UPCOMING UNIT 154 TOURNAMENTS

70% + GAMES

Jim & Char Davis, Kokomo:  70.00%  11/12

Helen Boothe, & Alan Yngve, Chesterton:  75.00%  11/17

Wayne Carpenter, Chesterton & Laverne Niksch, Portage:  72.22%  11/23

Marian David, South Bend & Cappy Gagnon, Notre Dame:  71.59%  12/3

Jim & Char Davis, Kokomo:  72.50% 12/3

Steven Watson, Schererville & Joe Chin, Highland: 70.81%  12/14

Roger Skurski, South Bend &   Ted Mullett, Niles, MI:  70.00% (a 399er game) 12/14

Janice Custer, & Alan Yngve, Chesterton:  71.88%  12/15

Jim Feinstein, South Bend & Dick Hastings Bristol:  72.22%  12/30/15.

Joyce Sines  & Gretchen Bonsib, Fort Wayne:  72.12%  12/16

Elaine DeLaney, South Bend, & Chris Habegger, Bristol:  70.24%  12/18

Joe Chin, Highland & Jim O'Connell, Valparaiso:  70.83%  12.19

Laverne Niksch, Portage & Wayne Carpenter, Chesterton:  70.84%  1/4

Gini Stipp, South Bend & John Bodish, St. Joe MI:  70.83%  1/5

Suzy Wright & Patricia Skelton, Kokomo:  70.00%  1-6

Jim & Char Davis, Kokomo:  83.00%  1-7

Rosietta Brown, Chicago, IL & Indra Gupta, Munster:  70.14%  1/18

Wayne Carpenter, Chesterton & Laverne Niksch, Portage:  70.83%  1/19

Northern Indiana Unit 154’s Marci Meyer & Kim Grant appointed to the ACBL Charity Committee

District 8 Director, Georgia Heth appointed Marci Meyer and Kim Grant to the ACBL Charity Committee for 2016.   This is a lifetime appointment.  Members of the ACBL Charity Committee endeavor to promote ACBL Charity Program participation in the units and sanctioned club games of their respective districts. The ACBL Charity Committee has those duties and responsibilities assigned it by the trustees of the ACBL Charity Foundation or the ACBL Board of Directors.

All members of the ACBL Charity Committee receive, and thereafter are entitled to wear, official Charity Committee pins, even after their terms on the Committee are over.

DICK PETERSEN CHOSEN TO RECEIVE BONAHOOM AWARD IN FORT WAYNE

The Fort Wayne Duplicate Bridge Club annually recognizes an individual that is a major contributor to the success of duplicate bridge in the Fort Wayne area.  This award is named the MIKE AND ANNAMARIE BONAHOOM AWARD in honor of a selfless and dedicated couple who were the central core of the FWDBC for more than a quarter of a century.

This year’s recipient is Richard ‘Dick’ Petersen.  For many years Dick has been the ‘fix-it’ man of the FWDBC.  Whether it is a balky furnace in January, a burned out light bulb in the playing area, or a broken piece of furniture, Dick fixes it.  Most importantly, when there is a computer glitch or malfunction, Dick Petersen is the person the other directors turn to for advice and/or to correct the problem.  Dick does all this in a low-key manner without seeking any recognition or acknowledgement.

Besides being “Mr. Fix-It”, Dick, along with his better half, Laverne, owns and directs the Tuesday evening game at the Bridge Center. Dick also conducts weekly lessons over a wide range of bridge topics and serves as a mentor for less experienced players and less experienced directors.

Thank you, Dick Petersen.

JACK SPRING RETIRES FROM DIRECTING IN FORT WAYNE

Tuesday, January 26, marked the final game as a fulltime director for Jack Spring of Fort Wayne.  He has been director or co-director of the 2’sDay Duplicate Bridge Club for 18 years.  Tuesday was the final day that he arrived at 10:00 a.m. to prepare the hands for the 1:00 o’clock start time of the weekly game.  Tuesday was the final time that he had to give the five options for the opening lead from the wrong defender.  Tuesday was the final time that he ended the day’s session with the phrase “and the winners are…”.

Jack Spring, 86, has been a fixture in the Fort Wayne duplicate bridge community for over five decades.  He has faithfully followed as the Bridge Center relocated a half-dozen or more times in the past half century.  Jack has accumulated over 3100 masterpoints in his bridge-playing career.  As he winds down his own career, Jack is a mentor to some less-experienced players.

On Wednesday, January 27, the Fort Wayne Duplicate Bridge Association and its players honored Jack with a celebration for his many years of service and dedication to the bridge community. 

Thank you, Jack Spring, for your contributions to Fort Wayne duplicate bridge.

JIM FARNER DAY WINNERS

The third annual Jim Farner Day, held on January 5, 2016, found us with a great turnout of 11 tables. 

The winners were Gini Stipp and John Bodish with a whopping 70.83%. Their names have been inscribed on the special wall plaque given to the club by Dr. Jim’s family. 

Congratulations Gini & John!
 

RISING IN THE RANKS

Junior Master (5 Black)

  Ann Howard, Chesterton; Joyce Sines, Fort Wayne          

Club Master (20 Black)

  Lila Cohen, Valparaiso; Marcy Tomes, Valparaiso; Carl Zurcher, La Porte; Aaron Rhymer, Decatur       

Sectional Master (50, with 5 Silver, 45 Black)

  Michael Rudolph, Valparaiso; Roger Skurski, South Bend

Regional Master (100, with 5 Red/Gold/Platinum, 15 Silver, 80 Black)

  Mary Kocevar, Hobart

NABC Master (200, 5 Gold/Platinum, 15 Red/Gold/Plat, 25 Silver, 155 Black

  Shirley Koch, Schererville; Anna Urosevich, Munster

Advanced NABC Master Members who Jointed after 1/2010—300, 25 Gold/Plat., 25 Red/Gold/Plat., 50 Silver, 50-Min. Black, Max Black-200

Life Master (Members who Joined Prior to 1/2010—300, 25 Gold/Platinum, 25 Red/Gold/Plat., 50 Silver, 50-Min. Black, Max Black-200

Life Master (Members who Joined after 1/2010—500, 50 Gold/Platinum, 50 Red/Gold/Plat, 75 Silver, 75-Min. Black, Max Black-325

LIFE MASTER: David Cotterman, Kokomo 

David said it only took him 27 years to become a Life Master!  He is a tournament director and had his gold points before he had 50 masterpoints, but working kept him getting the rest of the silver he needed along with the black points that come from club play. 

He received his first points playing with his wife, Judy, in a club game. It was club and STaC games that finally helped him get those elusive silver and black points. He was part-time tournament director until retiring from Delphi and now is full-time.  He is the father of three children and has 12 grandchildren. Congratulations David!

Bronze Life Master Life Master with memberships prior to January 1, 2010 with 500 masterpoints. Life Master with memberships beginning after January 1, 2010 with 750 masterpoints.

Silver Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 1000 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 200 silver, red, gold, or platinum points.

Ruby Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 1500 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 300 silver, red, gold, or platinum points

NEW RUBY LIFE MASTERS

Robert Adams, South Bend; Jerry Angell, Kokomo; James Angell, Munster; Dave Bigler, Hobart; F A Binder Jr, South Bend;

Thomas Carpenter, Fort Wayne; Bonnie Carter, Kokomo; Gary Chaney, Woodburn; Mary Lou Clegg, Fort Wayne;

Michael Clegg, Fort Wayne; Marilyn M Crank, Kokomo; Charlotte Davis, Kokomo; Kay Esworthy, The Villages, FL;

Donald Ferguson, Fort Wayne; Dorothy Ferguson, Marion; Rose Ferguson, Fort Wayne; Matthew E Fultz, Fort Wayne; June Glazer, Elkhart;

Sara Grande, Mishawaka; Albert A Guilford, Angola; Bob Hawley, Peru; Charles Hubacek, Schererville;

Opal Jost, South Bend; Richard Klitzke, South Bend; Ken Koorsen, Fort Wayne; Patricia Love, Fort Wayne; Catherine Mason, Portage;

Judith Nelsen, Fort Wayne; Ronald Peterson, Plymouth; Virginia Peterson, Plymouth; George Rutkowski, Fort Wayne;

Dr. Paul H Scherer, Mishawaka; William Searcy, Elkhart; Joan Smith, Fort Wayne; Daniel Spain, Portage; Louise Tickfer, South Bend;

Donald Valiska, Highland; Patricia Valiska, Highland; Donald E Wertheimer, South Bend; J F Yocom, Hobart

Sapphire Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 3500 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 350 gold or platinum points and (c) no fewer than a combination of 700 silver, red, gold or platinum points.

NEW SAPPHIRE LIFE MASTERS

J Cordas, South Bend; Elaine Delaney, South Bend; Tom Hallum, Mishawaka; Lena Howard, Elkhart; John Killeen, Mishawaka;

Carol Osgerby, Dyer; Muriel Peterson, Hebron; Joseph Shull, New Haven; Dr. Steven Watson, Schererville; Rosemary Zonker, Elkhart;

Diamond Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 5000 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 500 gold or platinum points and (c) no fewer than a combination of 1000 silver, red, gold or platinum points. 

Emerald Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 7500 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 750 gold or platinum points and (c) no fewer than a combination of 1500 silver, red, gold or platinum points.

Platinum Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 10 000 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than 100 platinum points, (c) no fewer than a combination of 1000 gold or platinum points, and (d) no fewer than a combination of 2000 silver, red, gold or platinum points.

FRIENDS WHO WILL BE MISSED

LOUISE TICKFER -- August 21, 1928 - January 18, 2016

It is with great sadness that we report that Louise Tickfer passed away on Monday, January 18th. She was a bridge pioneer in Niles and a great supporter of the SBBC. She lived in Michigan all her life and raised two daughters, Patty (Fred) and Mary (Denison). 

During her years as director and owner of the Niles Bridge Club, she attained the status of Silver Life Master.  Her club at the YMCA was instrumental in fundraising for the Y through well attended bridge tournaments. She also delivered Meals on Wheels, was a member of St. Boniface Evangelical Lutheran Church, and felt strongly about helping those in need. 

We are thankful for the time she spent with us.  We will miss her.
 

JERRY YOCOM

Jerry Yocom of Hobart, Indiana passed away on January 15. He played bridge primarily in the Portage game. Unfortunately, those bridge-playing days were over for Jerry about 6½ years ago. However, just a few weeks ago he was awarded the newly-established Ruby Life Master designation.

Carol Osgerby remembers Jerry:
   "I played with Jerry when I first started to play duplicate, and he was a wonderful mentor to me. He was very generous with his advice, and I learned so much from him. I really enjoyed our games. When I came back to bridge, Jerry and I played a few times — it was great to be able to play with him again. Jerry always gave his partners' bids a lot of thought and put it together with his hand — making wonderful bids. I remember a slam we were in that no one else got to due to his deductive reasoning. It was always a pleasure playing with him. I just wish he would have played more. You are missed, Jerry!"

Besides being a bridge player, Jerry was also a pool player. He was retired as a metallurgical engineer from US Steel in Gary and had served in the US Navy. He was a father to three children and a grandfather to twelve grandchildren.