December 15, 2024
Dear Indianapolis Bridge Center (IBC) Members:
I have been away from IBC for two weeks with an awful cold, cough and sinus infection-nothing serious but frustrating and annoying. Hopefully all of you are well and enjoying the hectic but joyous holidays.
The November Player of the Month (POM) and the Novice of the Month (NOM) will be announced next week. Dates for their parties will be posted in January 2025.
Please read Joyce Pepple’s weekly email. It is the best resource for information regarding special games and activities at IBC. December is offering unusual and numerous/varied opportunities to earn extra gold and red points! Of course, the monthly calendar is also posted on our website and on bulletin boards at IBC. Kudos to John Nichols for continuing to do the calendar and his other duties while recovering from major surgery. Click here to view the December calendar.
Don’t forget to ring in the New Year at the IBC Party on Tuesday, December 31.. It is also a fundraiser for the Indiana Bridge Foundation, one of IBC’s major benefactors, providing grants to support our free education programs (best way to attract new members). Donations to IBF are tax deductible because it is a 501(c)(3). I will be in Iceland but am donating. If you cannot play that evening but would like to donate and get tax credit for 2024, you may give your check to Joyce Pepple, Gary Thomas, Pam Rhine or Sharon Austin.
Reminder: Larry Cohen will be posting copies of the 2025 budget on the bulletin boards at IBC. You will see that a balanced budget has been presented but expenses are not fixed so we need your continuing support to reach the projected balance. If you have any questions about it, please ask Larry or Nick Curott, board treasurer, as they – with management’s help – did most of the work developing it.
Speaking of budgets and hoping I am not sounding like a broken record, please pay your annual dues by December 31. That’s the first indicator of attaining the budget’s goals – having 400 paid members. The second indicator and the most critical income item is the number of F2F players. The budgeted goal is 1600 each month. Thanks to you, in November we had 1,726. That is 75 more than November 2023 but about 250 paying players behind the year to date for 2024. December is a month with many demands on your time and winter presenting health and driving challenges. I am a perfect example with my cold causing me to miss playing in nine games that I had scheduled. I am going to donate the same amount that I would have spent if I could have played as planned. If you have similar situations and can donate equal to the fees you would have paid if you played, I hope you will if you can. It would be greatly appreciated.
FYI, the new parts for damaged chairs have been ordered-a nice start for the new year.
Thank you for all you to help make IBC the best bridge center in the United Sates!
Andie Marshall, IBC Board President