My husband died in 1995 very suddenly and right before my eyes. I was in shock and became very anxious which spiraled into a deep clinical depression. A friend of mine, who was also going through problems of her own, decided to get a few women together to socialize, be together, and maybe help each other with our grief. She knew enough bridge from playing in college and decided to start to teach the others in our little group. I don’t know how much I really learned that first year, but it helped to be with friends and have to direct my mind to focus on something else rather than my problems. After a while we all started taking bridge lessons from Jane Segal. When I moved to a new home a couple of years later I met other people who played bridge and eventually started playing duplicate. I have to say that Bridge helped me focus and was a wonderful distraction. I set a goal to become a Life Master and am so happy to have reached that goal.
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Paul Ohlbaum – Silver Life Master
I am truly excited to attain the rank of Silver Life Master in bridge.
My entry into the world of duplicate bridge began some nineteen years ago upon my retirement from optometry. My wife and I would take long walks together and as we walked, she’d explain various conventions to me. And so began our lives as bridge partners and eventually certified bridge teachers both at home in Utica, NY and on ten bridge cruises.
While competitive running (I’ve run six marathons), and autocross racing continue to be two of my avocations, at the age of eighty-one, I know that bridge will keep me challenged long after I drop running and car racing!
Jim Allen – Life Master
I achieved Life Master mostly by playing in club games weekly
in Lansdale and Pottstown. For the last eight years I partnered with my mentor, Dick McDowell, just about every time. He taught me the importance of bidding consistently. Mitch Snyder convinced me to become a Director in Lansdale, and that experience, along with directing the game in Pottstown with Dick McDowell for 6 years, taught me the intricacies of the game. I met Irish Murphy at the Pottstown club and we started going to Regionals together last year. We always found our playing partners at the partnership desk and they were always great teammates. I earned the last of my gold points at the Regional in Cape Cod at the end of April.
Terri Chalone – Club Master
One of my friends at work kept telling me “Terri, you have to learn how to play Bridge before you retire.” She said I needed to keep my mind sharp when I retired and so I took my first lesson in June 2008. My instructors were Life Masters and they played very well. But, as they say “Bridge is easy to learn but takes a lifetime to master” and I realized I had a lot to learn.
I played that summer and into the fall, but at work my hours changed, ( working nights) and couldn’t continue to play. Every time I would vacation in Florida for a few weeks, I took a several lessons by John Foster, in Sun City Center (He was one of the finalist in the ACBL Bridge Teacher of the Year in 2013).
I finally retired in 2013 and that fall started taking Easy BridgeTM lessons in Sun City Center.
Kathy Smith and Sue Batt started the program and it has exploded with so many new players Even people who were social bridge players were converted to duplicate because they heard we were all having so much fun. There program consisted of lessons on Wednesday followed by playing (boards that were related to the chapter) and then they would also have workshops that expanded on the lessons. I finally started to understand why I couldn’t pass when my partner doubled, and how to play Stayman and Transfers. It has been so much fun, and I have met the most interesting people. We also have monthly happy hours and pot lucks and in the summer, we go out to dinner/lunch at local restaurants.
Sun City Center hosted a Sectional Tournament this February and my partner and I came in first North/South in the 0-20 category. Some of the other area bridge clubs have extended invitations to play, Sarasota, St. Pete, Manatee. One even had a cake to welcome us. And there is a Tournament on May 25th that I am going to attend.
I also attended a week long Bridge Boot Camp in Warwick, New York (summer 2014) sponsored by Marti & Gary Ronemus. That was intense bridge lessons, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed/learned that week. It was all inclusive meals, lessons and room for under $800.00 thru Road Scholar.
(AKA Elderhostel)
Joann Hano – Diamond Life Master
Getting to be a diamond life master had become a group project. Leading the group of partners was my husband Buddy. He was always there to support me and to be the master of the” Big Club” convention we played? Others from York, became my monthly partners in success.
Over the many years, any bridge player at my table has become my bridge family. There is always a story or a bridge hand to hear about. Success at bridge is more than skill, it is also a love of people and the game.
Julia Brooks – Silver Life Master
My first foray into sanctioned duplicate bridge occurred on a vacation to Bermuda some thirty years ago. We went to the Bermuda Bridge Club with another couple, sitting North-South while our friends sat East-West. Both of us came in first in our directions. We were pretty impressed with ourselves until we found out later that it was an Under-Twenty point game. But it was the beginning of our quest for Life Master.
Lancaster was our favorite tournament destination, but we ranged far in pursuit of our goal, from Tennessee to Canada, Palm Springs to Vancouver. It was a great way to take vacations from our stressful jobs. My husband Rich and I both earned our Life Master status in 2000. We coasted a while. filling our lives with all sorts of volunteerism and grand-parenting and attended fewer tournaments through those years. Although Rich no longer plays as often as I do, he was my partner when we came in first overall a few weeks ago to put me over the 1000 points.
District 4 has given our Unit 133 good guidance and support. We like the directors we have had assigned to us. The District 4 Spot keeps us abreast of what’s happening elsewhere in the unit and provides a venue for us to communicate our news. Above all, we’re gratified that players from many parts of the region, including the Philadelphia area, like to come to our sectionals. It is good to feel we’re part of the larger bridge community.