EVELYN'S FAREWELL PARTY

A going-away party for Evelyn was held after bridge on Monday, July13th at San Lucas Restaurant.  There were 3 full tables of bridge that day - Bob and Ev;  Carolyn and Alain; Don and David; Bonnie and Millard; Paul and John; Bob and Ginger.  Big John didn't have a partner so he sat in for a few people and helped get things set up.  There was a 4-way tie for first place - go figure!!

Around 5 pm more people came in to help celebrate; Sandi and Alan, Jerry and Fred, Ev's son Bill, her grandson-in-law Ronnie, a gal friend of Ev's, Paul's partner Carlos, Larry and Christie.  Ginger and John had called everyone they knew that were still in town.

They read a lovely note from Norm and Maxine and a poem written and edited by Kathy and Jack (copies below).  Our gift from the bridge club to Ev was a pair of silver heart shaped earrings with an inlay of a heart in turquoise.  She seemed to like them and teared up at the end of the presentations.

 A lovely selection of finger foods was prepared by the restaurant and people joined in to drink to Evelyn's continued journey and to wish her well.  For this late in the season, we felt that we had a nice turnout and really couldn't have stuffed anymore people in the small room.

The note on behalf of the bridge club to Evelyn -- as follows

Dear Evelyn - Just a few thoughts to take with you as you leave us for your new adventure.  We will certainly miss you and we thank you so much for all you have done over the many years of looking after our PV Bridge Club.  We have played in so many different places with so many different people and through it all you have managed to stay positive and happy to greet them as they arrive.  We have entertained World Champions, new players, old players, young players and all together we have enjoyed our game of bridge.  Many have improved so much over the years and we certainly have upgraded the game from the days of hand scoring and the addition of Ken and Bob after their many drinks.  We know you will take with you all of the good memories of your days in Puerto Vallarta and we certainly wish you many more new memories in your new home.

Thank you for all the entertaining you have done over the years.  We enjoyed our annual Christmas party and fondly remember the years of the "Ladies Only" Christmas get-togethers as well.  We have been fortunate to have known so many wonderful people and hope you will think back fondly of all of them.

We are sorry that this is not happening at a time of high season when so many more of us could have been there to say goodbye.  Please have a drink for us and travel safely!

Vaya con Dios,

Norm and Maxine

Dear Friends: January 2014

As we mentioned in our December news notice, we continue to have a large number of friends interested in playing bridge at our club. We have been fortunate to increase our number of tables thanks to our hosts, CoCo Tropical, which has allowed all or almost everyone who wants to play to do so.

Unfortunately, this has not solved other concerns including but not limited to:

The constant changing of partnerships without notifying anyone of the change.

Players forgetting that they are scheduled on a particular day and not showing for the game. For example, this past Thursday we believed we had 24 full tables but ended up with 20 tables. This causes last minute shuffling of tables and people. No-shows also deprive wait-list people from playing unless they come to CoCo’s and wait around until just before the game to see if there is an opening.

Singles needing to have a partnership established on a regular basis or singles listed on the wait-list are problematic.

Accidents happen and names could be inadvertently left off the daily list or duplication of one member of a partnership with a second person.

People emailing early in the year thinking that would guarantee a playing slot. Emailing began earlier and earlier each year and has become unmanageable.

Players not arriving by 1:15 pm or large numbers arriving at the last possible moment which causes the game to begin late.

Recently our CoCo Tropical Bridge Club Committee met and through discussion we came to the conclusion that many of our problems stem from having a registration book in the first place. With this in mind, the following changes will be in effect beginning March lst.

l. WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE A BOOK. Beginning March lst when you arrive you will check in your partnership by paying for you and your partner (with correct change) and you will be assigned your section, table and direction. If you are unable to keep score you will be assigned to play East/West and of course, if you have a medical concern, we will do our best to accommodate your directional needs. Registration will begin at 12:30 pm and end at 1:15 pm.

2. Anyone who does not have a partner may contact Evelyn as soon as he or she can and she will let you know of anyone else who may also be looking for a game. It will be your responsibility to contact the person. You can also come down to CoCo’s at 1:00 pm and wait to see if anyone else is looking for a game.

3. Partnerships arriving after 1:15pm may be turned away. By 1:20 pm we plan to have the rotation determined and shortly thereafter, everyone seated and the boards distributed. We plan to begin promptly at 1:30 pm. Those tables located in the courtyard need to be cleared by 5:00pm with no exceptions as agreed upon between CoCo’s and the Committee.

Prior to March 1^{st  we will continue with the book. If you are on the wait-list, it is up to you to call Evelyn sometime between 10:15 am and 11:30 am to see if a slot has become available. If you are unable to play on a given day, please contact Evelyn, or any of the other Committee members either by phone or email to the website.}

Kathy George 223-4505 Ginger Carpenter 178-5392 John Rayner 113-0194 Evelyn Patrick 222-1974 or

Maxine Webb 221-5112 or ^{www.bridgewebs.com/cocospv}

^{Thank you,}

^{Your Board of Directors}

^{CoCo Tropical Bridge Club}

            COCO TROPICAL BRIDGE CLUB

                                                                                                December  2013

Dear Friends,

At this time our club is suffering from an embarrassment of riches. Many more people want to play at our club than we have spaces for, especially for January and February. We can accommodate 20 tables but in January and February we have a waiting list on Mondays and Thursdays of up to 14 couples. Saturdays are also getting full.

The sign up book for the 2014 season was almost full before the end of October. Evelyna’s computer was stolen this summer, and when she replaced it the information from her email was gone.  Thus many requests for places were lost.

Some members thought that as they had played for many years that they were entitled to erase names in the book and replace it with their own. Our club has never had a seniority list, and we found this behavior, extraordinary and unacceptable. This is the reason that the book is now under strict scrutiny by one of our board members.

For a number of years now, we have adopted a policy of not guaranteeing a partner for single players. Some players have signed into the 2014 season with no partner. FOR THOSE MEMBERS, PLEASE PROVIDE US WITH THE NAME OF YOUR PARTNER BY DECEMBER 28th 2013 OR YOUR PLACE WILL BE OCCUPIED BY ANOTHER COUPLE.

We do have some good news.  After much negotiation with our hosts CoCo Tropical, they have agreed to give us 4 more tables in the forecourt under the umbrellas.  We are now looking at 8 additional couples being able to play. These tables must however be cleared no later than 5.00pm. NO EXCEPTIONS.  If those members are still playing at 5.00pm, they can move into the undercover section to complete their game.

If you cannot play, please advise your board members as soon as possible so that others may be scheduled.

This is a very busy time for us all, and we appreciate your co-operation in checking in  EARLY and following the direction of your Directors. It is very important to the restaurant that we start on time.  Let us all have a great and happy season,

Your Board of Directors

CoCo  Tropical Bridge Club.

Welcome back to all our fellow bridge players for the new season--2013-2014!  Another busy year is expected. Your committee had a meeting on Thursday Nov 14th and we wish to share the following with you......

First, a reminder to all that our club is a non-profit organization, we have a voluntary committee with a non paid director and lots of member participation to help. All the money collected goes directly back to the players with the exception of the money used to purchase bridge supplies. This year we are starting a 4 year program of replacing bidding box inserts.

Thanks go out to Barbette Gordon for her service on the committee. She has left PV and returned to the US. We will miss her but understand she may be back to visit. We wish to welcome Ginger Carpenter as a new board member who will help Evelyn with registration and partnership. An alternative to contacting Ev will be gingercarp@hotmail.com cel 044 322 151 8619 home phone 322 178 5392. Ginger prefers you use her cel phone on game days.

We would like to implement immediately a policy of paying for you and your partner at the registration table to help the line up problems. Also a reminder that correct change is requested as we have to fill the envelopes with small bills. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Of your 70 pesos, 30 pesos goes to payouts and 40 pesos goes to the restaurant as a credit on your bill.

Another change this season-- the sign up book for next year Jan-April 2014 will only be available from John Raynor. This is necessary as problems have occurred with people crossing out names so tighter control is required. Only 20 tables will be allowed by the restaurant. The Nov Dec bookings will still be available from Evie.

Each person is responsible for making sure your name, email and local phone number are updated on the website membership page. Also please note that you are responsible for advising if you are unable to attend a scheduled game. Records will be kept and a second offence will result in your being required to re-register for other games. This means you will go to the bottom of the waiting list.

We also wish to advise that Evelyn had a break in and her computer was stolen. There could be problems for those of you who registered early by email. Please check with John Raynor when you arrive to see if you are on the list.

Thanks to all of you who play with us at our club. We know you have choices and we hope we can make your bridge playing experience a pleasant one. If you have any suggestions for us, please don't hesitate to contact someone on the committee or use the email facility on the website.

EVELYN PATRICK      JOHN RAYNOR       KATHY GEORGE      GINGER CARPENTER      MAXINE WEBB