October Newsletter 2010
                                                             Fort Dodge Duplicate Bridge Club
 

      In the hospital is Rose Mary Schoon.  We wish her speedy good health.  A good sign is that she is
in the pediatrics ward (seriously) at Trinity.   Hopefully, we will see her soon again at the bridge table.
In October several new and returning players participated in our games.  Welcome back goes to Bev
Walker, Mina Jacobs,  Lois Udermann, and Betty Olson.  A special welcome goes to Joe Anderson,
a newcomer who played several times in the month.  We hope they continue their participation.
    
     The September meeting of the club's board of directors was a reorganization meeting.  The new
officers of the club are president:  Rich Bailie;  vice-president:  Lorie Spanjers; treasurer:  Larry Brobst
and secretary: Tony Lennon.  If you have any concerns about the club, you can bring them up with
these members or the other members of the board:  Virgie Andre, James Chesnutt, and Martha Bailie.
   
     There are many special games in October.  October is historically Club Appreciation Month for the
ACBL.  The club is able to hold four club appreciation games for its four games, one of which will be
a Swiss team event that pays partial gold points.  Gold points at the club level is rare.  You can identify
these games by viewing the October calendar events which is on the bulletin board at the playing roon.
At the last board meeting, it was decided to suspend the mentoring program for further evaluation and
determination of its value.   There will be two special games in October in which novice and less exper-
ienced players will have the opportunity to play with more experienced and seasoned players.  The
aforementioned Swiss team game on Monday night, October 25, will be a high/low team makeup.  You
will need to come with a partner and then the teams will be made up by matching the less experienced
with the more experienced partners.  On Friday night, October 29, there will be a special Halloween party
and game.  This too will be a club appreciation game.  In addition, it will be a draw-a-partner game in
which less experienced players will be partnered with more experienced players. You will certainly want
to mark these games on your bridge calendars.  All members of our club will want to participate.
    
     In addition to these special games, there will be an ACBL charity game on Friday,  October 8.   The
ACBL requires that every club hold a national charity game before a local charity game is held.  Our
local charity game will be the Christmas party/game in December.  This national charity game pays 
many more masterpoints for winners and placers.   Do not forget that our Monday and Friday night
games have a 6:30 p.m. starting time and the Tuesday night novice game starts at 6:00 p.m.
     
     Larry Brobst has a website in which all the results of our club's games are posted and, hopefully,
this newsletter and other club news will be posted.  The website address is:  www.lebjab.net.  If you
are on the internet you might want to visit this site.
    
      The leaves are beginning to turn  and fall, and many of our club members are itching to head south.
We hope that our players who stay and tolerate the Iowa winters will continue to play duplicate bridge
as often as possible.