Unit Officers

Rank advancements

I have been waiting to feature new Life Masters, and my next column will have at least three to showcase. The official Life Master designation comes from the ACBL and its confirmation of the achievement should arrive in my inbox shortly. Meanwhile, we have the following bridge players who are on their way to LM or have reached advance standing:

New Junior Master: Michele Joike and Diane Neumann, both of Rockford.

New Club Master: Cecilia Anderson and Michael Anderson, both of Algonquin; David Young, North Aurora.

New Sectional Master: Mary Fiala, Huntley; Karen Girardy and Eileen Schumann, both of Rockford.

New Regional Master: Georgia Jacobson, Huntley.

New Silver Life Master: Roger Dieringer, Elgin; Dudley Lewis, Saint Charles, John Otto, Winfield.

New Emerald Life Master: John Kinst, Batavia.

Two of the three new Silver LMs were successfully contacted and offered this information about their achievement.

Roger Dieringer became a Life Master in 2009 and knew it would be four to five years to reach the next level of Silver Life Master. His immediate goal is to keep playing bridge and enjoying the many people who sit opposite and next to him.

John Otto responds that he has two goals: to play the best bridge that he can by improving his skills. The second goal is to follow Karen Walker’s rule: Help opponents make mistakes that benefit the team; this means that you have to interfere with the opponents bidding.

John Kinst became a Life Master in 1980 and he recently earned his 7500th masterpoint. This accomplishment has earned him the designation as emerald life master. His bridge roots are deeply established in the Saint Charles area, but he is a familiar face throughout the region. When asked what his most memorable match was, he responded that he and the late Bill Lavin played against Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth. The Kinst/Lavin team scored 63% against these top-rated players. John readily acknowledges three classy women who have helped him reach this bridge milestone: Joan Parr, Jean Faeth and Cybil Brown. John adds that he hopes there is “fuel in the tank” to play many more hands of bridge.