January 2025 - 31

Gower Power
Horace Gower is Molnar Director of the Year
A
t the Fall NABC in Las Vegas,
the ACBL announced that
Horace Gower of Freeport
ME was the winner of the 2024 Jean
Molnar Employee of the Year Award.
The award, for field employees, honors
the memory of Jean Molnar, a
longtime tournament director. Jean
loved bridge, the players and her coworkers.
She delivered outstanding
customer service through her technical
expertise, her quick and effective
response, and her ability to handle all
situations professionally and calmly.
Tournament Director Tim Hill of
the Boston area, who nominated
Gower for the award, says, " Horace is
my favorite director. He's a great role
model. What I admire most about
him is his manner with the players.
He's the sort of director who makes
playing fun. "
Horace has been playing bridge
since his college days, and he won
the Maine state championship in
1972. He became a director more
than 30 years ago and has made
many friends at the tournaments
he's directed. Throughout his career,
Horace has been known for running
events smoothly and making them
thoroughly enjoyable for players and
explaining rulings so that players
understand and accept them.
Horace runs six sectionals - solo
- in Maine each year and directs at
most New England regionals. He is
held in the highest regard by players
and directors who have the opportunity
to work with him.
District 25 recently honored
Horace at the Ocean State Regional
in Warwick RI. Players wore " I h
Horace " pins and the staff sported
" Super Horace "
T-shirts.
District 25
President Sue
Miguel chose
the hero theme
because Horace
is her directing
hero. " In addition
to being
thoughtful,
kind, funny,
efficient and
dedicated
to each and
every player
he encounters,
he's a wicked
awesome player! "
exclaimed
Miguel.
" Horace is
Horace Gower - in a signature cardigan - with Sue Miguel.
the most fabulous
person, " continued Miguel. " I've
worked with him for 20 years. When
I found out he was going to retire, I
took to my bed for two days.
" When we decided we were going
to have Horace Gower day at the
Warwick Regional, we wanted to
keep it a secret from him. It's pretty
hard to keep a secret from your
DIC. I had to order T-shirts and find
out what to get for presents. I called
his wife, Sonia, and I asked, 'What
does Horace like?' She said, 'He likes
Reese's peanut butter cups.' You
can get anything on the internet, so
I found a bouquet of Reese's. He's
always wearing a cardigan, so we
got him a really nice one from L.L.
Bean. "
They mostly kept Horace from
finding out about the day in his
honor, but the night before, they decorated
the playing area with posters
and signs. " He knew when he came
in, " said Sue.
" He saw the buttons everyone was
wearing and the T-shirts and got
pretty emotional.
" People don't realize you can be
kind and funny and solicitous of people's
needs and also apply the Laws
efficiently. We can't lose the human
part of bridge, that is what makes
everyone want to play. "
Nominating committee chair and
fellow TD Scott Humphrey said,
" Jean Molnar was dedicated to player
service and fair play, so Horace is the
perfect choice for this award because
he embodies those principles. The
players appreciate him so much for
that. " 2
January 2025 | Bridge Bulletin |
31
January 2025

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