2025 District 4 Goodwill & Charity Award Recipients
All Districts have an opportunity each year to recognize members deserving of lifetime appointments to two honorary committees – the Goodwill Committee and the Charitable Recognition Award. As the current President of District 4, Betsy Cutler is delighted to announce the 2025 appointments for the following individuals. Each has made exceptional contributions to bridge and the bridge community.
Thank you’s go out to Donna, Mike K, and Mike V. The time and energy devoted selflessly to bridge and other charitable work makes our game, and our world, a better place.
Donna Heckscher / Goodwill
Donna Heckscher took over the Ocean View “Shuffles” game when Dini Romito passed away. Donna purchased Dini’s materials including tables, bidding boxes, shuffling machine etc. She has been running and Directing these games for over a year now. In addition, she has held several beginner lesson courses and recently started up another. Donna, is a very calm Director and very pleasant at all times. She recently played a key roll in our NLM tournament providing the room, the cards, the computer and everything else down to the pencils. With several of her beginners joining the games we had a very successful tournament. Finally, Donna recently joined unit 190’s Board volunteering even more time.
A few words from Donna:
I was taught how to play bridge by sitting on my mother’s lap watching her play with her friends as she hosted her monthly bridge game. With little knowledge of the game, I continued to play a bit in college and then with friends, but my bridge games were predominately limited to playing in the “kitchen”. Bridge stopped however, for many years, when children, jobs and life got in the way.
It returned, after I retired from the School District of Philadelphia when my “golf” friends (I played a lot of golf) encouraged me to join them for bridge. I didn’t realize that joining them for bridge meant, I had to relearn the game, take lessons from a director, play in league matches and experience DUPLICATE Bridge! But I was committed, so I did what I had to experience bridge as my new hobby. I even accepted the position of Secretary for the Women’s Bridge League of Philadelphia to become more involved in the game.
A year later COVID hit, and we had to take all the matches online! After a phone call to Robert Todd, I was able to set up matches for our 4 Leagues (10 weeks of matches, 20+ clubs, 200+ women who LOVED bridge and their matches), have pre-dealt hands with hand records for all the matches. (No more shuffle and deal) Everyone in each league plays the same boards.
Because of my involvement as Secretary during COVID, I was required to act as a teacher and director for matches. Since I considered myself still a novice, I enrolled in ACBL Director and Teacher Courses and earned certifications in both, never thinking I would do anything with these certs beyond what my position as secretary required. But life happens and because the “retirement” house that we purchased in southern Delaware was near the very popular Bethany Beach duplicate game, “Shuffles” was reborn. I became the new Director of “Shuffles 2023” last July. The game was reopened in the same location in Ocean View, DE. I was also asked to help reopen a duplicate game in Ocean Pines, MD so I now direct two games a week.
I feel so fortunate to have a new “career” in my retirement because of bridge. I not only love the game but also the many new friends I’ve met, not to mention the challenges I am presented as a director and teacher. I find it extremely rewarding to help those who are interested in learning bridge and those who just love to play the game.
Mike Kohler / Goodwill
Mike Kohler fully meets the criteria as to behavior at the bridge table and is an asset to the game of bridge in the development of new bridge players.
Mike is a former President on Unit 133 and is currently the head of the Education Committee for Unit 133 as well as District 4. He has initiated multiple programs to expand bridge including, starting a class at Cedar Crest College on the fundamentals of bridge, teaching bridge at local clubs and churches, starting an initiative on introduction to bridge at local Township Community Centers, and continuing to provide leadership to a successful Mentoring program.
Mike is an asset to the bridge game and the devlopment of players in Unit 133 and in District 4.
A few words from Mike:
I grew up playing pinochle on a small Pennsylvania Dutch dairy farm in northwestern Lehigh County. During my college years at Lehigh University, I was introduced to poker and bridge at my fraternity. After graduation I played bridge only sporadically for about 40 years while getting married, having kids and working as an engineer at Mack Trucks.
Nearing retirement in 2011, I visited the Bethlehem Bridge Club and was introduced to a teacher that guided me for the next 3 years. Not only was she a good teacher, but she also found numerous partners for me as I played more and more.
I always enjoyed mentoring and teaching bridge through the Unit’s education committee. I taught 2 semesters for the Lehigh Valley Institute for Learning in Retirement at Cedar Crest College. I was instrumental in starting the Lehigh University Bridge Club in 2023 and became certified as a Best Practices Teacher by the ACBL, also in 2023. I am currently the chairman of the District 4, education committee and am teaching a beginner’s bridge class at a church in Allentown. Beginning in January 2025, I will be starting a new, free beginner’s program in Lower Macungie Township.
When not playing bridge, I can often be found at local pickleball courts, giving tours at the Mack Trucks Museum and assembly plant, or spending quality family time my wife, Debbie, 4 children and 3 grandchildren.
Mike Vogel / Charity
Mike donates several hours every week to setting up and tearing down tables, chairs and all other things involved with a Bridge club. Southern Delaware has three games a week and two of them are about a 45 minute drive each way for him. He does this work for all three club games every week as well as doing the same for us at our recent NLM tournament. In addition, Mike leads our efforts at our setup crew at the annual Rehoboth Beach Regional.
Last but not least, Mike is a super nice, fantastic guy. Everyone in our bridge games loves and respects him.
A few words from Mike:
My wife Mary Ann, twin daughters Michelle and Melissa and I live in southern Delaware. Sports and all activities have been a big influence in our lives. Before work, after work, and sometimes during work we were always busy and active. This included volleyball, biking, walking, yardwork, playing games, both indoors and outdoors, just to name a few.
In 2016, we retired to Sussex County. We found getting older, retirement, and being active were adjustments. Physical activity was easy to keep going, it was the mental activity that was more challenging to find. I thought mental activity and bridge went well together and since I had learned and played bridge in college, I was able to pick it up again, and six years later I’m still learning. As I started this journey after retirement, I met a lot of terrific people along the way.
I appreciate being nominated for the ACBL Charity Award, but this is what I have done and will do for the rest of my life. That is, be helpful, volunteer, set up, and drive people anywhere. My view on life hasn’t changed much in my whole life. Have fun, be happy! Another view is, if I do something nice for you and you do something nice for someone else, eventually it will be a better world. Now, if I could just play better bridge every day, my life would be complete.