The Kibitzer

President’s Message

Under One Roof Again!!!

April 27 is a great day for bridge on Hilton Head Island.  At our annual meeting on Feb. 2, the membership clearly voted for playing all games under the same roof.  Our board accepted the challenge and today, only 84 days after the mandate, we are opening a new Bridge Club at the Port Royal shopping center.  This is truly a magnificent achievement by a lot of dedicated association members.  We all owe a huge collective “thank you” to Peter Seery and Arlene Arellano for their tireless efforts to get our new club open.  We would not be here today without their dogged determination and endless optimism.

On March 22 we announced plans for our Stakeholder fund raising program and asked for membership assistance in making the capital improvements necessary to open this club.  The membership response has been fantastic; to date we have received over $15,000 towards our goal in cash and material gifts.  This support and generosity has allowed us to open the club doors nearly debt free.  Give yourselves a big hug.

 We are embarking on a new adventure for bridge on Hilton Head.  We are in total control of our own destiny and can make this Bridge Club simply the best.  ACBL has established criteria for the evaluation of Bridge Club quality.  The HHIBA board has established the goal of becoming a 3-star club in our first year.  We will keep you posted on our progress.

 As all of you are aware, we are going to operate as a not-for-profit bridge club.  This will require some adjustment in our collective thinking as we march toward becoming a 3-star club.  We will be dependent on members volunteering to do

jobs that will make this club a fun place to be.  No one will make big money; all excess income will be reinvested in making the club better for our membership.  We currently are projecting that it will take about a year to clear up all the financial obligations associated with taking on this club ownership role.  Once we have our feet on solid financial ground and our reserves are adequate for our future needs, we will take a hard look at reducing table fees.

 We have ongoing plans and actions to restore our membership community to full health: offering more games, offering a wider variety of games (board-a-match, KO’s, barometer games, etc.), and providing many opportunities for members to become involved (tournaments, teaching, volunteering, training for advanced players, sponsoring Easybridge, and supporting members who want to become directors).

 Welcome to “our” new club.  Have fun here.  Enjoy the fellowship of our supportive and caring members.  Join in the adventure and help us become the best bridge-playing destination in all of South Carolina.  Thanks for your faith in us. 

HHI Bridge Club Schedule

Monday 10 a.m.—open pairs (Gloria Freer)

Monday 7 p.m.—novice pairs (Frank Deakin)

Tuesday 1 p.m.—novice pairs (Frank Deakin)

Tuesday 7 p.m.—Swiss teams (Arlene Arellano)

Wednesday 1p.m.—open pairs (Doris Caudy)

Wednesday 7p.m.—open/novice pairs (Fred Ferguson)

Thursday 10 a.m.—open pairs (Gloria Freer)

Friday l p.m.—open pairs (Craig Gibbons)

Friday night—(1^st or 2^nd)—(Fred Ferguson)

Saturday 1 p.m.—open pairs (Arlene Arellano)

Volunteer Update

Nancy Burke has volunteered to be the club librarian; she is requesting that members who have bridge books or CDs that they are no longer using and wish to donate to the club give her a call.  She is also working on a computer learning station to be set up in the new club.

Jane Hunt will be the club historian; Sherron Nesbitt, beverage coordinator; Joann Buckingham, bridge supply coordinator; and Barbara Gregory, bath/kitchen supply coordinator.  We are looking for someone to volunteer to take care of the club’s indoor plants.

Message from the Treasurer

The 2003 Directories have been distributed. Since we did not have a central point to distribute the directories, more than half of them were mailed.  Please call Cliff Rhein (838-9780) if you did not get a copy.

Also there were a few errors in the new book, so if you need something changed, call Cliff.  Our intention is to publish a short list of changes; that list will be available at the new Bridge Club.

GNT update

Two HHI teams qualified to play in the District GNT in Morganton, NC on May 3 and 4.  The team of Don Buchanan, Karen Ricker, Lee Sturm, and Ray Richardson qualified in a very tough B strata, placing second in the competition.

The team of Fred Ferguson, Marty Nathan, Christel Kronenberg and Kathie Walsh won the C strata competition, winning 113 out of 140 victory points.

Gatlinburg Winners

Hilton Head high scorers at the Gatlinburg Regional tournament in April were Paul Lewis, Gary Donner, Anne Hoffman, Donna Brinkley, Lowry Miller, Marvin Shatz, Claire and Ed Pollock, John and Barbara Kiebler, Morry Neiman, James Collins, Frank Deakin, Rita Donahue, Judy Eberle, Clara Rennicks, Harriet Greenebaum, Carol Walters and Polly Harshbarger.

Unit Game

Fred Ferguson and Marty Nathan ran a successful Unit Game in April at the Bridge Center.  Carol Wilson and Duane Engelhardt were first overall.  Other top scorers were Buzz Burnham, George Moss, John and

Lynn DeZeeuw, Karen and Mike Ray, Alan and Carol Keller, Barbara Gregory, and Arlene Arellano.

Fred plans to host once-a-month games on Fridays at the new club, either the first or second Friday of the month.  Games will begin at 6 p.m.; players are asked to bring light snacks. His first game will be June 6.

Hilton Head NLM Results

Association members who scored well at the NLM tournament in March were Philip Longacre, Jim Callen, Julia Walton, Harriet Greenebaum, Clara Rennicks, Richard McGlaun, Jim and Ginny Wigginton, Rudy Mueller, Judy Eberly, Zoe Vecchione, Libby and Peter Seery, John and Lynn DeZeeuw, and Shirley Wright.

Improve Your Bridge

Have you ever stripped and end-played?  Have you squeezed someone lately?  Does Cappelletti sound like an Italian hat-maker?

Then come along to a new set of bridge lessons starting on Monday, May 12 at the new Bridge Club from 7 to 10 p.m.

Other topics include new minor forcing, negative doubles, balancing doubles, unusual no-trump, Michaels, when to sacrifice, psyching….

Each session consists of a half hour lesson, followed by a fully sanctioned friendly duplicate game.  The cost of each session is $6.00 and partners are guaranteed.  Each week is an independent lesson, so come and go as you please.  Call Frank Deakin for more information (342-2996) or e-mail him at deakinf@aol.com.

Saturday Morning Workshops

Frank also will continue his Saturday morning workshops, beginning May 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon.  The cost is $10.00. Subjects include Rule of 11, May 3; Getting to game, May 10; Cue bidding, May 17; and Balancing, May 24.