Anaheim

By Marlys Haraden

Wow!

Eddie Kantar was a huge success: at one point we thought 60 participants, and all of a sudden it was 100 ... and then the final count was 160. The lecture was very humorous and informative. Lunch was awesome, with many delicacies. 10 tables were moved to a local restaurant, to comply with the space issue. Where did you find all these people? Were the comments from our regular players? It gives me great hope that we will build on the beginners and intermediate players and make the club grow. But we must remember to be kind to the beginners, as they become easily discouraged and it takes time to develop a thicker skin. Patricia Bailey is one hard worker; Sheila Wolff organized the event, Chris chef, and Cynthia Greer - all contributed to the success.

One of our 299ers - Bill Gibson, a tall man who always looks like he stepped out of GQ - is turning 96 years old this month. Congratulations, you are remarkable and a true inspiration. Plus, Bill is still working on making his game better.

Swiss Teams winners on the second Sunday were 1st Jay Helekar, Marcella Lane, Sheila Wolff, and Paul Chung; 2nd Linda and Brian Trent, Patricia Schoppman and Joe Swain; 3rd Yas Takeda, Joan Culbertson, Lowell Andrews, and Subba Ravipudi. Well done!

Unit game winners: 1st Michael Ventri and Michael Daley, 2nd Robbie Krause and Allen McGaha, 3rd Ahmed Sorathia and Haroon Sorathia, 4th Charlotte and Stephen Sturm.

Eddie Kantar STAC results on August 30 with four sections: Sect. A 1st Larry Bolls and Gaby Sill, Diane Starbuck and Edwin Gruber; 2nd David and Sue Ruoff, Ron Lien and Stanley Snyder; 3rd Renee Alpert and Susan Powers, Irene and Richard Shuriman. Sect. B 1st Phil Hiestand and Wei Pei, Judy Elbogen and Penny Wentworth. 2nd Marlys Haraden and Haroon Sorathia, Herb Schaffer and Mary Fenton. 3rd Jane Dadant and Sue Boyd, Robbie Trindl and Kristen St. Clair. Sect. C 1st Sofija Korff and Lowell Andrews, Harold Binder and Susan Benon. 2nd Colleen Cody and Ruth Ann Alpert, Verna Baccus and Zandra Rosenblatt. 3rd Subba Ravipudi and Jean Jacobson, Mark Tang and Steven Sulzby. Sect. D 1st Gladys Kirchner and Fred Solomon, Hemant Bhatia and Richard Fumanti. 2nd Jay Helekar and Marcella Lane, Janie Matlaf and Joan Zehring. 3rd John and Susan Johnson, Michael Murray and Kay Malone.

Well done, everyone. I share in your joy.

September 15 and the following 12 weeks, Chris Larsen will giving his awesome lessons starting with a 10:30 lunch and followed by a game. This is for 199 and under and those who need a jolt to their bridge game.

Please be gentle to all the newcomers to our bridge table. It’s everyone’s job to make everyone else feel good about this great game.

Call us for more details.

Bakersfield

By Mimi Stull

If this edition arrives while our Harvest Sectional is in progress, get a partner and come down to play! If it's over, check the results in the November edition, or check www.acbl.org and click on STAC sectional scores.

We appreciate all the hard work done by the board members - Tom Rauterkus, Shirley Eide, Connie Bruce, Teri Atkinson, Connie McKay, Larry Hawk, Mike Pemberton and Toni Poe - for an enjoyable and successful tournament. We thank all those who donated food , money, and door prizes and all those who attended - especially those who made the effort to come from out-of-town.

Several of our members did well in the overalls of the Great Western STAC games. They include: Tues. 199ers Kathleen Knauf - Aeson Velton, Mike McCarthy - Helen Moore, Linda Carlisle - Nada Nuanez-Byrum;.In the open game high overall finishers Tuesday were Mike Pemberton - George Hollingsworth; on Wednesday Sandy Denison - Jerry Schmitt; on Thursday Grace Tanner - Ann Miller; and on Sunday Gordon and Grace Tanner.

New qualifications to become Life Master will begin Jan. 1. They will require 500 masterpoints, of which 50 are gold or platinum, 50 are red, gold or platinum, and 75 are silver. However, if one is already an ACBL member before this date and does not let his or her membership lapse, one is "grandfathered" in and need only reach the current requirements of 300 MPs.

Please tell anyone who is considering joining ACBL to do it before Jan.1.

The membership also includes a free subscription to the Western Conference Forum and the ACBL Bulletin - both very informative publications.

Winners of the August Unit game include:1/OA Bob Giragosian - Wafik Abdou; 2/A 1/B & C Libbie Stull - Mike Pemberton; Marj Robertson - Barbara Jones; Joan Bruce - Caroline Littlejohns; Gordon and Grace Tanner; Careen and Marty Hinds; George Hollingsworth - Rene Debarross; Ed Curtis - Julie Cesare; and Tom Rauterkus - Bob King.

Congratulations to two C pairs who came in first in all three strats in their direction in the open game. They are Mike Pemberton - George Hollingsworth and Mike Pemberton - Libbie Stull. Also to Carl Romo for becoming a new Club Master. Welcome to reinstated members Ron Miller and Aeson Velton. Teri A's lessons continue on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. The price is right because for $5.00 one can attend the lesson and play in the 12:30 game.

Be sure to wish Happy Birthday to Gert Prejean on Oct. 8; it will be her 93rd! One of her favorite bridge memories occurred years ago, when she desperately needed just .05 gold points to make Life Master ... and then earned more than 30 at a Palm Springs Regional!

Club Appreciation week is Sunday Oct.11 through Thurs., Oct. 16.

The next unit game is Saturday, Oct.16. For partners or further information please call Shirley Eide at 661 205-2439 or Tom Rauterkus at 661 663-7141.

Balboa

By Phil Pearl

prp75@socal.rr.com

The August unit game had 16 tables in play. The event leaders:

Strat A:

1 (Chris Larsen - Norman Woo)

2 (Michael Galante - Marcia Shepardson).

3 (Tom Adams - Ruth Ann Alpert).

4 (Alberto Feilhaber - Steven Love).

5 (Charles Messall - Al Martinez).

6 (Mahmoud Elguindy - Vicki Erickson).

Strat B:

1(Messall - Martinez).

2 (Stan Kosowski - Mei Yoost).

3 (Jerry Schreider - Diana Black).

4 (Susana Hegstrom - Howard Morton),

5 (Barbara Gilcrest - Marcia Vaughan).

6 (Vivian and William Boulos).

Strat C:

1 (Boulos - Boulos).

2 (Alice and Ted Nicholas).

Marilyn Kivel racked up a 75.67% at Jeanie's Park Newport game, August 11.

That is quite a game.

On the Washington scene Eileen Niesen and Mary Lou Hughes combined vacation and sightseeing in Washington and Baltimore with several days at the Nationals. They had a section top and were in the overalls in the Open Pairs, and a 2nd overall in a side game. Also in the points at the Nationals were Nola Simon, Lillian Richmond, Sydney Stephan, Betti Harris, Layne Onufer, Buddy Carls and Susan Powers.

I noticed in the July In-And-Out report that Dr. Ron Pennington had moved to Albuquerque.

Then, in mid-August, I saw him playing in our club games. He informed me that he had already moved back to Orange County.

In the May column, I included some statistical data on the distribution of members in masterpoint ranks in our unit. Here is some more statistical data to help you determine where you stand in the ACBL: Go to www.acbl.org/ and go to "My ACBL Masterpoints and more." Log in and Submit. Click on "Masterpoints, where do you stand?" This window gives you the information on where you stand in the ACBL regarding your masterpoint holding. For example, a member with 750 points is one of 4,549 members between 700-800. There are 37,381 members in this range and higher, and 124,130 below this range. This member is in the upper 76.86 percentile, with 23.14% of members below this range. (Data recorded from ACBL on 8/24/09).

Marian Mood has transferred to the Livermore Valley Unit, and I understand she is now living near children and grandchildren. Her husband, Alex, a long time member of the Balboa Unit and a retired Professor of Mathematics, passed away last year.

Advancements in Rank: Junior Master (Noll Gurwell, Kay Heaney, Thad Mikols). Club Master (George Farley, Regina Selvin, Lillian Singelyn). Sectional Master (Barbara Barnat, Jean Towgood). Regional Master (Virginia Lee Paul). NABC Master (Layne Onufer).

Bishop

By Lilla

As I write this, the summer is coming to an end as we go into Labor Day weekend and the Fair and festivities in the Sierras. Although many already know, this is the time for congratulations to Ron Smith. We were sorry to have him move to St George, but he has completed his study and passed his director’s exam. Congratulations, Ron! It’s always great to see another member willing to lead the duplicate bridge groups.

Our winners for this month were: August 3: 1st, Taylor and Busby, 2nd, Sheehan and Lohr, 3rd, Imboden and Greer, and 4th, Reeder and Mizrahi. On the 5th there was no game. On the 10th: Reeder and Mizrahi, Imboden and Farmer, Higginbotham and Busby; and on the 12th, Imboden and Hadeler, Taylor and Abbott, Reeder and Mizrahi, with a tie between Gilbert and Greer and Farmer and Knight. The 17th winners were Reeder and Mizrahi, Greer and Farmer, Crunk and Kittinger.

The 19th winners: Reeder and Mizrahi, Imboden and Hadeler, and Greer and Farmer. On the 24th: Hadeler and Farmer, Reeder and Mizrahi, Kittinger and Coleman, and Lohr and Sparks. 26th winners were Sheehan and Faint, Greer and Hadeler, Farmer and Knight; and on the 27th: Kittinger and Crunk, Reeder and Mizrahi, Farmer and Taylor. The 31st winners were Crunk and Kittinger, Greer and Gilbert, Higginbotham and Busby, and Reeder and Mizrahi. The unit game of the 9th was well attended with 5 ½ tables. In first place were Muth and Hobbs, 2nd Reeder and Mizrahi, 3rd Farmer and Larson, 4th Penny and John, and 5th Kittinger and Higginbotham. Well done, everyone.

It is not yet beginning to look like fall, but the fruit is ripe and there seems to be a change in the air, so it won’t be long until the leaves turn and start to fall and there will be another glorious time to live in the Sierras and take snapshots.

Dana Harbor

By Kathy Braeunig

The thrill of competition was alive at the Summer NABC held in Washington, D.C. Mark Itabashi came away with multiple victories and accumulated 69.32 points. William Thorp placed twice in Open Pairs and 2/3 in Swiss for a total of 17.96 points. Jane Dober placed 2nd with a KO team and 2/3 in Swiss earning a total of 16.31 points.

Our GNT Flight C (NLM) team of Judy Alvord, Bonnie Myers, Dae and Ron Leckie finished 3/4 in their KO bracket and earned a total of 5.37 points each.

Dana Harbor players had many other sizzling summer scores this month. Placing 1st at the San Diego Summer Sectional were John and Susan Kissinger and Alan and Debbie Gailfus in Flight A Swiss, and Steven Love - Mark Itabashi in Flight A Open Pairs. Mark Itabashi was top point winner earning a total of 23.27 points.

At the Phoenix Regional, Jim and Gale Senter had multiple wins bringing home 37.27 points each. Mark Itabashi - Steven Love placed 1st in an Open Pairs and had several other victories coming away with 23.32 points each. Pat Dolphin - Kathie Murtey won 1st place in a 299er Pairs.

Our Dana Harbor 299er Sectional was held August 29 and 30. Winning 1st in pairs were Jane Dadant - Andy Dadant and J. Robinson - Arthur Chasin. In morning Swiss, David Lievsay, Charles Cordaro, Dae Leckie and John Jonas won 1st in A. Sandy Busby, Lee Mequet, Rejane Larochelle and Micki Patenaude placed 1st in B and C. In afternoon Swiss, 1st in A and B went to Kristine Katz, Pat Dolphin, Mark Rehms and Eileen Garbutt. Placing 1st in C were Janice Reckinger, Betty Caress, Sheryl Caverly and Arlene Hamann.

Let’s give a shout out to all those who made our sectional a success. Special thanks go to Scott Campbell, director; Ann Cressman, tournament manager; Andy DeLeon and Jim Shapiro, assistant managers; Anne Rolbin, Partnerships, Carol Armstrong, who stepped in and caddied at the last minute on Saturday and also helped Ann Cressman with the food, and Zach Levine who caddied on Sunday, and to all participants and volunteers.

Many members from our unit placed 1st in their strats during STAC week August 24-30. They include Bob Wallin, Nancy DeAinza, Mark Rehms, Eileen Garbutt, Victoria Sunshine, Dollie Poulos, Jack and Sharon Rippy, Phillip and Susan Schreiber, Richard Lee, Dan Fontanilla, Maureen Morden, Jeanne Takahashi, Jim and Gale Senter, John and Susan Kissinger, Bill and Diane Velick, Roman Matusik, Jacob Weisberg, Hemant Bhatia, Calvin Hecht, Andy Chao, Pat Eggers, Dave and Judie Adams, Michael Cohen, Gina Royalty, Philip and Ruth Richter, and Mark Itabashi. Mark Itabashi was the top point winner with a total of 49.15 for the week.

Leading the pack of masterpoint winners for our open games in August were Jacob Weisberg, Andy DeLeon and Patricia Menefee. The top three spots for 299ers go to Linda Jonas, Jeff Rocklin and Dae Leckie. Jacob has been top dog for many months now. Who is going to rise to the challenge and unseat him?

Other noteworthy wins were Larry Sharp - Xiaoxue Walker placing 1st in A, and Jack and Sharon Rippy 1st in B at the August 16 unit game, and Dan Fontanilla - Kathleen Friesen scoring a 70% at a Friday 99er game.

New members are Donna and Souhail Toubia. Transfers into our unit are Alan Dirkin, Arlene Hamann, Steven Jackson, Michael Locke and Yann Shen. New rankings are Junior Master: Alexis Albers, Joyce Auslander, Cathryn DeYoung, Delene Hoff, Gail Lacorazza, Thomas Miller, Gina Royalty, Morton Rudin; Club Master: David Adams, Pearl Canin, Patricia Curtis, David Estes, Jeffrey Rocklin; Sectional Master: Dan Fontanilla; Regional Master: Rosalind Chasman; Bronze Life Master: Ana McLean.

Our heartfelt condolences go to the families of Jim Marsh, Dee Marsh, and Bert Scott, who passed away recently.

Odette Forbes is a very special member of our club who turned 95 years young on August 11. Thank you, Odette, for all the planning, shopping and cooking you did for the club when it first started.

Happy Birthday from all of us!

Coronado

By Jean Seager

When you compete against 995 pairs, placing in the top 25 in not easy. But Marian Sullivan and Jerry Pollack did just that in the Western Conference Tuesday afternoon STAC. With a 65.21 percent game, they were 5th in C, 9th in B and 21st in A. Jean and Bill Seager did well, too, placing 7th in C and 11th in B. To top it off, the Seagers placed 3rd in C, 6th in B and 11th in A in the 832-pair Thursday afternoon STAC.

Phil Akre and Alice Dudley breached the 70 percent mark with a 70.98 percent club game. It’s a great send-off for Alice, who is leaving Coronado to be with her Nebraska family for a few months.

At the San Diego Sectional, several players did well. Sally Naumann, playing with long-time partner Jackie Walker, placed third in B in the Open Pairs. Carol Brager and Sandy Belfer were third in a Knockout Teams match, and Carol teamed up with Stacy Langerman for a second in C and sixth in B in an Open Pairs competition. The Swiss team of Robert Shapley, Samuel Jordan, Elaine Chan and Tricia Lane were 1/2 in X.

Winners at the club level in Coronado included Bill and Eleanor Kipperman (twice) Marguerite Cook and Norma Lyerly (twice), Phil Akre and Al Schuster (twice), Bob and Ann Hallse, and Joan Berry and Linda Stewart. Also, winners were Phil Akre and Alice Dudley (in addition to their 70 percent game), Janet Simkins and Jerry Pollack, Sandy Belfer and Betty Thompson, Alice Dudley and Betty Birmingham, and Dorothy Buck and Jean Scripps. Also notable is the 61.54 percent game that earned intermediate / newcomers Pat and Les Rubenstein a second overall, along with a first in both B and C.

At the Eastlake Bridge Club, Tom Turner and Mike McGinity and Fred Nimtz and Betty Birmingham each won twice. Other winners included Donna Rafenstein and Richard Keplinger, John and Linda Dusharme, Letha Couch and Barbara Schafer, and Robert Shapley and Kathy Angione.

Thank you to Marguerite Cook and Florence Zahn for arranging the summer luncheon for the Tuesday club. The delicious and healthful food was beautifully served and much appreciated.

We loved the door prizes, too.

We note with sadness the death of Bernie Lafer, a sweet and courteous man who was both a Life Master and a model of decorum. Bernie preferred sitting North/South. As each East/West pair approached his table for a new round of bridge, he unfailingly greeted them by saying, “Welcome to our table.” In honor of Bernie, my favorite bridge partner often does the same. It’s a good way to remember a very nice man.

High Desert

By Steve Klein

The news from Big Bear this month is very sad. On August 10 we lost Dick Allio to cancer at the age of 78. Dick and his wife Bernie were regular partners at the Big Bear Bridge Club from its inception in 1992 until Bernie's passing in 2007, and Dick continued to play there afterwards with others. He was one of the nicest people anyone has ever met, and (I can say from personal experience) a great bridge partner. Dick's children held a memorial gathering Aug. 23 which was well attended by bridge club members, and many others. We thank them for the opportunity to remember Dick.

On a happier note: other August parties included a birthday dinner for Mary Ann Wotring on Aug. 5, one for Steve Klein on the 19th, and the annual Players Appreciation Lunch, held Aug. 26 at Terry Bessey's beautiful home in Fawnskin. As always, the game that afternoon was the biggest of the year for the Big Bear club, with 10 ½  tables. North/South winners were Jack Swigart and Jim Matthews from Big Bear; East/West winners were John Ruffo and Steven Koller from the Victorville-Silver Lakes area.

(In Big Bear, the Players Appreciation game and the Christmas party game are typically the only ones all year with enough tables for a Mitchell movement.)

Other winners for August in Big Bear games were Gerry Collier, Morton Fletcher, Christine Cook, Jean Kuchta, Eiko Miller, and Paula Smith.

Ace of Clubs leaders from Unit 516 as of Aug. 7: David Bloom of Apple Valley in the 0-5 category (26.4, skipping a whole category); Bonita Larsen of Apple Valley in 5-20 with 12.25; Jo Miro Drozdik of Apple Valley in 20-50 with 11.73; Dee Pasqua of Helendale in 50-100 with 13.21; Rose Erdelen of Helendale in 100-200 with 28.03; Steven Koller of Helendale in 200-300 with 41.16; Stan Gabriel of Victorville in 300-500 with 21.58; John Ruffo of Apple Valley in 500-1000 with 35.68; Clare Laljer of Desert Hot Springs in 1000-2500 with 28.85.

From Joe Wilson in Victorville: August saw the return of Gil Franklin to directing the Monday game. Welcome back, Gil!

As summer winds up this month, we've seen many of our players take vacations and cruises. We wish everyone a wonderful and safe trip!

Joe Wilson will be starting a beginning bridge class at Victor Valley College, Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. It will be held in Room 4 of Building 10. You may come at any time, no pre-registration required.

Congratulations to the winners of the August unit game, June Babbitt and Jo Ann Drozdik! Way to go, ladies! We also saw a great month by Joan Kinney and Charlotte Phillips, who won three club games this month! Congratulations to our other club winners in August: Fran Franklin, Gil Franklin, David Bloom, Bonnie Larsen, Wyn Martin, Marty Martin, Beth Hendrick, Elisabeth Tufo, Jerry Kinkade, Steve Koller, Pat Bridgers, David Johnson, Joe Wilson, Jane Pace, Stan Pace, Rosie Erdelen, and Jim Williams.

La Jolla/Beach

By Steve Johnson

Since the last Forum, the La Jolla/Beach Unit held elections for new officers for a two-year term. Congratulations to new officers Bob Walters (treasurer), Janet Ansfield (special events), B.J. Peterson (hospitality), Randy Fadem (membership/education) with Cass Donovan returning to the board (partnerships/caddies/awards). Rounding out the Board, Ron Ignelzi is our new unit president, Bill Grant continues as vice-president/club manager, Matthew Kidd has moved into the secretary/web master position, Steve Johnson is the new Forum reporter, and www.lajollabridge.com/texts, tee-shirts, and trophies. Unit members who donated time and energy to the project were: David Oakley, Bob Walters, Matthew Kidd, Ron Ignelzi and Alex Prairie, together with Maritha Pottenger of the San Diego Unit.

This is not the first time the unit has sponsored a high school to promote bridge to younger players. For the past six years Bill Grant has coordinated similar events sponsored by the Math Department at Chula Vista High School. Matthew Kidd has posted the complete article (lajollabridge.com/LJUnit/Education/LaJollaHigh2009.htm) to the unit web site. According to Bill, the students were very competitive and learned the penalty double especially fast. Kathy Angione also has an article at eastlakebridgeclub.com/ regarding the event.

Many of our members achieved new ACBL ranking milestones this month. Congratulations go to Maureen Wallace as a new Junior Master, Sheila Furst and Patricia Lester as a new Club Masters, Marti Echolz as a new Sectional Master, Ramin Radsan and Alex Prairie as new Regional Masters, Theresa Hayes as a new NABC Master, and Dr. Barbara Blake as our newest Life Master. We wish you all the best as you progress through the ACBL rankings and move onward and upward.

The August 9 unit game winners were Freda Anderson - Janet Ansfield, 1st overall in Flights A & B and Andrew Loh and Patricia Loh 1st overall in C. Second in A & B were George and Kathy Bessinger, with June and Otto Newman 2nd in C. August 23rd’s game winners were Greg Stander and Fani Hanson, 1st overall in all three flights, with Alan and Debbie Gailfus 2nd in A, Rich and Connie Unger 2nd in B & C. Congratulations to all the winners!

Sadly, two of our unit members - Patricia Miller and Bernie Lafer - recently passed away. Bernie, who played in games of all local San Diego units, was well known for his courtesy, and was always saying “Welcome to our Table” at every game he played. That thought is well worth remembering for all us: “Welcome to our Table!”

[Editor’s Note: Ed Layton lost his battle with cancer and passed on September 17. A Celebration of Life is being planned.

Lompoc

By Don Kerr

We have a number of winners this time. With four wins were: Barbara Holt and Skook Porter. With 3 wins: Joyce Gehlhaar. With two were Jo Gowenlock, Don Kerr, and Kay Roland. Then with 1 win were Malcolm Anderson, Trudy Balin, Ada Bakalar, David Bakalar, Richard Clark, Margaret Courtney, Sue Helmuth, Pat Hodges, Hope Howard, James Kelly, Sandra Lindquist, Myrna Mucci, Nelson Owens, Erika Paul, and Kathy Wall.

In addition to the winners, we have one new ACBL member, Myrna Mucci. Plus we have a transfer into our unit from North Dakota, Yvonne Mahoney. We also have one advancing member, Dick Clark, who became a new Regional Master.

Ridgecrest

By Tony Miller

I reported two months ago that Mary Carolyn Nielsen had lost her husband. In August one of her daughters suddenly passed away. It was not a good summer for her.

In the unit game, Greg Vernon and I managed to eke out a victory over Charlene Stephens and Margaret O'Neill. Sarah Carter and Yasuko Mullen, then Eileen Dietz and Charlie Wright were close behind.

We had a couple of big games in the August Great Western STAC tournaments. Unfortunately we couldn't muster five tables to compete with the majority of the field. Greg and I had a 78% game on Monday afternoon and Betty Doig and Sarah had a 71% game on Friday afternoon. Both of those games led the field in the Auxiliary Pairs section of the respective STACs. Craig Stump and Yasuko were runners up on Monday with Greg and I second on Friday. The Wednesday evening STAC was won by Yvonne Chilina and Craig over Jay and Mary Kay Bornfleth.

In one of the regular handicap games Greg and I had a 77% game and didn't win outright. We couldn't overcome the handicap for Nancy Brown and Mary Carolyn. It was the latter's first game after her daughter's death. The masterpoint leaders for the TGiF clubs were myself, Greg, Craig, Sarah, Jody Skaggs, Yasuko, Mary Stokes, Barbara Meggers, and Nancy. We only had one regular game in Wednesday's COM Bridge Club. It was won by Rob White and Craig over Esther Hart and Yasuko.

Palm Springs/
Coachella Valley

By Nancy Erickson

Congratulations go out to Mick Riccio’s recent graduating class! Once again Mick has assisted the unit in growing our membership by offering a very professional, interactive six week program for beginning bridge players.

Mick continues to offer a continuum of classes for beginning and intermediate bridge players. Contact him at 668-5835 or Mick@ elegancedesigns.com if you are interested.

Our novice players now have the opportunity to compete at two games especially designed for them. There is a new 0-49er game at the Private Clubhouse, PGA West on Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. Players should contact Jana McCormick, club director, at 832-2704 or NanaJana59@gmail.com for additional information.

A 0-99 game takes place at the Cathedral City Senior Center (The Community Center at Tierra del Sol) Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. Contact club director Bob McConnell at 760 324 - 8395 or rdmcconnell@dc.rr.com

Club director Frank Jurkovich has two evening games to serve players in the valley seeking a night game. Monday play in Palm Desert at the Atria Palm Desert at 6:00 p.m., and effective Wednesday, October 7 plan to play at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church at 6:00 p.m. Contact him at 760 346-328 or FrankJurkovich@hotmail.com

Although our unit roster initiative has been successful, it is not without a few glitches. Please remember to notify the unit secretary on any changes to your e-mail address. Contact Bev Hartin at 760 318-4266 or bevhartin@aol.com

Please note: the roster is for Unit 533 members to communicate with one another and the unit about bridge-related activities; please respect the privacy of the membership and use the list accordingly.

Unit 533 welcomes our new members Jean Gilchrist, Hal Gruen, Hugh Meeks and Allen Zimbleman, and congratulates Terry Cox on achieving the rank of Life Master, plus John Daniel, Kay Perkins and Michael Walker, who now are Bronze Life Masters.

John and Audrey Currie’s 73.06% game was the best of the best on Sunday, August 30, the final day of the Western Conference STAC. Sunday, October 4, is the unit GNT qualifier; we will also conduct an open game and a separate 299er section. The game will take place at Cathedral City Senior Center (The Community Center at Tierra del Sol) at 1:00 p.m., and a light lunch will precede the game.

As we move into high season, a number of players who have allergies have shared with me they are adversely impacted by fragrances when used to excess. Those players have requested I bring this to your attention.

That old saying ‘just a little dab will do ya’ might well save someone you like a possible two hour wait in a doctor’s office!

Riverside

By Les Moore

August, with its later summer heat surge, was a good time to enjoy the comfort of playing bridge in the cool atmosphere of the Riverside Bridge Club. Several pairs had games exceeding 70%. On Aug. 19, Marshall Miles and Bill Wilkes had a 77.18% game. Ann and Bill Hamann had a 73.3% game on Aug. 3, and Lavonne Morrison and Nancy Kulak had a 70.0% game on Aug. 13.

Norton Younglove, my bridge partner, will miss several weeks of bridge because of surgery on his knee. It is anticipated that he will be able to return to playing bridge during the month of September.

A big welcome to director Ken Olivier after his month’s sojourn in Yosemite.

The Riverside Memorial Sectional will be held October 30-November 1, and I hope you plan to attend and make it as big a success as last year’s event.

The Bridge Club extends deep sympathy to Bill Hamann in the loss of his wife Ann, who passed away on Sept. 3. She will be missed by her many friends at the club.

Au revoir, Ann.

Saddleback

By Bob Destino

This month our unit is pleased to say “Welcome!” to three new ACBL members: Jeanette Frumes, Hartley Kerns and Sharon Meyers. We're glad to have you with us.

We have several members who have reached new levels in the ACBL master ratings. New “Junior Masters.” Gaynor June Bertram, Beverly Brauer, Jim Brauer, Eleanor Fumanti, Mary Lemmon, Eleanor Starr and Celinda Yu. New Club Masters: Terry Baade, Cynthia Quinn and Beverly Talanian. Eddie Herskovitz has become a Sectional Master. Phil Blandin has reached Regional Master status. Richard Jerrells is now an NABC Master. Stan Schleider has achieved Silver Life Master ranking.

And topping off this month's new rankings is Eddie Rose, bridge teacher and author (his latest just released: Bridge - From A to Z), who has become our only Emerald Life Master.

Congratulations to all these players!

One way to move up the ladder of ACBL rankings is to keep improving your skills through bridge courses such as the one beginning October 12 at the Laguna Woods Bridge Club. Taught by Sybil Barzilay, "Bridge Knowledge - Series Five" will cover such topics as Jacoby Two Notrump, Texas Transfers, Splinter Bids, and several other conventions appropriate for intermediate and advanced players. Each session will include both a lecture and the play of pre-dealt practice hands.

To enroll or obtain detailed information, please contact Sybil at 949 472-8402.

Our August unit game saw another big turnout with three sections and 29 total tables. Winners included Philip Pearl - Marcia Vaughan, Lu and Stan Schleider, Gail Schneider - Lou Dubin, Jackie Jackson - Mary Scott, George Bartunek - Lou Applequist and Charlotte and Stephen Sturm, who dominated with a 68% game!

Line up your partners and plan to attend our upcoming unit games: October 11, November 8 (Veterans play free), and December 13 (Christmas party).

We'll see you there!

San Diego

By Vicki Creamer

September was “Super Sectional” month, with the results as follows: Friday’s Compact Knockout was won by team Ralph Baty - Sally Ishihara - Gail Dunham - Judith Newman, with second place going to Leslie Levine - Barbara Pierce - Marcia Holland - Sharon Forslund.

The Compact Consolation was won by Daniel and Mary Lou Denison - Lawrence Branton - Brenda Mason Carter, with second place going to Janice Joerger - Marilyn Kalabsa - Jackie Ives - Shay Andrews.

Winners of the Friday morning NLM Pairs were Miles Bowler - Paul Croft; #2, Francis Radford - David Neal; and #3, Lee Johnson - Layne Onufer. Stratified Open Pairs winners were Steve Love - Mark Itabashi; #2, David Walters - David Oakley; and #3, Joel Hoersch - John Strauch.

Afternoon NLM winners were Paul and Lynn Johnston; #2, Bruce and Barbara Hanson; and #3, Jean McGrath - Kippy Gambill. Afternoon Open Pairs was won by Ronald Kay - Mac Busby; #2, Nicholas Krall - M. Ali Mahdavi; and #3, Sandy Belfer - Lydia Sweet.

Saturday’s competition was just as tough. Winners of the morning Compact Knockouts were Ursula Kantor - Gene Summ - Paul Alesu - Pat Matsumoto; #2, Janice Joerger - Marilyn Kalabsa - Mike Munson - Lawrence Sherman. Consolation Compact was won by Belton Allen - Peter Zari - John Forrest - James Andrews; #2, Shay Andrews - Jackie Ives - Gerald Lollis - Robin Thompson. Morning NLM Pairs was won by Susan Ehrhardt - Michael Kohn; #2, Charles and Barbara Coffey; and #3, Paul Croft - Miles Bowler. NLM Afternoon winners were Paul and Lynn Johnston; #2, Evan Ziegler - Deborah Ives; and #3, Linda Iredale - Dan Howard.

Stratified Open Pairs morning winners were Francy Starr - Betty Cornelius; #2, Mark Itabashi - Barbara Lasky; and #3, Paul Lasky - Subba Ravipudi. Open Pairs afternoon winners were Ronald Kay - Judy Rimer; #2, Rick Roeder - Dayou Zhou; and #3, George and Kathee Bessinger.

Sunday Swiss Teams winners, 1st in B, Belton Allen - James Andrews - Peter Zari - John Forrest; #2, Pat Larin - Robert Englekirk - Martha Woodworth - Marianne Klayman, also first in C. Second in C went to Ralph Baty - Greg Stander - Andrew and Patricia Loh. First in D went to Alexander Prairie - Jennifer Prairie - Sebastian Holsclaw - Robert Walters; #2, Barb Holles - Stephanie Rake - Francis Radford - Nancy Kingman. Flight A winners were Alan and Debbie Gailfus - John and Susan Kissinger; #2, Roger Doughman - Michael Crawford - V. Jay and Linda Tipton. The Flight X was tied between Lynne O’Neill - Maritha Pottenger - William Grant - Pat Chapman and Robert Shapley - Sam Jordan - Elaine Chan - Patricia Lane.

Our Fifth Sunday Open Pairs winners were David Oakley - David Walters; #2, Gerald and Arlene Schaffner; #3, Sue Kane - George Soules. Our new 599er Pairs (yes, open to higher point count) was won by Rebecca Higgins - Jane Good; #2, Lori and Richard Morrow; and #3, Karen Dempsey - Joanne Gibson. Great month for 539!

Remember for outside games you can always check at adventuresinbridge.com or go to redwoodbridgeclub.com for their listings. Redwood has a Tuesday evening game at 7:00 with a lecture at 6:30, plus Thursday afternoon at 12:15 with a discussion of hands after the game.

Also, starting September 19 John McCright will be directing a Saturday evening game starting at 7:00.

This month your donated Bridge Bulletins were taken to Grossmont/Sharp in La Mesa. Keep recycling your Bulletins (at the back table at AIB next to the refrigerator) and feel free to take one with a sticker on it to your favorite space for others to learn about our great game.

Milestones: Junior Masters: Sharon Dennison, Albert Folkman, Kenneth Miller, George Scher, Linda Stewart, Eloise Thomas. Sectional Masters: Robert Ball, Joan Bilgore, Algelina Elkin, Joan Gross. Regional Masters: Robert Anuskiewicz, Anita Hammersley, Marcia Lane, Marc Matz, Raymond Sachs, Donald Smith. NABC Master: Beverly Stebbins. Life Master: Jacqueline Osborne. Bronze Life Masters: Joan Maden, Gene Summ. Silver Life Masters: Jennifer Gianera, Lynn Schwartz. Gold Life Master: Matthew Mallory.

Editor’s Note: Ed Layton lost his battle with cancer and passed on September 17. A Celebration of Life is being planned.]

San Diego North Coastal

By Iris Allyn

I am happy to report that we have six new members: Chrissy and Robert Fried, Joanne and John Singleton, Dorothy P. St. Amour, Johanna V. Zerboni. Transfers into our unit are: Sandy Kucha, Bruce and Rose Leyden, Greg Stander.

Welcome.

New Junior Masters: Patricia Prahm, Merle Tomer. New Club Masters: Jeffrey Parish, Isabella Pommier, Sylvia Sanderson. New Sectional Master: Martin Farfel. New Bronze Masters: Radha Sharma, Marie Thome. Congratulations! see that hard (play) work pays.

Our unit game was great, food terrific, people fabulous, and thank you for coming. Winners were: First in A - Carol Mathews - Rita Boskin. First in B & C (and 2nd in A)- Jeannette Proctor - David Nicol. Second in B - John and Judy McCaffrey. Second in C  - Robert Linder - Clair Lair. 299ers: First in A - Lawrence and Lee Erickson. Second in A -Giulio Ghiron - Nancy Wetteland-Read. First in B - Raymond and Wilma Wilhelm. First in C (and 2nd in B) - Raymond Gogolewski - Ronnie Bendheim.

Oceanside Tuesday Ida Burcham

We had our quarterly club championship this month so the top winners had a nice tidy sum for the month. Dennis Cleary topped the list with 4.83 points. Dr. Martin Felder and Mrs. Velma Felder, who are summering in our area to get away from Palm Desert, were second with 4.44 points; and Walter Malen was third with 4.08 points. You have to drop fifteen places to find a player that is not a Life Master on the Tuesday list of winners. 

Competition is really tough at Oceanside, so go for the thrill of the game.

Oceanside Monday Ida Burcham

We had five Mondays last month, but one of them was devoted to the Great Western STAC games. John and Judy McCaffrey came in fifth overall in the B strat against 593 tables. They earned 5.50 silver points. At our regular games Hanan Deeby and Bernard Figueiredo were first with 2.03 points. We had two charity games won by Clair Lair and Robber Linder for 5.50 points and Ken Slagle and Jerry Woodworth for 5.00 points. I might add that Ken Slagle and Jerry Woodworth had our first game in a long, long time that was over 70% with a 70.83 percent game.

Encinitas Thursday Paul Landrum

We had different names at the top of the masterpoint list this month, and all the new names belonged to women. Judy Litman was at the top of the list with 4.53 points. Jane Ann Felder was second with 3.64. Judy's almost regular Thursday partner is Jacquelyn (Jackie) Sollner. She came in third with 3.45 points. We only had four games this month, but the total at the bottom of the masterpoint list was 106.62. That's a lot of duplicate bridge.

Fallbrook Thursday Fran White

Leading masterpoint winner for Fallbrook’s Thursday game was Rima Sharron. Bernard Figueiredo was close behind in second place. Mary Beilitz, Tawny Lawrence and Janice Pond were the leaders in Flight B. Winners in the Summer STAC game were Rima Sharron - Lynn Martin N/S and Virginia Hoppe - Janice Pond E/W. Be sure to come for our club championship September 17.

We will be expecting you.

Solana Beach, Sunday Donna Wood

During August, the North County Bridge by the Sea Bridge Club held two Invitational games. Leading masterpoint winners were Dave Nicol, Jeanette Proctor, Lee Erickson, Dianne Sullivan, Ginger Calvert, Judy Dveris, Mary Stetson, Wootsie Stockton, Helen Galnick, and Carolyn Scerni. Games are held on the second and fourth Sunday of each month at the Esplanade Bridge Center. Reminder - if you wish to play at this game, you either need to be a member or get a member to sponsor you. Please e-mail Lee Erickson at lericks@adelphia.net if you need a sponsor. Don’t forget to check the web page at acbldistrict22.com/531/Lomas/info.html for the dates and times of scheduled games.

Solana Beach Donna Wood

During August, Solana Beach’s Esplanade Bridge Center held 33 games, including a Major-Minor Board-A-Match (B-A-M) charity game, which attracted 20(!) tables. Thanks to Mary Lou Denison for the wonderful food! And thanks to all who participated. Leading masterpoint winners for the B-A-M were: Kay Childs, Linda Gu, Rex and Sheila Latus, Herman Lin, Jim and Lynette Martin, and Dianne Sullivan. Congratulations to All! A special hats-off to Nick Krall and Ali Mahdavi for their 71.06% game on August 4! We’ll be hosting another Major-Minor BAM on Saturday evening, September 12, 6:00 p.m. for dinner, 6:30 for bridge. See our web site at acbldistrict22.com/531/esplanade/esplanade.html for our September calendar of events. Hope to see you soon!

Cardiff By The Sea, Monday Harvey Goldstein The past month saw our quarterly club championship game which attracted 22 tables and was won for the second time this year by Millie and John Carr, who had a magnificent game against some of the stiffest competition we have seen at Harvey’s Bridge. Players were heard to say they’d like to have whatever John and Millie are eating for breakfast before the next club championship game.

Winners were again plentiful at each of our Monday morning games with the top honors captured by Wayne Holm - Gene Katz twice out of five games. Our first place finishers also included Wootsie Stockton - Mary Stetson, Charlie Gilman - Leon Fisher (Charlie also won during the month twice with Al Feldman and once with Wayne Holm), Kay Childs - Sandy Kucha, Pat Stein - Nahid Mahdavi, Karen Perling - Connie Unger, Sheila Slayton - Paula Alexander, Jag Bhola - Harvey Schleifstein, Susie and Tom Boardman, Gloria and Jay Fernandes, Susie Anson - Meena Sethi, John Steen - Patricia Prahm and Arelene Navias - Helen Howard.

San Diego North County Inland

By Liz Nixon

Upcoming unit events in Unit 549 are the North American Pairs Final qualifier October 10 at North County Bridge Center. In addition the unit game will be held October 2 at NCBC as well. The last two unit games will be Nov. 21 and Dec. 26. Also, December 26 will be our annual holiday party. Watch this column for details and mark the dates! All unit games are held at North County Bridge Center, 2427 South Centre City Parkway, Escondido, 760 747-6092.

Audrey Grant, expert bridge teacher and lecturer is coming to Unit 549 again in 2010! Mark the dates, Feb. 10 and 11. Audrey will be doing two one-day workshops. The location will again be at Meadowlark Community Church in San Marcos.

Final report is in for our first ever July sectional and the results are a big Wow! - 309 tables reported in attendance over the three-day period. Unit 549’s Winter Sectional will be held Jan. 29-31, 2010 at First Presbyterian Church, Oceanside. Don’t miss this event. The food is always great!

Giant kudos to Rex and Sheila Latus for traveling all the way to the NABC in Washington, D.C. and scoring #1 in a two session event July 30.

Hey, Rex, now we are convinced you really do know what you are doing.

Members reaching new levels of achievement in Unit 549 in August are Club Master Barbara Watzke; new NABC Master Mary Ann Houston; New Bronze Life Master Lynn Wells; and Ta Dah! New Diamond Life Masters Tim Flaherty and Bettie Heldring. Congratulations to all!

New members welcomed to Unit 549 are Ruth Ensworth, Ayoub Jaracie, Joella Reinbold, Joe Varga, and Harry and Jackie Walter. Also joining Unit 549 are Jane Carlin, Susan Marr, Dr. John Connolly, Dorrie Cavanagh, Jeanne Dillon, Harvey Lindauer, Janice Perry, and Norman Schwartz.

Unit 549 welcomes you to our clubs and unit events.

Overall winners in Strat A at the Aug. 22 unit game were Alan and Debbie Gailfus, followed by Howard Katz and Doris Kubeisy, Jan Gallagher and Benita Nadler, Rex and Sheila Latus, Tim Flaherty and Kirk Kuhlman and George Blair and Peg Winkler.

 In the 299er section the big winners were Jaycey and Bonnie Humes, followed by a tie for 2/3 between the pair of David Goldfarb and Raymond Gogolewski and the pair of Oetta Vogelsang and Ann Mack. A tie for 4/5 went to Pam Thacker and Al Van Sinden, tied with Elizabeth Brekke and Amy Harkins. Congrats to all!

Go to sdbridge.com for unit events.

Mark the date for the next Perfect Swiss Game, October 17 at 12:30 p.m. at North County Bridge Center. This is a fun and exciting format. Try it, you’ll like it! Get your team together and call Lee to sign-up, 760 747-6092.

Mucho Mega Points games held at North County Bridge Center. Go to www.sdbridge.com to see the complete calendar of MegaPoint games at NCBC. The Monday night game is now averaging five tables. This game is a casual friendly game with all levels participating. Play Monday afternoon and Monday night and get 50% off the second game in the same day! Such a deal!

Over at Lake San Marcos Duplicate Bridge Club, the LSMDBC’s Charity games supported the 3-day Breast Cancer Walk, Voices for Children and and the San Marcos Senior Center. LSMDBC also participated in the Great Western STAC and had many top qualifiers: including August 17 - Dennis Cleary and John Sharron 14th in A, Kris and Debbie Subbarro 11th in B and Jim and Geri Seymour 7th in C. On Wednesday the 18th Joyce Kish and Jan Fisher were 6th in A and Minnie Williams and Jan Fisher were 5th in B. Friday, Aug. 20, Eileen Goss and Trisha Kell were 4th in C. Congratulations to all qualifiers. Job well done.

Top five MP winners for June were Rima Sharron, Magdalene Krish, Jean Holt, John and Judy McCaffrey and John Sharron, Way to Go Top Five!

The Lake San Marcos DBC hosts Open games on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., and Friday night at 6:30 p.m. For information call Jean at 760 734-4518 or Nina at 760 736-9386.

BobMar Bridge Center at Grandon reports our Sunday games have been friendly and good! Our top scorers for the month of August were: Eva Dawson and Margarite Carioba, Marcia Handelman and Bev Latham, Bob Sommer and Marcia Handelman, Rima and John Sharron, Barbara Pehlke and Sandy Fisher, Jo Smith and Toshi Yasutake and Magdalene Krish and Iona Bernard. Thanks to all for your patronage. Call Marcia Handelman at 760 918-2424 and let her know you want to play.

Did you know that you can get all of the latest Unit 549 news at www.sdbridge.com including the Unit 549 Calendar of Events, Unit Newsletter and game results?

Santa Barbara

By Judy Piper

The Santa Barbara Unit 542 has many writers who could create this column, but, alas, the duty has fallen to this reporter, not writer. We are indebted to the Moen - McCrackin and the Zurchowicz - Morris teams who have kept us afloat for all these years, and now it is my turn to contribute news on the happenings at the Santa Barbara Bridge Center.

Results from The Great Western STAC games at the S.B. Center: Tuesday evening Paul Murphy and Robert Muer scored 12th overall (7th in B) with a 64.81% game.

On Wednesday afternoon Fran Pangburn and Ann Staten had a 66.99% game which gave them 9th place overall. On Sunday Carl Michelet and Ralph Mocker tied for 3rd (67.59%) overall with Mark Bartusek and Rick Panter coming in 9th (65.28%).

An excellent percentage game was played Thursday night by Larry Klimko and Etty Yenni - 70.83%!

Shirk Trophy Games 1, 2, 3 will be held starting Tuesday, October 6, then Saturday the 31st. There will be a break for the Santa Barbara Sectional (Nov. 6-8), and the final trophy game will be Tuesday, Nov. 10. Get your partners scheduled for all these events.

It’s good to see Jackie Inskeep back playing at the Bridge Center after the loss of her husband, Jerry. Welcome back, Jackie!

Players are beginning to get used to the dealing machine hands - they make the STAC hands much less intimidating! Several players are happy not to have to ruin their manicures, and others are relieved about fewer arthritis flare-ups, since shuffling is no longer needed. The down-side of the machine is that we need volunteers to help make the hands. A team of two persons is perfect: an “operator” and a “stacker.” To be an operator you need few computer skills (similar skills needed to sending an e-mail); to be a stacker all you need to do is remove cards from the board, put the deck in a pile and stack that pile into the machine (not real brain work). With two workers, it takes about 20 minutes to set up the boards for each session.

Please volunteer to help!

Southern Gold Coast

By Sue Munday

The weather is cooling and there is silver in the crisp autumn air . . . silver points, that is. Surely you’ve booked your games for the Thousand Oaks Fall Sectional, October 23-25. There will be pairs games at 10:00 a.m., 2:30 & 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; Compact KO Teams games on Friday and Saturday; and a Strati-Flighted Swiss Teams game on Sunday. The Sunday card fees of $25 per team member include a full buffet spread.

Keep playing duplicate bridge and you not only play better (one hopes), but you also climb the ACBL ladder. Just ask these people: new Junior Master Valerie Hein, new Club Master Martha Terwilliger, and new Regional Master Lenore Coradi.

Congratulations, ladies!

Welcome new members Jan Snider of Thousand Oaks, and David and Nancy Hoffman of Oak Park. There have also been several transfers into our unit.

We bid welcome to Bradley Haas from Chicago, Susan Furchtenicht from San Luis Obispo, and Dolores and Duane Bland from Tacoma.

With the multitude of autumn tournaments, I expect to be reporting many column inches of results over the next couple of issues. Bring me your wins!

Ventura

By Evelyn Fox

There was a lot going on in our unit this summer. We would like to congratulate Joseph Gaynor and Kenneth Kidd on becoming new Life Masters. Way to go. We would also like to congratulate Dennis Charles on his marriage to Linda Pietrzak August 30.

We wish them much joy and happiness in their life together.

Buki Burke, who is a fairly new player, is proving to be a top competitor. She is 44th in the National Mini-McKenney masterpoint race, 0-5 points, 4th in District 22 and 1st in our unit. She is also 8th in the Ace of Clubs race in District 22, 0-5 points and 1st in Unit 547. We are very proud of her accomplishments!

We had one 70+% game this month and that belongs to Carolyn Berenson and Carol Koroknay. They had a very nice 71.88%. Other unit winners in August are: John Leming, Ronald Landsgraff, Arlene and Bob Broslow, Lucille Dunlap playing with her daughter, Jan, Fred Howell, Ginny Rockefeller, Beverly Bourne, Joe Conti, Annabelle Hurless, Nancy Wood, John Eliason, Gwen Wagner, Ilse Frank, Marie Offerman, Joan Glenn, Dick Zizic, Kent Jones, Kenneth Kidd, Marilyn Brett, Elinor Hood, Mary Anita Hill, Gary Morgan, Dagmar Ragnow, Mike Gaddis, Joan Forchione, Tee Downard, Maria Coulson, Helen Elardo, Hal Daniels, Tom Ciacio, John Funk, Don Kauppi, Molly Maurette, Maureen Moore, JoAnn Bowen, Jim Rupp, Ocki Krogfoss, Martine Bickmore, Martha Snyder, Betty Lashbrook, Irene Petroff, Dick Daskais, Barbara Clifford, Eugene Saxon, Bob Bradish, Anita Flood, Harry Nishi, Elinor Crawshaw, Katie Hunt, Ken Ellenberger, Ilona Smith and Carol Myers. Many of these had multiple wins.

Good playing!

The Great Western “Summer Fun” STAC games (although some players didn’t have as much fun as others) were held August 24-30. Winners in these games are: Ken Elleberger - Elinor Hood, Buki Burke - Kenneth Kidd, Joan and Leslie Curtis, Harry Nishi - Kitty Meck, Elinor Hood - Floyd Richards, Dick Daskais - Maurine Moore, Leah Harris - Annabelle Hurless, Bob Bradish - Eugene Saxon, Suzi Hutchinson - David Walton (2), Anita Flood - Nancy Wood, Alex Kolesnik - Jim Monday, Fred Howell - Loretta Cleary, Valerie and Alan Greenberg, Donna Schoeffler - Linda Brazele and Elinor Hood - Mary Anita Hill.

Scoring in the STAC games are: Ken Ellenberger - Elinor Hood, Floyd Richards - Elinor Hood, Suzi Hutchinson - David Walton (2), Bob Bradish - Eugene Saxon, Ken Ellenberger - Joseph Gaynor, Paula Reach - Raymond Kilius. Well done!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the Santa Barbara Fall Sectional November 6-8. Santa Barbara is lovely any time of the year. But then, so is Ventura!

Visalia

By Robbie Rouch

Huzzahs are in order for our newest Life Master, Susan Spears, and to Mike Florio, newly bronzed. Accolades also to Howard Arquette and Villa Vejvoda for breaking the 70% barrier. Look for their names on the front page of the Forum along with Warren Cederborg and Gerard Laquerriere.

We nearly kept up the July 10-table average, fielding 137 tables in 14 August outings. The Cederborgs again had the lion’s share of the 56 wins (8 and 7), but Bob Loudermilk ran a close 3rd with six. Robbie managed three, while Allyson Farrell, Donny Graham, Esther Perrotta, Maudmarie Calhoun, Paul Schommer, and Villa Vejvoda all won a pair. Visitors fared well as Mark Hanneman, all the way from Chicago, dropped by with partner Sue Stokes to share bear stories from the national parks while working us over. Verlee O’Neill and Ray April came down from the North Country and triumphed in a STAC game, overcoming the hometown movement, now known as the “By-board shuffle.”

Also earning Forum mention with victories were Alice Pickens, Avis Morse, Andi Sigmund, Bill and Shirley Martin, Dale and Susan Hankins, Kay Link, Larry Cavanaugh, Mike and Mary Florio, Mike Frank, Nancy Crowe, and Susan Spears.

On the tournament trail, Bob Iorio, Bonnie Chan, Lisa Darcy, Elaine Smith, Carol Carr, and Pam Woods took six of the top 16 places (out of 59 point earners) at the Fresno 299er Sectional. Pam and Carol’s total was swelled by a first place finish.

As I pen this article, several of our members are in the thick of the Santa Clara Regional competition, but my deadline necessitates publishing their successes a month hence.