October 2024

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Contact your District 4 board members.

PRESIDENT 

Betsy Cutler

betsy2955@gmail.com

VICE PRESIDENT 

Ala Hamilton-Day

alabridge@gmail.com

SECRETARY 

Bill Bauer 

william.baueriii@verizon.net

TREASURER

Pat Civale 

patcivale@gmail.com 

REGIONAL DIRECTOR 

Joann Glasson 

joannglasson@msn.com 

The leaves have just started to fall which means the Lancaster Regional is just around the corner. I think this is my favorite tournament of all – I earned my Life Master at this tournament in 2018! Spooky Nook is an amazing venue with not only great bridge but, for the adventurous among us, an indoor climbing wall and at least 12 basketball courts. This tournament offers Gold Rush, mid-flight and open pairs Monday through Saturday, 199er pairs Friday afternoon and Saturday morning plus bracketed teams every day – Sunday will be Dupli Swiss! There will be free lectures at 9 am Tuesday through Saturday, and great lunches every day.

There are many sectionals this month offering chances to warm up for the big event in Lancaster. October 19-20 offers silver point games in both Rochester and Wilkes Barre. October 25-27 brings fun in Allentown for more silver point opportunities. On October 14 a Non-Life Master sectional at King of Prussia will be open to our newer players.

Flight B NAP games will be held Sunday, October 6 at three locations – Elmira, NY, Harrisburg, PA and North Wales, PA. Pre-registration is required and is open to all players with fewer than 2500 MP. More information is available on the District 4 website.

The Flight A NAP event took place in Cherry Hill, NJ with 22 pairs participating.  Congrats to the winners Richard Popper and Zachary Madden. Flight C NAP games were held at 5 locations drawing 35 tables of our 0-500 Non-Life Master players.  Congratulations to the winners Contance Opfell and Sara Shelman.  

My thought for the month came from my NAP partner and I found it very true:

“Bridge is a game for risk takers, as every bid, and every card played by declarer or defender is a high risk/reward decision, which is why I love the game.”  

I agree with him wholeheartedly and am trying to take more risks every day.

Betsy

betsy2955@gmail.com

From the Regional Director 

This year the reorganization of the ACBL board was completed, reducing the number of board members from 25 to 13. As part of that reorganization, outside committees were formed to take over some of the jobs that were previously board responsibilities. Two of those committees that have been operating very successfully are the Competitions and Conventions Committee that is responsible for the NABC and national event schedules and conditions of contest, convention charts among other things, and the Masterpoint Committee, chaired by Rob Maier, that is responsible for all things masterpoints.

At the summer meetings in Toronto, the Competition and Conventions Committee brought a motion to the board that added a fourth flight in the North American Pairs and made both the number of flights and the masterpoint ranges the same for both the Grand National Teams and the North American Pairs events. The board approved this motion almost unanimously.

When the Advisory Council, an independent body, reviewed the motions that the board passed, they exercised their right to demand a reconsideration of this motion, requesting that a change be made to the 0-750 flight to allow only non-life masters to play.

The board listened to their arguments and reversed the original motion and then passed a new motion with the following flights for both GNT and NAP events.

Flight C: 0-750 Non-Life Master

Flight B: 0-3000 masterpoints

Flight A: 0-6000 masterpoints

Open:  Unlimited

As my colleague, David Lodge, quickly pointed out, this was an example of the success of the different sectors of the ACBL working together.



Make your plans to participate in these events this year. Lou Glasthal is running both events and you can direct any questions to him at glasthal@comcast.net.

Joann   

Regionals

Manheim, PA

October 28-November 3

Sectionals

King of Prussia, PA I/N

October 14

Rochester, NY

October 19-20

Wilkes-Barre, PA

October 19-20

Allentown, PA

October 25-27

Lyons, NY

November 9-10

D4 STaC

November 11-17

Camp Hill, PA I/N

November 22-24

Wilmington, DE

December 13-15

Camp Hill, PA I/N

December 27

District 4 NAP Finals

Flight B: October 6

North Wales, PA, Camp Hill PA, and West Elmira, NY

For the complete 2024 D4 calendar, click here.

The 4Spot features fantastic contributors on a regular rotation:

February, May, August, November:

For Novices Only

Larry's Learning Center

Another good one from Nick and his merry band. Read how they tackled this puzzle here.

Visit the MSC website to read next month's problem and submit your answers online here.

Get Ready for Philly - Summer 2025 NABC News

Calling All Volunteers!

Hi folks – We need a lot of volunteers to pull this off. Here is a list of committee chairs for the NABC being held in Philly in July 2025.

Tournament co-chairs             John Dickenson and Ala Hamilton-Day

Finance                                   Pat Civale

Registration                            Mary Miller and Lynn Ackerman

Partnership                              Dan Boye

Restaurant Guide                    Ellen Berkowitz and Robbee Perlman

Publicity                                  Susan Morse

Fundraising                             Mark Bolotin

Volunteers                               Cathy Strauss

Prizes                                      Lisa Mita

I/N Program                            Brendan and Linda O’Malley

If you are interested in pitching in to help these brave leaders, please drop an email to Cathy Strauss at cathy.strauss@gmail.com. Closer to the dates we will be in touch to discuss specific dates and roles!

John and Ala

RIP Meyer Kotkin

by Joann Glasson

It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I share the news of Meyer’s passing.

Meyer was a mensch. He was a devoted family man to his wife, Gretchen, and sons, Josh and Ethan. I can’t imagine how difficult his loss will be for them.

Meyer was a Grand Life Master who won two NABC events.

Dr. Meyer Kotkin was a brilliant statistician who volunteered his skills to the game of bridge. His understanding of tournament management came from his career as a statistician responsible for the staffing of the US Army.

Meyer became the tournament chair of the Philadelphia Regional in 2015 when it was slowly going downhill. Meyer worked tirelessly to rejuvenate the tournament. He put all his energy into his goal of rebranding and reinvigorating the Philadelphia Regional.  

Meyer’s theme was simple: the players come first and we need to give them a great experience. Meyer’s slogan was “if you feed them, they will come.”Meyer provided lunch and continental breakfast every day at the Philadelphia Regional. He created a social “bridge camp” for the players. The hospitality budget increased from about $6,000 in 2014 to more than $45,000 in 2019. Bob and I have attended regionals outside of D4 for decades and no other regional comes close to matching Meyer’s brand of hospitality. It has become the District 4 brand, as all regionals in District 4 have adopted the “Kotkin” model.

Meyer invented the “Dupli-Swiss” movement providing hand records for Swiss teams that is still run at District 4 tournaments. Players love getting hand records and Meyer’s creative invention solved that need as well as creating a very efficient movement.

We will always remember Meyer wearing his  “Chick Magnet” badge at every  tournament  – a sly form of “branding” that gave the tournaments a fun feel.  

Here’s a short list of Meyer’s contribution to the game of bridge: 

1. Meyer’s testimony, as the ACBL’s expert statistical witness, in the 2015 disciplinary matters was responsible for convicting Fantoni/Nunes and Schwartz/Fisher resulting in their life-time expulsion from ACBL events. 
2. Meyer served as President of Unit 141.
3. Meyer served as President of District 4.
4. Meyer was a member of numerous ACBL-wide committees on a whole host of issues including masterpoints and statistical analysis. 

There was never a time that I asked Meyer for help with anything for the ACBL that required his statistical skills that I didn’t get a detailed response by return mail.    

Meyer was intensely loyal to all his friends. He was a gift to us and the game of bridge and we will miss him every day.

Unit 112: Central New York

www.acblunit112.org 

Betty Youmans

readsausten@yahoo.com

Denise Slattery, Tournament Chair, invites you to the Rochester Sectional October 19-20. Sally Hill will start Saturday with a lesson, followed by Stratified Open Pairs and Stratified 749er /NLM Pairs. Sunday will feature Open Swiss Teams and Stratified 749er/NLM Pairs. Please plan to attend!  

The Oswego Bridge Association held a local sectional September 21-22. The tournament was held in remembrance of Norma DeAmbra, a Silver Life Master, teacher and wonderful friend who was still winning weekly games at age 97. Many thanks to Michael Nupuf, Tournament Chair, Barbara Zukovsky, Partnership Chair, all who assisted with this event, and the participants.    

Unit 112 Congratulates its Advancing Players

Junior Master

Fairfax Gouldin

Club Masters

Roger Tinsley

Yi Xu

NABC Master

Nandini Joshi

Advanced NABC Master

Laura Lorio

Life Masters

Debbie Carpenter

Colleen Kallio

Bronze Life Master

Debbie Carpenter

Silver Life Master

Patricia Stadelmaier

Gold Life Master

Michael Carney

Unit 120: Northeastern Pennsylvania 

Doreese Torrey

doreeset@gmail.com

Hello Unit 120!! Starting with August 2024 recognition since there was no publication last month:

Life and Bronze Life Master

Peggy O'Keeffe

NABC Master

Paul Ricker

Club Master

Arsenio Velez

September 2024 also has some notable recognition:

NABC Master

Kenneth W Lloyd

Sectional Masters

Barbara M Herkner

Barbara Pulver

Gary Stack

Junior Masters

Patty Lawrence

Rebecca Vosburg

WOW!  Lets give them all a virtual standing ovation!!  Congratulations!!

Our Fall Sectional Tournament will be held at the Holiday Inn Wilkes-Barre, PA October 19-20. The Holiday Inn is located at 600 Wildflowers Drive. Flyer here.

Hope to see you all there!!

Unit 121: Berks Montgomery 

www.unit121bridge.com

Bill Buskirk

Buskirk944@msn.com

Congratulations to Sandy Deeds and Bill Sedlis on a FANTASTIC 77.08% game.

On September 17, with 24 boards in play, they scored a top board on 6 of the 24 boards, and a shared top on 8 other boards. We can't wait to see your names in the BIG GAMES column in an upcoming Bridge Bulletin. 

Happy Halloween!

New Rank Advancements Congratulations!

Regional Master

Vivian Kane

Unit 133 Fall Sectional

October 25, 26 & 27, 2024 

Location:

Lehigh Valley Active Life

1633 West Elm St. 

Allentown PA

Schedule:

Friday, October 25 & Saturday, October 26

10am: Open and 0-750 pairs

2:30pm: Open and 0-750 pairs

Sunday, October 27 

10am: Open and 0-750 2 session Swiss Teams (play through/lunch break)

Fee: $12 per session per person (does not include lunch), payable by credit card at the door. 

Lunch: $10

For more information about pre-purchasing lunch and the choices, please contact Lois Fuini at lafuini@yahoo.com or our website at www.bridgewebs.com/lvbaunit133. 

Saturday Special - FREE - 10:30am - 0-20 game (18 hands)

Annual Meeting and Holiday Party

Location:

Brookside Country Club

901 Willow Lane

Macungie, PA

Schedule: 

Saturday November 9, 2024 

12:00pm: Social and Cash Bar 

12:30pm: Dinner and Meeting 

2:00pm Bridge Games - Open, 0-750 & 0-200, attendance permitting

Fee: $30 for Unit 133 members, $45 for non-members (due by October 26)

How do I make a reservation?

1. Mail checks (payable to LVBA) and registration form (one per team) to:

Betsy Cutler

1383 Deerfield Drive

Allentown PA 18104

2. Pay by cash or check (payable to LVBA) at club games. Registration forms are available at club games or on our website. 

Team Game

The team game scheduled for Friday September 13 was a huge success! This handicapped event allowed players to come as a team or as a pair looking for teammates. Thanks to everyone who played in this new event and everyone who helped organize the game. We will certainly use this format again. 

Winners:

Sylvia Edmonds & Lois Fuini 

Judy Matalavage & Alexis Peffer 

Saucon Valley Country Club Game

We are sorry to report September 19 was the last game at Saucon Valley Country Club. We want to thank Sylvia Hand, Director, for all her hours of service to Unit 133 and wish her well in her new endeavors in Virginia. She will be closer to family to support her in her new initiatives.

Good Luck Sylvia!

Elections for the Unit 141 Board are scheduled to take place at the Sectional at Bala Golf Club on January 3. The Nominating Committee of the Unit Board will submit a list of PCBA members it chooses to nominate for Board positions. In the event the number of nominees are equal to or less than the number of positions to be filled, the Board may dispense with requiring an election and declare the nominees elected. Any PCBA member may submit a nominating petition for themselves that is signed by fifty or more PCBA members in good standing at least thirty days in advance of the election. The nominating petition must be filed with the Unit Secretary, Jeff Rohrbeck, no later than December 3, 2024. Jeff Rohrbeck can be reached at jeff.rohrbeck@verizon.net.

A warm welcome to our newest PCBA members! 

Catherine Arthey

Sullivan Augustine

Linda Caplin

James Crowley

Virginia Gormley

Philip Pearlstein

Billie Stein

Congratulations to our members who achieved a new rank!

Junior Masters

Charles Bruton

Karen Hall

Constantine Kostopoulos

Cathy Mast

Lisa Ravetz

Jeanne Vollmer

Club Masters

Arnold Freedman

Linda Levitt

Linda McGrath

Sheila Ortega

Rebecca Wagner

Sectional Masters

Jack Carballo

Laura Di Virgilio

Spencer Field

Susan Shaffer

Regional Master

Charles Rudolph

NABC Masters

Andrew Harris

Stuart Scherr

Advanced NABC Master

Stephen McReynolds

Life Master

Anne Pelak

Bronze Life Masters

Lynn  Dealy

Ilene Garlin

Silver Life Masters

Kay Garrity

Richard Patterson

Eileen Shelly

Ruby Life Masters

Maureen McLaughlin

Pat Shoesmith

Gold Life Master

Frank Morgan

Diamond Life Master

Sheldon Per

Unit 168: Central Pennsylvania 

Ben Hawn 

bwhawn@bellsouth.net

Unit 190: Delaware 

www.unit190.org

Paula Varrassi

pvarrassi@gmail.com

Delaware Clubs

The Bridge Studio of Delaware, Wilmington

Harold Jordon

302-479-5431

club@bridge-studio.org

MOT, Middletown

Cheryl Shields

302-602-1638

c.shields@mehrs.com

Monday Morning Bridge Club

Friday Nooners

Dover

Clare O’Brien

410-310-0549

Clare758@outlook.com

Shore Bridge

Lewes

Anna DeLapo

302-236-0346

Anna7nt@gmail.com

Shuffles2

Ocean View Presbyterian Church

Thursday @ 12:30

215-817-2465

Shuffles2023@gmail.com

MOVING ON UP

Club Master

John Stevens

Sectional Master

Lianger Gong

NABC Master

Louise Weidner

Regional Masters

Jeanmarie Leonard

Jacqueline Keen

Ruby Life Master

Karin Schwenk

Sapphire Life Master

Paul Amer

THE WELCOME MAT

New Transferred Members

Dorothy Collins

Morgan Schreffler

Link to the unit website

Unit 217: Susquehanna 

Jim McKeown

jcm751@comcast.net

Congratulations to our new Regional Master, Marian Garcia.

Please keep our sectional in Boalsburg May 30 to June 1, 2025 in mind.

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4Spot | October 2024 | Editor: Susan Morse