27- Mar 2022 Board Update and Appointments

Let me tell you a tale of Route 66 Bridge.  Once upon a time, actually not that long ago….

A little over three years ago, in the fall of 2019, Greg and Rita Burton announced they were hanging up their BridgeMates after having run Bridge Studio of Tulsa for several years.  With the prospect of face-to-face bridge being over at the end of the year, a number of people got together with the idea of continuing club games in Tulsa.  In the beginning, a board of directors was formed consisting of Phil Wilner, Mary Heinking, Ron Crowell and Carol Gammell.  Shortly after, Bob Hanson was asked to join the group as Membership Liaison.

The Board put together a plan to allow the games to continue once the Burtons turned the club over to them.  A tremendous amount of work was done to accomplish this including having the new club, Route 66 Bridge, designated as a legal non-profit.  A fund-raising campaign was initiated and thanks to the marvelous generosity of our community, we were able to not only continue club operations, but also remodel our facilities. 

Then, in the infancy of the newly-formed club, a pandemic struck.  Instead of folding up our card tables, the board, particularly Mary Heinking, established a relationship with Susan Williamson of Fun & Games Bridge in Oklahoma City, joined what came to be known as the Oklahoma Collective.  The revenue from this, as well as continued donations from the Tulsa bridge community, kept the club in a healthy financial condition despite the loss of revenue from club games.  Finally, last summer, the club reopened for face-to-face games.  Many people, wary of Covid, waited to resume play at Route 66 but since then attendance has gradually increased.

Soon, Ron Crowell, one of the original board members, resigned to take care of his wife’s medical needs.  Phil Wilner submitted his resignation in January of this year and Mary Heinking requested that she step down in her role as secretary, treasurer, webmaster, and many other functions.  This left the board with only two voting members: Carol Gammell and Bob Hanson, which violated the club’s by-laws.  With Phil’s resignation, the President’s title passed to Bob Hanson who accepted the role.

To re-staff the board, the club needed three voting members and Phil was kind enough to rescind his resignation temporarily so that business might continue normally.  Board members had put out an SOS to club members to join to help manage the club and we received many offers to sign up for a new board, one that is much more decentralized than the old board was.  We are pleased to welcome the following volunteers to serve our club’s bridge community.

• Bob Hanson – President
• Tyra Galyean – Treasurer
• Ray Zekauskas – Education
• Alice Hauger/Carol Gammell – Social/Publicity
• Becky Thomison – Membership
• Pam Knight – Webmaster
• Jack Lindley – Facilities
• Trish Leblang –Club Secretary (Pending)
• Club Advisor – Greg Burton

Phil Wilner will continue to be active on the board as President Emeritus.

Except for Carol (who will be stepping down at the end of the year), Phil, and Greg, each will have a vote.  Bob Hanson will cast a vote only to break a tie.  We would like all club members to be prepared to serve on ad hoc committees to implement the board’s efforts to improve the bridge experience.

Our lease at the club ends on June 30.  Phil and Greg are in negotiations with the owners to try to get some concessions from them as currently the club operates at a slight loss each month.  The board members are unanimous in their belief that the club should continue to operate at a physical location rather than close up shop and begin playing on-line.  To facilitate this optimism, the new board members will be implementing new ideas to increase club participation, attract new members and continue education efforts so that our bridge members might increase their skill levels.

We are hopeful that our entire community will get behind this effort.  All input we receive from club members can only help us accomplish our goals.  Feel free to speak to any of us to voice your ideas.

COVID PROTOCOLS

1.       Proof of vaccination is required . 

2.       Players who are not feeling well (e.g. cold, flu, running a temperature, etc) are asked to stay home and play in one of our virtual club games instead

3.       Players are asked to observe good hygiene.  This includes:

a.       Washing hands at the start of the game and after using the washrooms

b.       Using hand sanitizer

c.       Coughing into one’s elbow and not one’s hands

4.       Food and drink are allowed assuming players clean up after themselves; this includes all trash in bins and debris removed from playing area

5.      Face coverings are optional