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AJB Goes to Washington![09/26/08] The 2009 Youth NABC will be held in Washington DC July 30-August 1, 2009 in conjunction with ACBL's Summer North American Bridge Championship. All the details are still being finalized, but we'll keep you updated as the ACBL Youth NABC website takes form. We know that while we have many players who would like to attend, this will be a relatively expensive site to visit. In recognition of this the AJB fundraising committee has organized a raffle to help you raise money for your child to attend. AJB will be raffling off a 32" Toshiba TV (or equivalent) and Nintendo Wii. The cost of each ticket will be $5.00. The raffle will run October 1, 2008 through July 4, 2009 and the drawing will be held July 5, 2009. You do not have to be present to win and the prize can be shipped anywhere in the continental U.S. Your child and family can earn money to defray your expenses by selling raffle tickets. You can help sell at booths during tournaments and as individuals. Ticket sales from tournaments will be split 50/50 between the represented families and AJB. Individual ticket sales will be split 95% to the individual child/family and 5% to AJB. All money collected from sales either at tournaments or individually will be returned to and held by AJB and distributed to you upon arrival in Washington DC. No AJB parent or child is required to participate in this raffle. The proceeds of any tickets sold by teachers or friends of AJB, will go 100% to AJB to cover the expenses of the raffle. Any extra funds will be used to provide special activities to be determined later for any AJB kids attending the Youth NABC. There must be parental permission for any child to participate in selling these tickets. The tickets are being ordered and will be available soon. If you are interested in obtaining tickets for your family to sell, please contact Patty Tucker at patty@atlantajuniorbridge.org or Laurie Wexel at lwexel@bellsouth.net. If you are interested in taking part in manning a booth for a few hours at any or all of the tournaments in either December, March or July, please contact Annie Rizzo at annierizzo@comcast.net. Welcome Mary Jo![09/25/08] Please welcome Mary Jo Van Winkle to her new position as Secretary for Atlanta Junior Bridge. Though you have probably seen Mary Jo around as a teacher, helper and most recently as Registration Co-chair at the recent Youth NABC in Atlanta, Secretary is a new "hat" for her. Please help Mary Jo in any way possible as she takes on her new responsibilities. Kroger Gift Cards[09/25/08] When you purchase a Kroger gift card from Atlanta Junior Bridge, you get the full face value of the gift card. Kroger will donate matching funds equal to 5% of all gift card sales to AJB. Click here for details. New Beginner Class[09/23/08] Atlanta Junior Bridge has a new beginner class starting October 11 in Norcross. Click here for details. Focus on Teaching[09/16/08] Carolyn Eckert, the Secretary/Vice-President and one of the original founders of Atlanta Junior Bridge, has been instrumental in the development and organization of AJB since its creation in January 2006. The first two years of this fledgling organization were tough. Finding teachers, setting up procedures for classrooms, tracking volumes of forms and data, organizing games, making partnerships, and teaching are only a few of the responsibilities that Carolyn took on with enthusiasm, skill and talent. Carolyn’s first love is teaching and she has resigned as Secretary of AJB so that she can focus on teaching and devote more time to her students’ development. For parents and students, this won’t seem like such a big change. You will just see that you get to spend more time with Carolyn. For the teachers and fellow officers of Atlanta Junior Bridge her absence will be keenly felt. On a personal note I would like to say that it has been a privilege to work with Carolyn over the last few years and, even though I will see her at the games and other AJB events, I will miss our 6:00 a.m. phone calls and e-mails hashing out some new idea! Have Fun Carolyn! Patty Tucker, President AJB ACBL Rankings[09/04/08] Where do Atlanta Junior Bridge players stand nationwide? We have six Atlanta Junior Bridge students in the top 50 Youth Masterpoint Race nationwide. Congratulations! Atlanta Labor Day Regional 2008
T-Shirt Contest Opens Today![08/24/08] AJB wants to create a T-shirt especially for our players attending the Washington DC Youth NABC 2009 which will be held July 30th thru August 1st 2009. We want to use a design created by one of our own AJB students. A $50.00 gift card will be awarded to the winner of the contest. Develop your design and mail it to Diana Hughes. Diana will scan your design and have our AJB webmaster display them on our website. After all the designs are received, AJB students will vote on their favorite design and we will have the shirts created in time for the Youth NABC in Washington. More details... Youth NABC Results[07/11/08] AJB Players Score Well at Youth NABC[07/09/08] Atlanta Junior Bridge kids did well in the Baron Barclay Open Pairs on Saturday. In a field of 68 pairs we had six pairs finish in the top twenty and twelve pairs finished in the top half of the field. Congratulations!
Thanks to Wenwei Jeng for pulling these numbers together for us. Youth NABC a Huge Success[07/07/08] 207 young players from 22 states and three Canadian provinces attended the first Youth North American Bridge Championships. Our Atlanta players were terrific! I can't possibly list all of their successes without using up all the memory on my computer. The Daily Bulletins are posted on www.youthnabc.org. Thank you to all our parent and teacher volunteers, ya'll made everything 'work'. When we finalize all the information I'll post a more complete report but please go to the youth website, find all of our local winners and give them your congratulations. Thanks again for a great time. Some photos are on our Students page. Patty Tucker Local Kids Shine in Bridge Championships[07/07/08] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website notes the Youth NABC local winners in a July 6 article. Card Play Trumps Race at Youth Bridge Meet[07/07/08] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website published a July 4 article about the Youth NABC. CBS Sunday Morning Bridge Segment Online[05/29/08] The CBS bridge segment that aired last February, featuring students at Glennwood Academy, Pace Academy and the Atlanta Duplicate Bridge Center, is now available online. See also the original news item below. Caser Donations[04/21/08] Dick and Louise Caser are two of the hardest-working and best-loved members of Western North Carolina Unit 171. When Dick was chosen as ACBL's 2008 Goodwill Member of the Year, they wanted to honor him themselves and have donated over $1500.00 to Atlanta Junior Bridge in their honor. AJB appreciates this donation, adds our congratulations on a well-deserved recognition for Dick and Louise and we promise to continue to teach our students not only the game of bridge, but the spirit. Georgia Youth Team State Championship Brings Players Out in Force
Junior Bridge on YouTube[03/27/08] The public television segment produced in December 2006 by WPBA-TV (channel 30) and featuring Atlanta Junior Bridge players is now available on www.youtube.com. A Trumped-Up Education[03/25/08] A recent chicagotribune.com editorial talks about junior bridge. Youngsters Prove Interest in Bridge is Alive and Well![03/23/08] On Saturday, March 22, fourteen Atlanta Junior Bridge students participated in the area semifinals of the Non-Life Master Flight C Grand National Team Qualifier at Ruff n Sluff bridge club in Marietta GA by finishing in the top 50 % of a qualifying event at the local club level. The team of Ricoh Das (age 11), Ashish Shah (age 12), Maya Kelkar (age 13), Sean Gannon (age15) and Hunter Smith (age 12) with 67 VP’s barely edged out the team of Arjun Dhir, Zandy Rizzo, Richard and Andrew Jeng by 1 VP!! Going into the last round of the round robin event, both teams were tied with 57 VP’s. In one of the last round robin events, the two teams played against each other. The other junior team to participate was Mili Raina, Murphy Green, Angie Green, Surabhi Ghai, and Kevin Cooney. All fourteen participants are already making plans to compete in the NLM Flight C 2009 Grand National Team Qualifiers. The Das team is now eligible for the District Finals in Morganton, N.C. May 3-4. Congratulations! Atlanta Junior Bridge and Jerry Helms - A Perfect Match![03/05/08] Renowned bridge author, teacher, and player Jerry Helms conducted a fund-raising bridge seminar on February 26th to support Atlanta Junior Bridge’s youth efforts. Click here for details and photos. A Whole New Deal[02/27/08] Some of you may have seen the recent CBS News Sunday Morning segment with interviews of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett at the San Francisco Nationals and some footage of youngsters learning and playing bridge in Atlanta. If you are interested in the efforts underway to teach bridge to young people, please take a moment and read A Whole New Deal. Phillip Alder Column Features Junior Bridge Play[02/18/08] In his February 16 article, syndicated bridge columnist Phillip Alder features a deal played by AJB players Andrew and Richard Jeng at the recent Georgia Youth Open Pairs State Championship. District 7 Funds Youth NABC Scholarships[02/18/08] ACBL District 7 (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Eastern Tennessee) has voted to sponsor the Youth National Swiss Teams in July. They will award $1000 college scholarships to the winners of the Swiss teams. Thank you District 7!
CBS Sunday Morning Visits Atlanta Junior Bridge[02/03/08] Mary Lou Teel, producer for the CBS Sunday Morning show was in Atlanta recently visiting with some of the AJB kids. Filming students at Glennwood Academy, Pace Academy and the players at the Saturday morning duplicate game held at the Atlanta Duplicate Bridge Center; the segment based around the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett interviews in San Francisco was aired on February 17. Some of the hands played on Saturday morning were part of the School Bridge League Valentine's Tournament hands which will be played throughout the country. [05/29/08] The segment is now available for viewing online. Baron Barclay Funds Youth NABC Scholarships[01/09/08] The National Open Pairs at the first Youth NABC in Atlanta this summer has a sponsor. Baron Barclay Bridge Supply is providing $2000 in scholarship funds to the winners of the pairs event, which has been renamed the Baron Barclay National Youth Pairs. Each member of the winning pair will receive a $1000 scholarship. Baron Barclay, a Louisville KY-based company, is well known to players who attend NABCs and read the ACBL Bridge Bulletin. Baron Barclay has been selling books and other bridge supplies at NABCs for decades in addition to advertising in the monthly magazine. The Youth NABC is scheduled for July 3-6 in Atlanta in conjunction with the Atlanta July 4th Sectional. The two-session Baron Barclay National Youth Pairs is set for Saturday, July 5. A two-session National Swiss Teams will take place Sunday, July 6. There will be warmup games for Youth NABC participants July 3 and 4 during the sectional. Youth NABC Chairman Patty Tucker applauded Jim Maier, owner of Baron Barclay, for sponsoring the event. "They have been staunch supporters of youth bridge efforts over the years," Tucker said. In addition to the scholarships, Tucker said, Baron Barclay is providing many of the registration gift items and table giveaways for the tournament. The tournament is open to players 19 and younger with fewer than 5000 masterpoints as of July 1. Early registration is encouraged. Visit www.youthnabc.org for more information. Atlanta Junior Bridge By the Numbers[01/07/08] 
New York Times Features Junior Bridge Play[12/29/07] Today's NYT bridge column, entitled Proof That It’s Never Too Early to Start Mastering the Art of the Transfer Bid, features a deal played by two of AJB's junior players, Drew and Alec Evans. Also mentioned are Atlanta Junior Bridge and the upcoming Youth North American Bridge Championships. End-of-Year Thank You[12/24/07] The end of our second year is coming around and I just wanted to take a moment and say ‘Thanks’ to the unsung heroes of Atlanta Junior Bridge. It would be impossible to mention everyone that works with us, helping on a daily basis to pull things together but I would like to thank a few people who volunteer their time and talents throughout the year.
I couldn’t possibly list of all our teachers….please go to the ‘Teachers’ button to see all of them. Next time you see one at the club….say ‘thank you’ for all of their hard work. Unit 114, DBAA, District 7, and our local clubs who have supported us and worked with us during the year….Thank You! Charity games held for us, allowing us to run free classes and games in your facility, helping us with paperwork…the list goes on and on. And finally, our local players and the families of all of our students – the BEST membership base anywhere in the country – you have always been there for us, thank you. With your help and support Atlanta Junior Bridge accomplished many things. We’re looking forward to 2008 and the Youth North American Bridge Championships! Patty Tucker Georgia Youth State Championship Breaks All Records
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Appreciation
Award given to Carolyn Eckert