In Honour of Richard Brian Adamson 1949-2018

Brian was born in Brantford, Ontario. He attended the University of Waterloo where he met his future wife, Janet. They married in 1969 and settled in St. Catharines

Brian worked for Ford of Canada both in Niagara and the Oakville head office where he was employed as an accounting and computer analyst. He was also active in several professional groups.

Brian was active in the St. Vincent de Paul food bank both here in St. Catharines as well as in Chicxulub, Mexico.

His love of bridge began as a student at university and continued throughout his life. He was plagued by ill health for many years so bridge, as well as volunteering, was his passion.

He was a member of the bridge club in Progreso, Mexico as well as BCON here in St. Catharines. He had a tremendous passion for bridge and enjoyed learning under the tutelage of Pat Teeter for many years.

Brian was a favoured partner by many of his friends, not only because of his bridge playing skill, but also his always pleasant demeanour at the table. He was always kind, helpful and encouraging, especially to new players.

This plaque, donated by Janet, is in memory of Brian for his great enthusiasm and life-long love of the game of bridge and for those who share his sentiments. It is awarded to a member who started the year with less than 300 masterpoints and has attended the most number of games over the course of the year.

In Honour of Antje "Ann" Kreulen, 1929 - 2023

At the Bridge Centre of Niagara’s inception in 2001, one of the original awards created by the first Board of Directors was the High Attendance Award. This would acknowledge the player who attended the highest number of games each year.

Between 2001 and 2016, her active playing years, this was won 9 times by Ann Kreulen. All other names on the award in this period only appear only once or twice. Ann played often; usually 3 or 4 times each week.  She seldom missed a game.

Sadly, her health deteriorated in 2016 and she played less often. In 2018 she had to give up driving and moved to a retirement residence in Niagara Falls. At this point the BCON Board of Directors decided to rename the High Attendance Award in her name – the Ann Kreulen Award. When we told her about this she said “now you will remember me when I am gone”. And indeed we do. This award is presented each year to the member with over 300 Masterpoints who has played in the most number of games.

In 2021 she moved to the LTC facility The Ville at Meadows of Dorchester where she spent her final years. She passed in January 2023.

For the individual with the highest average percent in the 20-100 MP category
In Honour of Pat Teeter - BCON Founding Member, Patron, Teacher, Director, Player

Pat Teeter has been involved with bridge in the Niagara Region in one way or another since the early 1970s when she played regularly at the St. Catharines Duplicate Bridge Club on Thursday evenings.

In 1984, Nora Lounsbury, a night-school bridge teacher at Lakeport High School, approached Pat about teaching 6 beginners at her apartment. Night school wouldn't run a class with so few participants. In agreeing to do so 6 students quickly turned into 20 as word spread. Outgrowing her apartment, she spent the next 8 years at 12 different locations. Her main location during the winter months was the Glenridge Lawn Bowling Club as it was not used by its members. But from May to October she had to find alternative temporary accommodations and this proved difficult. Carting score boards, bulletin boards, tables, coffee makers and sometimes chairs from place to place made her long for a permanent home. In May, 1992 members of the Grantham Lion's Club made her feel so welcomed, she chose to stay for 9 years. Pat's Bridge Club was established. She successfully ran several games a week, as well as teaching, for the next 9 years.

Pat was a graduate of the ACBL Teacher Accreditation Program in 1988 and in 1991 became a certified game director. In December 1989, Julie Greenberg, manager of ACBL's Education Department, requested at meeting with Pat in Toronto during a tournament. To her surprise she announced that Pat was ACBLs "Star Teacher of the Year", having taught 159 students the Club Series and 126 the Diamond Series. Her picture and a brief write-up about her success as teacher appeared in the December 1989 edition of the ACBL Bridge Bulletin. Years later the ACBL informed her that she was responsible for over 500 new members. Wow!

By the end of 2000, with 250 players, Pat felt over-whelmed with teaching and running games so she approached Fred Andreychuk, President of the St. Catharines Duplicate Bridge Club at that time, about amalgamation to form a single membership club. After several months of discussions, preparations, acquiring tables & chairs, searching for a suitable location, etc., the Bridge Centre of Niagara opened its doors at Unit 6, 2 Tremont Drive in April 2001. 30 founding members, of whom Pat was one, each contributed $1,000 towards the initial financing of the bridge centre. Pat was a regular teacher and game director at BCON for many years.

The Audrey Grant Award is presented annually by Unit 166 to the person who "exhibits excellence in the teaching of the game of Bridge". Thanks to her dedication to teaching over the previous 20+ years, Pat won this award in 2007. Congratulations Pat!

Holding a soft spot in her heart for the 1000+  novices that she taught over the years, she chose to donate a trophy awarded each year for the top player in the 0 to 100 (now 20 - 100) masterpoint category. It was first awarded in 2002 and has been awarded every year since, the COVID years of 2020/21 excepted.

In Honour of Fred Andreychuk 1943 – 2008

Fred Andreychuk was an active bridge player in St. Catharines for many years. In 2000 he was President of the St. Catharines Duplicate Bridge Club, which held a game each Thursday evening in St. Thomas church on Ontario Street and later at the YMCA and the Vine Street Legion. He was approached by Pat Teeter, owner and director of her own club, Pat’s Bridge Club, with a suggestion that the two clubs amalgamate and form a single membership club. The members of both clubs were in agreement so after months of preparation, fund raising, acquiring the necessary tables & chairs, equipment, etc. and finding a suitable location, the Bridge Centre of Niagara opened its doors in April 2001. Fred was the first President and also a Founding Member.

Apart from playing, Fred was also active in organizing bridge events. Some of his contributions were:

• Chair for several of the biennial Niagara Falls (Ontario) Regionals.
• Co-Chair of the Canadian Bridge Federation’s 2004 Bridge Week held in St Catharines.
• Member for over twenty years of the Niagara District Bridge Association’s Executive Committee.
• Long-time member of the Unit 166 Board and, at the time of his death, President of that Board.
• Member of the founding committee of the Bridge Centre of Niagara and BCON’s Charter President for the first five years.
• A member of the ACBL’s Goodwill Committee.

For these contributions, and others, he was the recipient of the 2007 Kate Buckman Award which is awarded annually “to a Unit 166 player who has contributed greatly to other people’s enjoyment of bridge”. His picture with the award was on the cover of the Fall 2007 Edition of Unit 166’s Kibitzer magazine.

Fred had a penchant and a reputation for bidding 3NT more often than he should. Frequently it was to his detriment but he could not be dissuaded. The times that he made it more than made up for the times that he went down. So when it came time to establish an award in Fred’s honour, it seemed appropriate to name it The “Friendly Fred” (as he was affectionately known) 3NT Award.

Claude & Muriel Tremblay generously donated the trophy in 2010. It is awarded to the pair who bid and make the most 3NT contracts at the game following BCON’s annual Summer BBQ.

To discourage frivolous bidding of 3NT, which occurred several times in the award’s early years, the rules were changed so that the winners are the pair with the most net successful 3NT contracts. Net means subtracting those you bid but fail to make from the number that you do bid and make. This put an end to frivolous 3NT bidding.

It has been awarded every year since 2010, the COVID years of 2020/21 excepted

In Honour of Josh Levine, 1917 - 2017 

Josh Levine became a Bridge Centre of Niagara member in 2003 when he moved to St. Catharines. He was not new to bridge, having played regularly throughout his adult life.

Josh had a long management career with the US government in various departments, e.g. Budget and Employment. He finished his career creating and successfully running a program to computerize the first national job bank.

By 1973 he was ready for a new challenge and retired from the government. He moved to Belize where he spent 10 years starting and running a 2,400-acre cashew farm. He not only sold cashews but he successfully produced and sold cashew wine! Years later he could still tell stories of his 10 years in Belize.

Back in the USA, Josh travelled extensively, visiting family and old friends as well as making new friends. One of these friends, Maggie, drew him to Canada and life in St. Catharines where they married and enjoyed life with family and friends, and of course bridge.

Josh became a regular at BCON where he played with a variety of partners, some very experienced, some not. Josh was well respected as a bridge partner. Always understanding, polite and able to bid and play his hands well.

In 2013 Josh was a few gold points short of becoming a life master, so fellow BCON members Diane Gordon, John Mackay and David Pickering invited him to join their team at a Regional Tournament that was to be held in the Holiday Inn on Grand Island, NY. With one round to go in an 8-round game, the team was doing well and Josh was in a position to win the final gold points that he needed. As luck would have it, they drew another team from BCON for the final match. That team consisted of Brian MacCartney, George Morrissey, Clyde Paul and Jerry Smee. The way the match was set up, Josh and Jerry were sitting in the same position so they played the same cards. On one hand, both arrived at the same 3NT contract. There were several ways to play the hand. Josh chose the correct way and Jerry chose the wrong way. As a result, Josh’s team won the match, moved up in the standings and Josh won the final gold points he need to become a life master.

In May of 2017 to celebrate his 100^th birthday, his family held a birthday party (or “celebration of life” party” as Josh called it) at Club Roma. Josh had a great time and said he had never ever been kissed by so many pretty girls before in his life.

After Josh’s passing later in 2017, the family and BCON wanted some way to honour his memory as he was, and still is, the only 100-year-old player BCON has had. Based on him becoming a life master by playing a 3NT contract, they decided to establish the Josh Levine 3NT Award to be given to the pair who bid and make the most 3NT contracts in the restricted game that is played in parallel with the open game at BCON’s annual “Friendly Fred Summer BBQ”.

It is awarded in conjunction with the “Friendly Fred” Trophy that goes to the pair in the open game with most successful 3NT contracts. The same rules apply. To discourage frivolous bidding of 3NT, the winners are the pair with the most net successful 3NT contracts. Net means subtracting those you bid but fail to make from the number that you do bid and make.

It has been awarded every year since 2018, the COVID years of 2020/21 excepted.

In Honour of Arthur Sloat 1911-1993

Art Sloat was born in Stamford, Ontario. As a very small boy he played simple card games with his family but quickly graduated to more complex games such as bridge and chess.

He began playing duplicate bridge in 1949 when it was in its infancy in St. Catharines. In 1956 he became director of the St. Catharines Duplicate Bridge Club, a position he would hold until 1991.

In 1963 he passed his director’s exam at the Bridge Directors School in St. Petersburg, Florida and became a Certified ACBL Director.

In addition to directing at the St. Catharines club, he also directed games in Beamsville and at The St. Catharines Golf & Country Club. In the last 7 years of his life he also directed Senior Citizens duplicate games at the Dunlop Drive Senior’s Centre (now called Dunlop Drive Older Adult Centre). The twice-weekly games attracted 14 -22 tables. Bridge players who had never played duplicate before quickly learned under his tutorage.  Art’s wife Jean took over directing these games for several years after Art’s passing in 1993. These games continue to this day.

As well as directing, he was also a fine player. In 1963 Art and his partner won the American Van Lines trophy as Ontario Champions. In 1978 Art and his son Tom won the Stockbrokers Pairs event at the Summer Nationals held in Toronto.  He became a Life Master in 1981.

Art also taught bridge as a night school class for the Lincoln County Board of Education (now called the District School Board of Niagara).

When Art made a ruling during a game, it was final, fair and square, with no backing down or leniency to anyone. Everyone was treated the same, and he was well respected for it.

The bridge community, along with his family and friends, mourned his passing in 1993 but the lessons that he taught will live with us forever throughout the Niagara Region.

To this day, the Bridge Centre of Niagara, the progeny of the St. Catharines Duplicate Bridge Club, continues to recognize Art by holding a special game once year at the AGM. The overall winners of the games in the Open and Restricted categories, are each awarded The Art Sloat Trophy.

In Honour of Walter Stone, 1940 - 2014

Walter Stone was a founding member of the Bridge Centre of Niagara and one of its original volunteers.

In 2000 a group of Niagara Region bridge players, directors and Club Managers (notably Pat Teeter of Pat’s Bridge Club and Fred Andreychuk of the St. Catharines Duplicate Bridge Club) spearheaded the plan to create a membership owned club. The team was led by Paul Thurston who approached Walter to be part of the team. Walter was an accountant and Paul thought his experience could be put to good use. Little did they know!

Walter of course readily agreed and he was assigned the job of finding a suitable location.  It had to be central, lots of parking and reasonably priced. Walter spent many hours visiting possible sites before finding the location we still have today – Unit 5 at 2 Tremont Drive. The Bridge Centre of Niagara opened its doors for the first time in April 2001.

Walter was BCON’s first treasurer and devised the financial report that the game directors still use today.  It is also in use by the NOTL Duplicate Bridge Centre. The only change that has been made to the report over the last 20+ years is a line to accommodate those who can now pay with a credit card. It’s very well designed thanks to Walter’s accounting expertise.

Through the years Walter devoted many hours to not only playing at the club, but ensuring its success. In his retirement he was happiest sitting around a card table with family, dear friends or his many partners at the bridge centre

Following Walter’s passing in 2014, the family thought it appropriate to have an award in his honour. After discussions with the Board of Directors, the Volunteer of the Year award was decided upon. It was first awarded in 2014 with Walter being the first recipient.