October 2022 - 15

cases that made masks required. An auction conducted
both online and in person offered 19 items, including
games with local experts and dinners and cocktail
parties. " Everything and everyone received bids, and we
are lucky that we decided to go the online route because
attendance at the game was rather sparse, " said Fran
Tewkesbury. " The biggest difference between this and
previous years was the number of members who donated
freely, not in return for auction items. "
The Okatie club had the largest increase, more than 10
times as much as last year, and more than double their
previous best.
Olympia DBC participated for the first time. A few donors
contributed $455, but it was Paul Madslien's $10,000
donation that landed the club among the top 25.
Between 2000 and 2019, deaths from heart
disease in the U.S. have decreased 7.5% while
deaths from Alzheimer's have increased 145%.
Returning to the fold
While Olympia and the Plattsburgh (NY) DBC, which
raised $1605, were new, other clubs came back to The
Longest Day after a pandemic break. Jacksonville (FL)
School of Bridge raised around $2000 in both 2018 and
2019, then sat out the last two years, having reopened only
a few months before the 2021 event. They returned with
their biggest event ever, raising $3310. " We decorated the
club using the kit from the Alzheimer's Association, " said
Janice Madsen, club president, and had a free pizza lunch
on Friday, June 24. " We held a silent auction with 10 of
the best players in the club volunteering. We started the
bidding at $50 for a game and it quickly escalated to $100.
People really liked that idea. "
Nebraska Unit 241 returned from a one-year break,
raising $3110. Omaha is the home of District 14 Director
Deana Liddy, whose husband Mike is suffering from Alzheimer's.
The Alzheimer's Association recently opened
an office in Omaha, and Liddy and unit president Claire
Flatowicz were invited. " It was great presenting our 'fake
check' there and feeling part of the people trying to help
all the people and families suffering, " Flatowicz said.
Community outreach
Clubs had varied results trying to involve the wider
community. The Richmond Bridge Association put a lot
of effort into advertising its event, held at the site where
they have sectionals, outside the club, but got little outside
attendance, said Landon Woody. However, they had their
best year, raising $9785, nearly double last year. " The
event itself was very festive, with decorations, food and
fun, and people were extremely generous. "
Volunteers staff a tent
near the pickleball
courts in Lake Wildwood
CA, helping Unit 461 to
raise almost $6700.
Unit 461 in Grass Valley CA takes a different approach,
bringing their events to the community. They set up a
table outside a grocery story in Lake Wildwood and held
their drive-through collection at the pickleball courts,
enduring 95- to 100-degree heat and raising over $800 at
each location. Altogether the unit raised almost $6700, a
slight increase and another team best.
New Dawn DBC in Coeur D'Alene
ID supported the Sandpoint DBC
team, which raised $4695.
Two clubs in Coeur D'Alene ID, New Dawn and Lake
City, participated on behalf of the Sandpoint DBC, a
smaller club 50 miles north that has often been among
the top teams over the years. They helped Sandpoint raise
$4695.
Mike Liddy, Deana Liddy and Claire Flatowicz of Nebraska's
Unit 241 present the $3110 raised by the unit to two Alzheimer's
Association representatives at the grand opening of the charity's
Omaha chapter office.
In 2022, Alzheimer's and other dementias
will cost the U.S. $321 billion. By 2050, these
costs could rise to nearly $1 trillion.

October 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
15
October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2022
