TOM BELL writes: My wife, Cindy, and I moved to Austin from Atlanta about two years ago - chasing our grandchildren. As part of our establishing a new community here, we have rediscovered bridge! We were avid duplicate players many years ago before starting our family, but had not played for 30 years. We are now regulars at the Tuesday and Wednesday limited games and thoroughly enjoy the new friends we have made. It would be my pleasure to give back to the BCA by serving on the Unit 207 Board.

PAT BERRY writes: I was raised and educated in Austin. I married, moved to Los Angeles, had 2 children and a lifetime of experiences.  10 years ago, I moved back to Austin. The first thing I did was to find out if Austin had a bridge community and boy did it ever.  I never thought I would ever become a life master, but it didn’t take long to catch the bug in this highly competitive yet encouraging environment. I made wonderful new friends, took lots of classes, played lots of bridge and realized that I had become part of a great bridge community. I became a Mentor, chaired the Mentor Program for 3 years, have been Partnership Chairman for several tournaments – constructed a Partnership Board for posting partnership requests, obtained my Teacher Certification from the ACBL and miracle of miracles earned my silver life master. It would be a privilege and an honor to serve on Unit 207’s Board of Directors, a board that works so hard to keep this great game of bridge growing in Austin.

RAY BORREGO writes: As a supporter of this Unit for more than 30 years, I have continually volunteered with hospitality, mentoring, and partnerships, supporting classes and special events, as well as supporting the welfare of the Unit’s clubs. I am a Certified Bridge Teacher. With 20 years experience in restaurant management and 20 years in quality improvement for high tech firms, I bring organizational and leadership skills to the Unit Board. As Director of Education of a medium-sized church for several years and a board officer for a non-profit organization for more than 20 years, I have extensive experience in volunteerism. As your Unit Board Member, you may rest assured, I shall serve you well.

BARBARA CLEMENTS writes: Like many of you, I learned the basics of bridge from my mother and grandmother. With the help of Unit and BCA lectures and my various partners, including my husband, Rick, I continue to learn and enjoy playing bridge. I retired a couple of years ago after a long and varied career in education research, testing, and data collection/usage, working primarily with state education agencies. After I retired, I decided it was time to get back into duplicate bridge. Rick and I found a home at the BCA, and I am happy to find ways to help the Unit build our membership and meet the needs of our members. I’ve been tapped to help with our Regional and I’m serving as a mentor, as well as doing a bulletin board. I would be honored to serve on the Unit board.

SANDY POTTS writes: Meeting new people and solving bridge problems are passions of mine! Staying involved is a way to give back to this game that I love! Bridge introduced me to new friends while traveling to a variety of tournaments. I’ve taught bridge for several years and am an ACBL accredited teacher/director. Co-chairing two sectionals was an “eye opener” to much of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into any event! Writing the Scorecard for this past year has enabled me to support the variety of happenings within our wonderful bridge community. It’s helped me share the accolades of many advancing players in our area and it’s been a pleasure. I’ve served the Unit as Vice-President, Secretary, GNT/NAP Coordinator, Regional Partnership Chair, Mentor-Mentee Coordinator. If re-elected I will continue to promote cooperation between the Unit and the various clubs in our area. I will advocate that the Board continue to provide “the little extra” for our membership. Watching bridge folks learn and grow is fun, and I’d like to continue my service.

DEAN TRUAIR writes: I lived in Houston for 24 years. I got a degree in math with minors in psychology and chemistry. I worked at NASA doing software programming on the Apollo and Shuttle Programs. I then worked on control systems in Saudi Arabia for 15 years. My wife and 3 kids (2 sons and 1 daughter) enjoyed the travels around the world. We moved to Austin in 1995. We have 5 grandkids, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. They all keep us busy and give pleasure. I have mentored several BCA members and enjoy giving any help or information I can.