District 16 Lecture Series



Congratulations!

Carol Ann Sanderson

Life Master

2021 District 16 Star Award Recipient

The District 16 Star Award (formerly the "Texas Star Awards") honors those Unit volunteers who work steadfastly at the Unit level to promote bridge and to further Unit activities. The Unit 225 recipient of the 2021 D16 Star Award is Charles Ford.

 Charles Ford, a Ruby Life Master, has been dedicated to bridge for 30+ years. His love for bridge began while watching his parents play. In 1990 he was able to start on his own bridge career.

 Having completed the necessary classes to become an ACBL certified teacher, Charlese enjoys teaching bridge and sharing his love for the game. He has held Junior Bridge Camps in the summer and, along with Sandy Hilliard, has taught bridge to 3rd through 6th graders in Canton. He also teaches bridge at the Senior Center in Mabank. Classes he has taught include: beginner classes, 2/1, Jacoby transfers, play of the hand and others. He is always ready to help players improve.

 In the past, Charles served 6 years on the Unit 225 board and was President his last year on the board. He worked as co-chair with Ginger Rhamey to bring a regional tournament to our area and ensuring its success.

 Charles participated as the Unit’s spokesperson to the Tyler City Council regarding the Unit’s rental fee at the Tyler Senior Citizens Center. Charles has run the Tuesday games in Athens for several years. He is always ready to do whatever he can for the game of bridge from tournament setup/breakdown to teaching classes and much, much more.

2021 Good Will Award Recipient

The District 16 Unit Goodwill Award is intended to recognize and honor District 16 players who exhibit a spirit of courtesy, kindness and tact at the bridge table.These individuals are our ambassadors of goodwill to all other players. The Unit 225 Board of Directors selected Lisa Looney as this year's recipient.

Lisa Looney exhibits an enthusiasm for bridge and has been an advocate for bridge since she started playing 14 years ago.  She is always upbeat and friendly to everyone at the bridge table.

Lisa was instrumental in assisting Sheila Bell in starting the Texarkana Shelia Bell DBC.  Lisa assisted in recruitment, communication, pairings, computer work and much more. Lisa has attended and supported many Unit 225 tournaments. Once Lisa became a Life Master and got duplicate bridge under her belt, she decided to recruit and teach her friends. She has been teaching beginner classed for the past 3 years in Texarkana. 

She has brought in 50 beginners and many have joined ACBL and helped grow the Texarkana club.  She always displays and also instills in her students the need for courtesy, kindness, ethical play and tact at the bridge table. 

Lisa is an ambassador and advocate for learning, sharing her knowledge and fun at the bridge table. Lisa makes everyone fell comfortable and is an excellent ambassador of goodwill to all other players.

2020 Ace of Clubs & Mini-McKenney Award Winners

 Unit 225 winners in the 2020 Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney have been annouced. To see the complete list of winners, click on the links above. These winners will be recognized at our next face-to-face unit game.



Club News

Van Zandt DBC-- Nannie's House has resumed a normal schedule with games on Tuesdays, Wenesdays, and Fridays. All games  begin at 12:30. Masks are required and personal bidding boxes are used. Hand sanitizer will be used between rounds.

Due to social distancing, there will be a maximum of 7 tables; therefore, reservations are required.

Reservations may be made by calling or texting Sandy Hilliard at least 2 days prior to play. When making a reservation, be sure to give the names of you and your partner and the day you wish to play. If that game is full, then your names will be placed on a waiting list.

Longview Duplicate Club has open games each Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at noon. Mike Graham encourages anyone who wants to play to call for a reservation. If you need a partner, Mike will help you find one. Masks are required and hand sanitizer is available at every table.

The Club recently celebrated a "milestone" birthday for Janie Wolaver with cupcakes!

General Announcements

Tyler Senior Center -- As of 2/11/21, the Tyler Senior Center is still closed and doesn't know when it will reopen.

New Alert Procedure from ACBL -- ACBL adopted a new Alert Chart which will be rolled out in 2021.  This is the first change in several years and does not have a lot of significant changes.  Of the most significant, one is that we announce the minimum number of cards in a suit which may be short.  When partner opens a short club most of us will say “could be 2”.   Another significant change is that instead of saying “transfer” we’ll say “shows” and name the suit.  Over my 1NT, partner bids 2D and I say “shows hearts”.  Look for information in the Bridge Bulletin.

ACBL Message -- 1/12/21  Due to the ongoing risk posed by the surging coronavirus and the slow rollout of the vaccine, the ACBL will not staff face-to-face bridge tournaments through April 30, 2021.

This means all Sectionals and Regionals scheduled during this period have been canceled. Consistent with this decision, the ACBL is also canceling the sanctions for any remaining Non-Life Master Tournaments or other bridge tournaments through the end of April where ACBL Tournament Directors are not technically required.

Online events, including Regional-rated tournaments, will continue to be offered along with chances to win gold, silver, red and black masterpoints®. More details can be found at www.acbl.org/virtual.

Board of Directors meeting minutes and Treasurer's Report for December and January have been added to the website. Click here to view.

Bridge Tip -- Click here for a few tips on defensive leads.



Send photos of club events
to Carol Kinsey (acblunit225@yahoo.com).