com .