November 2014 - 9

FROM THE CEO
The American Contract
Bridge League
President
Phyllis Harlan
Chair, Board of Directors
Sharon Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
Robert Hartman
ACBL Counsel
Peter Rank
Chair, Board of Governors
Richard Anderson

Board of Directors
District 1 * Leo Weniger
District 2 * Paul Janicki
District 3 * Glenda Calkins
District 4 * Craig Robinson
District 5 * Sharon Fairchild
District 6 * Margot Hennings
District 7 * Bob Heller
District 8 * Georgia Heth
District 9 * Jay Whipple III
District 10 * Russ Jones
District 11 * A. Beth Reid
District 12 * Dennis Carman
District 13 * Suzi Subeck
District 14 * Sharon Anderson
District 15 * Phyllis Harlan
District 16 * Dan E. Morse
District 17 * Bonnie Bagley
District 18 * Claire Jones
District 19 * Donald Mamula
District 20 * Merlin Vilhauer
District 21 * Stu Goodgold
District 22 * Ken Monzingo
District 23 * Rand Pinsky
District 24 * Alvin Levy

A river ran through it

When	faced	with	adversity,	one	never	truly	knows	how	people	will	respond.	
After	the	Horn	Lake	Creek	overflowed	on	Sept.	11,	it	sent	a	river	of	water	
through	the	ACBL	Headquarters.	A	massive	clean-up	effort	was	immediately	
undertaken to keep ACBL operations running.
Even	though	the	physical	Headquarters	was	
closed	to	rid	the	building	of	water,	dust	and	dirt,	
employees	began	working	from	home	to	make	sure	
that	the	most	critical	member	calls	were	responded	
to	in	a	timely	manner.	Carol	Robertson,	Patty	Taylor	
and	the	Club	and	Member	Services	team	shined	(as	
they	always	do)	and	kept	up	the	customer	service	efforts.	Our	stars	also	included	Terry	Norton	and	Fred	
Baskerville	of	the	Information	Technology	team,	
who	were	here	day	and	night	to	make	the	office	
functional	again.	They	made	sure	the	telephone	and	
computer	system	wiring	was	replaced,	and	we	were	
reconnected	in	record	time.	Jeff	Johnston	and	Ken	
Horwedel	were	part	of	the	rebuild	team	and	turned	dozens	of	eight-foot	folding	
tables	into	makeshift	desks.	They	created	a	temporary	work	environment	that	
became	manageable	for	the	team.	Clyde	Bell	and	Murry	Hayes	also	put	in	long	
hours	to	oversee	the	clean-up	efforts.
As	I	write	this,	there	are	60	people	at	Headquarters	working	in	a	space	that	
housed	fewer	than	half	as	many	just	a	few	weeks	ago.	There	is	temporary	everything.	Construction	on	the	unoccupied	half	of	the	building	begins	soon.		
The	outpouring	of	support	was	heartening.	Local	businesses	offered	us	meeting	space	to	use,	and	the	mayor	paid	a	visit	to	ACBL	Headquarters	to	provide	
assistance.	Board	members	offered	to	fly	to	Horn	Lake	to	become	clean-up	
volunteers.	The	local	fire	department	came	out	to	hose	off	the	layer	of	dirt	that	
accumulated	in	our	parking	lot,	to	help	avoid	employee	slips	and	falls.	And	a	
huge	thank	you	goes	out	to	all	of	the	Members	who	sent	their	well	wishes	during	this	difficult	time.
The	plan	is	to	be	back	to	normal	operating	conditions	by	the	end	of	the	year.	
Luckily,	no	one	was	injured	and	none	of	the	irreplaceable	museum	pieces	were	
damaged.	The	original	trophies	and	bridge	artifacts	have	been	carefully	packaged	and	moved	to	a	climate-controlled	storage	location	for	safekeeping.	Once	
we	are	back	at	full	strength,	we	will	devise	a	plan	to	better	protect	the	building	
from	future	flooding	events.	Given	that	more	than	75	Horn	Lake	businesses	
were	affected	by	this	storm,	city	and	state	officials	are	looking	at	ways	to	create	
better	drainage	systems,	including	the	building	of	a	new	retention	pond.	

District 25 * Richard DeMartino
To contact your district director, address email
to district#director@acbl.org.
(Enter the district number where you see #.)

November 2014 Bridge Bulletin

9
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2014
