Dear Members of the Indianapolis Bridge Center (IBC):
Serving on the Indianapolis Bridge Center’s Board of Directors is a challenging but deeply rewarding experience.
The reward comes from seeing our club thrive under the excellent leadership of our staff—Sharon, Matt, and John—and our dedicated game directors. Our days are almost always filled with multiple games that run smoothly, and the satisfaction of our members is a testament to the legacy of excellence established by our founder, the legendary Easley Blackwood.
The main challenge is ensuring the club’s financial health. We rely on three primary sources of income: annual membership fees, game fees, and donations. While we are all facing rising costs, we’ve been fortunate to see an increase in game participation. In fact, we are more than $10,000 ahead of our pace from 2024 at the halfway point of our fiscal year, which is incredibly encouraging since our budget is set to show a deficit until membership dues start coming in this fall.
To continue this positive trend, we encourage everyone to pay for their coffee, snacks, and water whenever possible. These small donations have a huge impact on our ability to maintain the club’s financial stability.
Monthly Recognition:
Our Player of the Month (POM) is Maureen Clerkin, and our Novice of the Month (NOM) is Gene Lemke.
Congratulations to them both!
Looking Ahead:
This Saturday (08/16): our Mixed Pairs game. It’s always a great time. Bring a side dish if you are able. 5:30pm to eat and with a start play time of 6:30pm.
Saturday, August 23 is the Blackwood Individual at 1pm. You don’t need a partner for this game. Each person gets to play with many different partners. It’s a fun way to honor our founder, Easley Blackwood. Signup in the hallway has started.
August 30 & 31 (Saturday and Sunday): ACBL Pop-Up games with 50% REDpoints.
The September calendar is coming out soon, so be sure to check it for our upcoming events! We’ll be hosting several Club Championship games as well as some special team games that will offer 5% GOLD points.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next Social on Friday, September 20. The theme is “Back to School,” and we can’t wait to see what the Social Committee has in store for us. We do know that Tony & Scott will be grilling!
Credit Cards and Weekly Newsletter
We’re excited to announce that the Indianapolis Bridge Center will begin accepting credit card payments starting September 10. Keep an eye on Joyce’s weekly newsletter for more details on this new payment option.
If you aren’t already, we highly recommend subscribing to Joyce’s weekly update. She works diligently to provide all the important information on upcoming events, including special games with extra points and other opportunities you won’t want to miss. Continued thanks to Joyce and those who help her for being so timely and informative.
Convention Cards
To help keep our games running smoothly, the Board and staff ask that you bring a convention card to every game. Having a card allows your opponents to quickly see the meaning of your bids without having to stop and ask, which keeps the game moving at a good pace.
If you are playing with a new partner, we suggest arriving early to fill out your cards together. Our staff is always happy to help if you need assistance with the process before the game rush begins.
Help Us Spread the Word!
The Communication and Marketing committee has created a new business card for the club, which you can pick up from the Director’s table. We encourage you to take some and help us spread the word about the Indianapolis Bridge Center! You can post them on community bulletin boards or hand them out to friends who might be interested in playing. There’s even a blank space on the back to write your contact information.
As always, the IBC board welcomes comments and questions.
We are here to serve you!
Larry N. Cohen