April 2005 - 22

Clubs crowned

Three clubs are the Jane Johnson one-, two- and three-star clubs of the year;
another earns honorable mention.
By Jody Latham

* A club whose members show up
45 minutes early for aerobic danc‑
ing because they don't get enough
exercise playing East‑West;
* A club where every game has a
"pairer‑player" who serves as a pair‑
ing desk person and is available to
play in case there is an odd number
of players;

* A club where every
Saturday night is Junior
Fund Night and every Sun‑
day is a Charity game with
the club donating $1 per
player to a local charity;
* A club whose outstand‑
ing criteria earned it an
Honorable Mention - and
another excuse for a party.
The clubs are the Powell
To be considered for the
River
Duplicate Bridge
Jane Johnson award, a club
Club,
Powell River BC,
must meet all the requireone‑star;
Hartford BC, West
ments for star status in its
Hartford
CT,
two‑star, and Part of the "brain trust" at Kate Buckman's
category and must meet
Kate
Buckman's
Bridge
Bridge Studio: director Daniel Bernstein, owner/
additional criteria:
Studio, Toronto, three‑
manager Barbara Seagram, senior director Bonny
1. The club is part of the commustar. Superiorland DBC,
Norris, owner/manager Alex Kornel and director
nity. Its membership does more
Marquette MI, was named Ron Bishop.
than play.
Three‑Star Honorable Men‑
the increase, says Fennell, is that
2. The club works as a family.
tion Club of the Year.
"we have volunteers who set up the
Members are responsible for
They are the recipients of the
games, bake goodies, write a
the health of the club. They
fourth Jane Johnson Club of the
share duties such as directing,
Year awards in one‑, two‑ and three‑ newspaper column, give rides to
those who no longer drive and
cleanup, scoring, partnerships
star categories. Johnson, longtime
support each other during difficult
and hosting.
manager of ACBL's Club Member‑
periods (last year we organized a
ship Department, died in November
3. Club members actively promote
2000. The ACBL Board of Directors funeral service)."
the club through good advertisOn a lighter note, the club hosted
recognized Johnson's commitment
ing, including word of mouth,
Ladies'
Night - finger food, 45
to ACBL clubs and ACBL members
and by inviting newcomers to
minutes
of aerobic dancing and a
by establishing the Jane Johnson
visit and play.
bridge
game
- and a Garden Tour,
employee and club awards.
4. The club provides service to
an organized tour of 15 bridge play‑
new and needy members,
ers' gardens, followed by a pot luck
Powell River DBC
phone calls to missing memdinner (no bridge).
bers, assistance in transportaWhen Gail Fennell took over man‑
A Summer Picnic featured bar‑
tion and welcoming committees.
agement of the Powell River DBC in beque and bridge while a Laughter
1993, the
Party offered a pot luck dinner, an
club hosted hour of jokes or funny stories and
Players at the Powell River (BC) club: Santokh Sian and Rose
Andrews (dark shirts), recent winner of the Mixed Pairs,
one game
bridge.
practice against club manager Gail Fennell and Dave Harper.
a week and
In addition to having fun, the club
drew five
looks after its own. "We have one
to seven
elderly woman who has trouble see‑
tables.
ing," says Fennell. "She gets picked
Now 20-25 up at her home and driven to each
tables com‑ game and home again. She gets
pete weekly primary seating at the game, extra
in three
lighting and the person sitting in her
games.
seat at the next table sorts the cards
One
into suits before the boards come to
reason for
her table. To show her appreciation,
22

Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2005
