Farewell and Happy Holidays! December 2019

I started my first message to the District with “It’s hard to believe that I’ve completed my two years as Vice President and the start of my term as President has arrived” and here we are two years later! I will admit that I was terrified to take the reins from Bob Bertoni in January of 2018. I quickly found that all I had to do was listen, be responsive and care.

We at District 25 do not sit still…

Our Schedules – Holy Cow

Once we addressed the issue of players with 0-750 MPs, we turned our attention to those that have graduated from the Gold Rush. With the introduction of the Mid-Flight 0-2500 events, many of these players came back. But, like everything else, it’s never quite enough. Our outstanding and innovative Director in Charge (Peter Marcus) and I/N Guru (Sue Miguel) had yet another vision after taking advantage of a loophole left by the ACBL Board. The result of that became the KiKO knockout. This event revolutionized how a knockout can be run and provided a very happy place for players in this under 2500 MP category. We found that the players with less than 100 MP now have a new appreciation of knockouts – an event they had NEVER chanced to play in. Did I mention loophole? Unfortunately, the ACBL is trying to close that loophole. However, your District is fighting in every way possible to keep the KiKO or run it as close to the original format as possible. More will follow on this soon.

Our Venues

We have been able to maintain consistent locations for our Regionals for some time. It has become difficult to find quality hotels that offer a reasonable rate and have the amount of ballroom/playing space we require. We can no longer accept the substandard quality of some of our current hotels. Beginning in 2021 we will be announcing some new locations. More information on that will follow over the next several months.

What’s Coming Up

Our next Regional will be held in Cromwell, CT from February 11-16 at the Red Lion Hotel. We will hold the KiKO there and a Pro-Am Game Saturday evening. The Pro-Am is a fun evening of casual bridge and helping newer or inexperienced players is time well spent. The 2^nd Annual Non-Life Master Gold Mine will be held in Sturbridge from April 15-19. The Senior Regional will be moving from Falmouth to Hyannis and is scheduled April 29-May 3. The GNT’s for Open, A and B will also be held at that location.

Join Us

I am very proud to be a member of the Board of District 25. We are blessed with hard working, intelligent members that really care about providing the best bridge for all players. When you are a member of the Board or a District Committee, you have a wonderful opportunity to relay important information to your clubs and unit and in return give feedback to the Board. This is how we grow and improve – generating input from all sources. Think about coming on Board (pun intended!).

Next

In January, Jack Mahoney will take over as President and Curtis Barton as his Vice President while Joe Brouillard and Carolyn Weiser will continue as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. We are blessed to have these officers looking out for us and I am confident that they will continue to do exceptional work for you.

It has been my honor and my pleasure to have served as President of this District. Thank you to all who helped me along the way.

Lois DeBlois, Outgoing President, District 25