November 2022 - 35

And a tennis star to boot!
By Kingdon Van Nostrand
How to save a bridge club
Glenna Keller, Unit 118 President
In March of 2020, the bridge world
as we all know it ended. COVID - a
pandemic - stopped the world. But
bridge players are smart and inventive
and before you could turn
around, we were playing bridge online
- a mental and emotional boost
but not the social interaction of F2F.
In July of 2021, we opened our Unit
Boots Van Nostrand
at the World Super
Senior Championships
in 2004
My wife, Boots Van Nostrand, was
recently notified that she had earned
Life Master status after completing
the masterpoint requirement of 50
gold points, competing in a regional
event to which, due to health constraints,
she rarely traveled.
And because of her vast accumulation
of red, black and silver masterpoints,
she then vaulted over the next
three categories (Bronze, Silver and
Ruby) to be awarded the rank of Gold
Life Master. Truly a career accomplishment.
Yet
for the record and your edification,
please know that she is, as
well, an ITF World Champion Senior
tennis player, having won the World
Senior 70-and-over singles title in
2004, as well as several World Team
(USA) Championships, European
championships and USA gold ball
national titles in her illustrious
playing career. She has been retired
from tournament tennis for about 10
years.
118 in Wilmington NC again; bridge
players were required to have proof
of vaccinations. Masks were also a requirement.
Folks showed up to reconnect
with friends and partners. We
were back to our F2F facility where
we had met for 15 years, leasing space
from New Hanover County. At the
end of July, our county notified us
that they were building a new facility
in the same location and the existing
facility would be torn down. We had
until the first of October to move
out. All the sudden, " president of the
club " had a new meaning - real estate
agent! - finding a new facility for our
F2F games.
Many businesses closed during
the pandemic, so you would have
thought there would be an abundance
of rental property. But as bridge
players know, bridge clubs fall under
a different category. We don't sell
anything in the way of retail, so shopping
centers and malls wouldn't even
consider us. We were not an addition
to their economy or profits. Churches
and other club facilities could not
offer us a fixed schedule. We had
only two criteria: two bathrooms and
enough parking. The first space that
we considered had both, but it was
commercial and had to meet building
codes. Our contractor estimate was
over $100,000 to bring it up to code.
The developer would only allow us
$20,000 (by the way, it's still empty).
The second space would only allow us
10 parking spaces - hardly enough. I
spent every Saturday and sometimes
Sunday just riding and looking for
a space. I might meet with a realtor
only to find that the price was out of
range or there was only one toilet, or
only three parking spaces. Good thing
gas prices were reasonable during
this quest. Finally in December I
located a space in a little strip mall
in the center of town with reasonable
rent and plenty of allowable parking,
but it only had one toilet. Our board
decided to face the situation and add
a handicap toilet to meet the county's
requirements. Many members donated
to the cause - so forward we went.
Now my role became a different one
- contractor for the construction of a
handicapped-accessible bathroom.
It was a commercial space, so our
county required a set of engineered,
stamped drawings: plumbing, mechanical
and electrical. Luckily, my
business was able to provide these
without cost to the unit. These drawings
were presented to contractors
to acquire bids for the new restroom.
Our board of directors decided on the
lowest bidder and now it was his job
to submit the design to New Hanover
County for a permit so we could start
the actual construction.
And now the nightmare begins.
With the building boom, labor supply
shortage and people still working
from home, it was two months before
we received the first permit. At each
stage of construction, our contractor
had to have an inspection by the
county. This might take two weeks
before he could move on to the next
phase. When? When? When? Can we
reopen F2F?
Finally on June 6, we reopened to
10 tables as a starter. Our first week
has been great, not as many as we had
hoped, but it is summer vacation. We
will continue to welcome old friends
and partners and new players too. A
much heartfelt thanks to all of our
members for their support, emotional
and financially. Here we go again.
November 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
35
November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2022
