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In Memory of Amaidas Makken

A long time member of BCoH, Amaidas passed away on March 24th. His obituary can be read here.

In Memory of Kathy Hughes

A long time member of Unit 174, Kathy passed away peacefully on March 12, 2025.
A Memorial Service honoring her life is to be held on April 9, 2025, in the Garden Room at Sugar Creek Country Club, Sugar Land, Texas. All are invited to greet the family for refreshments at 10:30 a.m. and the service will begin at 11:00 a.m.

District 16 Grand National Teams

District 16 GNT qualifiers and finals for flights A and C will be held at the Election Sectional April 5th and 6th. The Election Sectional is coming up soon - April 5, 6, and 7. The qualifiers and finals for Flights A and C will be held on April 5th and 6th right here in Houston at the Westchase Marriott. Be sure to get your teams together and participate! Winners receive a stipend from the District to help with expenses to attend the finals at the Philadelphia NABC this summer.

PLEASE NOTE: All teams must pre-register with Scott Nason at sdnason@sbcglobal.net no later than March 31 for A and C and by April 27 for Championship and B. You must supply the names of the players, ACBL numbers and the Flight in which you will compete. Card fees will be $60 ($15x4) per team per session.

Click here for more information.

Online Voting Ends March 31st!

It’s time to vote online for your newest Unit 174 board members! Online voting is open from March 5th – March 31st and is strongly encouraged. To get started click on the “Click to Vote” button on the right side of this page.

Member Rank Achievements

Congratulations to all our members who have earned new ranks!

Junior Master
Sally Bassler, Lecia Chaney, Emily Sparks

Club Master
Rita Armstrong, Elizabeth Burton-Flint, Harry Elliott, Frank Marino, Pamela Mock, Rona Simmons

Regional Master
Cherie Baer, Shangyou Nie

NABC Master
Greta Etnyre, Amy Hart, Gail Hoffman, Lesley Kellet, Anne Miraglia, Marie O'Neal, Rogie Peyton, Wei Xu

Advanced NABC Master
Rubin Chang, Sherry Deal, George McKinley, Richard Napientek

Life Master
James Bettis, Judith Britton, Joy Cowan, Mike Cowan, Robert Domsalla, Karen Parker, William Shepherd, Mary Ellen Vail

Bronze Life Master
James Bettis, Robert Dennis

Silver Life Master
James Cauble, Marcia Chambliss, Nancy Ferguson, Charlotte Johns, Betty Westbrook, Jane Yarian

Ruby Life Master
Susan Domsalla, Gary Winston, Shari Winston

Gold Life Master
Chloe Ella Fackenthall, Laura Jones, David Wicks

Sapphire Life Master
Ralph Herz, Linda McReynolds, Karen Tabak Nussbaum, Harry Selldin

Diamond Life Master
Nelson Brown Jr, Thomas Rush

Update on June 2025 Sectional

June 6, 7, and 8, (Friday, Saturday and Sunday,) are the dates for the Nearly Summer Sectional. The Board had attempted to secure a venue in the northern part of the Unit, but the costs were prohibitive and the Board has decided to return to the Shriners facility for this tournament. To address some issues and concerns about this location, the Board is securing a Security Officer to safeguard the parking lot during the tournament, and on Friday there will be a police officer directing traffic. Those taking a left-hand turn on Harwin will use the East exit with the assistance of the officer, while those taking a right-hand turn on Harwin will use the West exit. These measures will be very helpful in managing the congestion that may occur on Friday of the tournament. Tournament Chairs Karen Nussbaum and Gary Kerr are already working hard to make this an enjoyable and successful event. Mark your calendars and plan to attend!

Unit 174 Board Nominations and Board Election

The Nominating Committee has reported to the Board of Directors and the Board has approved the following individuals to run for the Unit 174 Board of Directors.

  • John Eric Watson, incumbent
  • Cindy Schaefer
  • Fred Gregory
  • Joe Quinn
  • Judy Whaling
  • Lisa Sommer

The members of Unit 174, whose participating clubs include Baytown, Bryan/College Station, Clear Lake, Conroe, Galveston, Houston, Kingwood, Lake Jackson, LaGrange, Livingston, Pasadena, Spring, Stafford, and Sugar Land, will have an opportunity to vote for three members of the Board of Directors April 4-5, 2025, during the Election Sectional at the Marriott Houston Westchase.

The three newly elected members will join Betty Starzec, Karen Nussbaum, Hallie “Peaches” Eades, Lesley Kellet, Gary Kerr and Brigitte Sandifer to complete the full nine-member Board. Betty Starzec, Chair of the Nominating Committee, urges you to vote, either in person, early online, or by absentee ballot. For a ballot to be counted, a member must vote for at least one candidate, which can include a write-in candidate. In person voting will take place one hour before each session of the tournament on Friday, and on Saturday until 10:00 AM.

Online voting will become available on March 5, 2025 and will end on March 31, 2025. There will be directions on the website, as well as a list of candidates with photographs and short bios.

The results of the election will be announced at the annual meeting which will take place between sessions on Saturday, April 5, 2025.

ABSENTEE VOTING PROCEDURES

Any member may vote by Absentee Ballot. To vote absentee, a member must contact the Election Judges by U.S. mail, e-mail, or telephone requesting an Official Ballot. If the voter is a member in good standing, an Official Ballot will be sent to the voter at the voter’s address of record, in a small unsealed envelope. Upon receiving the Official Ballot, the voter should complete the ballot, seal it inside the small envelope provided, and place the small sealed envelope inside another envelope addressed to the Election Judge. The back flap of the outside envelope must be signed by the voter. If no signature is provided, the ballot will not be counted. The Absentee Ballot must be postmarked no later than March 20, 2025 and must be received by the Election Judge no later than March 31, 2025 to be counted. The Election Judge is Paul Nimmons. Correspondence should be addressed to Paul Nimmons, Unit 174 Election Judge, 1108 Krist Dr Houston 77055 or paulnimmons@sbcglobal.net.

Reservation Link for the Electional Sectional

    Our April Election Sectional will be held at Marriott Westchase on April 4, 5, and 6, 2025. Our annual meeting will be at the lunch break on Saturday. For those of you who would prefer to stay at the hotel for this tournament, the Board has arranged a special rate of $129.00 per night at the Marriott. The reservation block closes on March 22, so get your reservations made!
  • Election Sectional (Westchase Marriott)

Help Navigating EDGAR

If EDGAR has accused you or one of your friends of online cheating, one of our local bridge experts has volunteered to help you understand the reports you received. If you find yourself in this position, contact Sally Wheeler at sd-wheeler@comcast.net for a confidential consultation.

Scammer Alert

It appears the scammers are active again! Please remember that no one will ever randomly email anyone to make purchases on behalf of the Unit or the board.
If you get such an email send it to your SPAM folder and alert Sarah Springer at sarahspringerbridge@gmail.com.

Online Event Calendar

Online events, including Regional-rated tournaments, will continue to be offered along with chances to win gold, silver, red and black masterpoints®. Click here for the Online Special Events. More details can be found at acbl.org .

Club News

Apple Duplicate Bridge Club

  • Face to face games are held every Monday and Friday at 11:30 am at the Tracy Gee Community Center. Please note that Apple no longer has any online (BBO) games. Click here for more information.

Bridge Academy of West Houston

  • The Bridge Academy of West Houston is located at Arabia Shrine Center, 10510 Harwin Dr., Houston, TX 77036. Invitational games are held on Thursdays at 10:30 am with both open and 299r games on Wednesdays at 10:30 am. There is a monthly Swiss and a FLM game on one Sunday (TBA) at 1:30 pm and a monthly Mentor/Mentee game usually on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:30 am. Cost is $7 for most games. Contact Joyce Ryan at joyceryanbridge@gmail.com or click here for the website .

Bridge Club of Houston

  • The Bridge Club of Houston is holding both face to face and online games. Click here for game schedules and further information.

Clear Lake Bridge Club

Cypress NW Duplicate Bridge Club

  • Cypress NW DBC is holding F2F bridge games on Tuesdays and Thursdays with sign-in starting at 11:00 am for a start time of
    11:30 am at the Meg Weekly Community Center (8440 Greenhouse Road, Cypress, Texas 77433). The fee is $6/pair. Proof of vaccination is required. If you have any questions please call Jim Warren at (832)851-4745.

Fort Bend Duplicate Bridge Club

  • Open games are held on Tuesdays 10:30 am at Arabia Shriner’s, 10510 Harwin Dr.,Houston, TX 77036 (Please arrive by 10:15 am). Please call if you will be late. Contact Eric Watson for questions at (832)287-9107.

Katy Duplicate Bridge Club

  • The games will be held on Wednesdays at Steve Radack Community Center located at 18650 Clay Rd, Houston, TX 77084. Check in starts at 11:00 am for the 11:30 am games. Proof of vaccination is required. If you have any questions please call Jim Warren at (832)851-4745.

Kingwood Duplicate Bridge Club

  • Wednesday and Thursday games start at 10:00 am at the Kingwood Community Center, 4102 Rustic Woods Drive, Kingwood, TX 77345. Entries are $2 and $3 for upgraded games. On Thursday mornings, Bill Riley will be giving a 40-45 minute presentation on various topics, conventions etc. starting at 9:00 am. A schedule of topics will be published periodically. Coffee is available. For information, contact Jim Simmons at (281)913-0441 or jrsimmons2102@gmail.com , or Bill Riley at (832)289-3833 or ichibanbill@yahoo.com , or the Kingwood Community Center (281)348-2570.

Lake Conroe Bridge Club

  • Lake Conroe is open for face to face games. Games are $5 and held every Friday at 10:30 am. COVID vaccination is required. For further info contact Penny Grassedonio at 832-361-4577 or czthdaypjg@gmail.com .

Lone Star Bridge Club

  • Lone Star Bridge Club hosts face to face games on Mondays at 11:45 am and Thursdays at 10:30 am. Games are $5 per person. Proof of COVID vaccination and masks are optional. Click here for more information.

Pebble Creek Duplicate Bridge Club

  • Face to face games are held on Wednesdays at 9:15 am. For further info contact Shirley Duble at shirleyduble@yahoo.com or (979)324-8420.

Star Duplicate Bridge Club

  • Games are on Mondays and Fridays at 9:15 am and $5 per person. You must have a partner. For more info, contact Richard Duble at richard.duble@yahoo.com or (979)324-8421.

Sugar Land Bridge

  • Games are on Tuesdays at 9:30 am at Lago Mariscos Restaurant, 2329 Hwy 6, Sugar Land, TX, 77478.
    For more info, contact Mariah Stopper at mariah.stopper@yahoo.com or (713)817-6899.