Annual Meeting and Awards

Everyone had a great time at the Unit 239 annual meeting on April 11th at Del Webb in Huntley, Illinois. The board members reported on events of the year and awarded McKenney and Ace of Club awards. We had an excellent lunch, and Will Engel directed the three-section game.

Karl Anderson was surprised when he was named the Good Will member of the year. He is appreciated for volunteering and mentoring new players. He helps players move to new levels of play! Karl runs his own games in Wheaten and Yorkville and fills in at other sites; he supports every tournament and event Unit 239 has!

Karl has played bridge for years. He graduated in accounting from Illinois Benedictine University then spent years in Washington and California before returning to Illinois in 2009. When he came back, he quickly found his niche in Unit 239. Marilyn said that Karl’s revised Precision system fills pages and pages of information, a thoughtful system for a skillful player.

Karl plays successfully with many partners; among his partners are his wife Peggy and his brother Glen. Thanks to Karl for his work and congratulations on receiving the Good Will Award!
 

Another well-known player in our unit received an award for service. Most Unit 239 players know Nick Cordell (Yorkville) for his friendly club games in St. Charles and Aurora, his good-humored fun, and his fine play of the hand. On April 19th, Nick went to Springfield to receive a governor’s award for service.

Senior Services Associates nominated Arthur “Nick” Cordell for the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award. This group identified a great need for independent seniors living in their own homes to have access to necessary medical appointments and to socialization and companionship. RSVP Volunteer, 79-year-old Arthur “Nick” Cordell responded to that need in helping several senior clients as well as staff members at our Kendall County site.

Nick enrolled as an RSVP Volunteer in June of 2013, serving first of all as a driver for home-delivered-meals, then as a Friendly Visitor. Since 2013, Nick has been partnered with four homebound seniors, and maintained faithful visits with them throughout these past five years.

Nick is also a volunteer driver for seniors in need of transportation to necessary appointments, serving throughout rural Kendall County and Southern Kane County as well. He is very devoted to the health and wellbeing of his companions.

Nick is a regular visitor at the Yorkville Senior Services Center where he is particularly interested in helping the volunteer drivers and friendly visitors to have greater success in their outings. He initiated a Coffee and Conversation program to give Volunteer Drivers a chance to meet regularly, to talk to and encourage each other, and to share ideas to improve their program.  This program has helped build camaraderie and a renewed spirit of belonging for the drivers who oftentimes do not have a chance to socialize with each other. Nick promotes the mission to help seniors live independently in their own homes. In addition, his leadership abilities inspire other volunteers, most of whom are decades younger than him, with a “can do” attitude.

Nick never sees problems, only opportunities. Nick would like to use this opportunity to encourage other bridge players to use their skills and time to provide service for others. He believes, “Everyone who plays bridge should volunteer!”

Welcome to new members:  Karen Carroll (Huntley,) Jon Clemmons (Freeport,) Shirley Skinner (Crystal Lake,) Mark Boyd (Freeport,) Melanie Calbeck (St. Charles,) and Roger Perry (Rockford)

Big game: On April 13th, John Pree and Karen Anderson had a 70% game at the St. Charles game! Yeah!

Congratulations to the many members who have achieved new ACBL ranks:

Junior Master: Constance Nagel (Rockford,) William Ordway (Rockford)

Club Master: Lynn Clemmons (Freeport,) Dennis Cotter (Aurora,) Brian Hamilton (Rockford,) and Catherine McIntire (Rockford)

Sectional Master: Dennis Lynch (Huntley)

Regional Master: Dr. Sherry Heidenreich (Davis)

NABC Master: Cynthia Musser (Winnebago) Advanced

NABC Master: Eric Mayer (Richmond)

Bronze Life Master: Lynne Madden (Sugar Grove)

Ruby Life Master: Roger Dieringer (Elgin)

New Ruby Life Master

Roger Dieringer reflects on becoming a Ruby Life Master!

As a kid I really enjoyed playing cards. By age 10, I was playing cribbage, euchre, and, even a harder game played in the Milwaukee area, called Sheepshead. As a young adult, I learned to play Goren Bridge and really like the challenge of the game. Marriage, my daughter, and career as a middle school social studies teacher severely limited the time spent on playing any card games.

Forty years later, a friend of mine asked me if I knew how to play bridge, and if so, would I like to join him for an afternoon at the Rockford Bridge Center. With two of my other friends, Rachel and Lori, we drove from Elgin to the bridge center in Rockford. During the 45-minute drive, the women taught me two convention, Stayman and transfers. They thought I should know these conventions before I play a round of bridge.  From there, came many more conventions and twelve years, so far, of playing a game I really enjoy. 

One story I like to tell was a regional game in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. We had a knockout team of me, Tara, Donna and Karen and our average point total per person was 305. We played the first three rounds and won each one by a close margin. Going in to the final round, we faced a six- person team from New York State. Being a neophyte in tournament knowledge, I really didn’t know we were playing a team of professional bridge players. Their team average, l later discovered, was over 10,000 points per person.  We lost the final round, but our score was respectable and I was very happy to earn 9.41 gold points.

I have found through bridge I have meet many interesting, nice people from many walks of life. The partnerships I have formed have developed into lifelong friendships. My advice to other bridge players is to have fun and keep in mind it’s only a game. Be kind to new bridge players and your partner, and whenever possible, bid three no trump.

♠  THE GREAT SIZZLIN’ SUMMER ILLINOIS REGIONAL  ♠