CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK

Sept. 22-26

Earn Extra Points - No Extra Fees

ORLANDO BRIDGE CLUB

Bright and early, every Monday and Tuesday morning,16-20 students arrive at Orlando Bridge Club eager to learn and play duplicate bridge.  These enthusiastic students have been taking lessons from Patty Estes for the past 18 months.  Patty begins each session with a short lesson and then the students play hands with coded cards which match the lesson.  Between many questions, do-overs, and laughter, lots of bridge is learned.  After the lessons, many of the students stay to play in the afternoon ACBL game or come to play in other sanctioned games at our club.  To date, 22 of Patty’s students have played in sanctioned games, several won silver points at our open sectional tournament, and 13 have joined the ACBL.

Patty is passionate about bridge and teaching and has an enormous amount of patience.  This patience was undoubtedly developed during her years as an elementary school teacher.  Patty learned bridge from her mother when she was a senior in high school and has been an active ACBL player for the past 25 years and is an ACBL certified teacher.

Her students are fond of quoting Patty and often advise each other to not forget to “pull Trump” and “never under lead your Ace”.  One of Patty’s students, Janet Mercer, observed: “Patty has an exhilarating love of bridge which she unabashedly shares with her students.  It’s hard not to catch her excitement and love of the game. Eat, sleep, play bridge. Repeat. This is my motto thanks to Patty.”

In addition to teaching bridge, Patty encourages her students to form friendships and build community.  Her students have taken this advice to heart and celebrate holidays and birthdays together.  They frequently dine at local restaurants, host party bridge games in their homes and share their hobbies with each other, from greeting card-making to the Japanese art of plant arranging, Kokedama. Two of our newer players, Patrice Shirer and Ruthanne Brown, were instrumental in OBC’s Longest Day Fundraising events, helping to raise over $6,600 in support of Alzheimer’s Research.   

Patty’s feelings about teaching echoes those of her students: “I hope my love for bridge is contagious. As they say: ‘The more you give the more you get.’  It is so fulfilling. The friendships, the mental stimulation, but most of all the fun we all have has been so rewarding.  How delightful it is when one of my students says: ‘I get it!’. That makes it all so worthwhile.”

The Orlando Bridge Club is grateful for all of Patty’s contributions to our great game, and for all the contributions her students have made to our club.

Martha McGhee 

December 24, 1941 - August 28, 2025

On August 28th, Martha Tilton Mcghee passed away in Mount Dora, Florida after a short battle with cancer. She was born on Christmas Eve in 1941 in Hartland, Maine. After high school, Martha graduated from Thomas College then moved to Madawaska to teach business courses and was asked to start the high school vocational program for retailing. She remained there for 17 years then moved to Orlando, Florida in 1979.
After taking a year off to learn about the area, Martha applied for a job at Walt Disney World. She was hired as part of the Convention Sales Department team in 1979. In 1986, she left to pursue a career in Real Estate that lasted 2 years. Martha was a master Bridge player and teacher. She later met her husband, James Stewart McGhee, at a Schenken bridge game in Winter Park where they were partnered. And won! They were married a year later in January of 1987 and traveled the world.
She was approached to start her own bridge club when the Orlando Metropolitan Bridge Center was being built. She agreed and in 1989, owned 3 nights of games. Eventually she took on more games and turned her hobby into a business. She and her husband loved the game and were both involved with the OMBC for 30 years. In 2022 Martha earned the prestigous rank of Diamond Life Master from the American Contract Bridge League.
Martha is predeceased by her parents Alice Hart and Malcolm Tilton and her husband James McGhee. She is survived by her sister Dawna Tilton Esty of Maine, and her children Kim, Mike, Steve and Sue as well as her cousins Janet Hart Lancaster and Dennis Hart.
Services will be held privately by the family in Maine. In lieu of flowers, in honor of her love of cats, please make donations to the Somerset Humane Society in Maine (shsanimalshelter.com) or the Cat Protection Society (thecatprotectionsociety.org) in Florida.

The Orlando Bridge Club has earned an Upgraded Club Championship game by recruiting 10 ACBL members!.  
This game is scheduled for Nov 11th.  
The sanction fees due ACBL are the same as for a regular club game.  
Below is a listing of the new members:

Ellen Victorica 
Hilary Fischer
Gloria Pickar
John Hughes
Hemant Solanky
Edward Dworkin
Fran Dworkin
David Kellogg
Cheryl Moore
Andrea Finger

A FAMILY AFFAIR

THREE GENERATIONS OF BRIDGE PLAYERS

Thanks to Jan Smith, who plays at our club twice weekly with her favorite partner, Lindy Greening, OBC can boast of having three generations of players with us.  Jan taught her daughter, Lynn Green, and grandson, Sam Green, to play in 2021 during the COVID pandemic.  The two of them have begun to play as partners at our club every week.

Jan first learned bridge in the early 60’s at the local Welcome Wagon Club in Ohio. She continued playing party bridge with neighbors and friends. She came to Orlando in 2015 and came to play at OMBC and was introduced to her current partner, Lindy, by Chet Harmon. Jan is passionate about bridge and enjoys playing because it keeps her mind stimulated.

When Jan taught Lynn and Sam about playing bridge, Jan emphasized to them the importance of card-play and the need not to be afraid to bid the values in your hand (“Don’t be a chicken in the bidding.”). She emphasized the importance of being competitive but also being gracious and pleasant at the bridge table. Both Sam and Lynn took Jan’s advice to heart and agree she has been an excellent teacher and role model.

Lynn is married to her husband, Michael, and they have three children, Sam, Grace and Hannah. Lynn is a teacher in the Computer Lab at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Winter Park. During her first career as a database consultant, she sharpened her logic and ability to solve puzzles. She puts these skills to good use at the bridge table.  According to Lynn, playing bridge involves solving puzzles – you need to figure out an opponent’s hand to decide on the best line of play. Each hand is its own unique challenge. “You never know what you are going to get. It’s like a box of chocolates”.  Lynn describes herself as competitive and hopes to play bridge for the rest of her life.  As she puts it, and as her mother and her son demonstrate, “bridge ties together multiple generations”.

Sam is a UCF graduate and works in Client Relations at a Travel Agency and has caught the wanderlust bug. His favorite destinations are National Parks, including the Badlands and the Redwood Forest.  Sam grew up playing Euchre, Hearts, Spades and Poker with his parents and grandparents, and has found Bridge to be the most challenging of all. He finds bridge to be an amazing experience and believes his previous experience with playing cards is very beneficial. Like his mother and grandmother, he treats every hand as a puzzle. A true devotee to the game, Sam says: “the day a person stops playing bridge, they stop learning.”

OBC is thrilled to be home to this talented family. Hopefully, Jan, Lynn and Sam’s example will encourage all of us to reach out to our families, friends and neighbors to come play the greatest game of all!

BEYOND BRIDGE

Featuring

PAUL VILMOS

Born in a small community in Hungary in 1930, Paul Vilmos lived through some very difficult historical times. At the age of 14, he was deported to Austria for forced labor and ended up in Mauthausen Concentration Camp. His arrival at the camp occurred in 1944, near the end of the war and the camp was liberated by the American army on May 8, 1945.

Upon his return home, Paul restarted his academic studies and was an excellent student. His hard work earned him a place at the medical school in Budapest, where he graduated with high honors. His standing at the University should have earned him a position at Budapest’s leading hospital. However, Paul was not a member of the Communist Party and had to settle for a residency away from Budapest.

Paul was in Hungary when the short-lived Hungarian Revolution occurred in 1956. The uprising against Communist rule lasted for only 15 days before it was crushed by the Soviet Union. During the aftermath of the failed revolution, over 200,000 Hungarians sought political refuge in other countries. Paul was able to escape Hungary to England, where he worked as a resident in a hospital at the University of Leeds.

In 1959, Paul obtained a visa allowing him to work in the United States. He undertook a five-year residency at a hospital in New York. At 35 years old, Paul finished his residency and set up a private practice in Manhattan. He became an attending surgeon in Beth Israel Medical Center and served as the chairman of their surgery committee.

During his residency, Paul met his wife, Madeleine, in the hospital cafeteria. Madeleine was working as a speech therapist at the hospital. At first Madeleine was reluctant to go on a date with him, but he obtained a pair of opera tickets to Verdi’s Nabucco and was able to convince her to come with him. Their love blossomed quickly, and they were married six months after they met. Sixty-four years later, they are living happily in their Baldwin Park home and enjoying frequent visits with their two children and four grandchildren.

After retiring at age 64, Paul began to seek out hobbies to keep his mind sharp. He took up photography, art and music appreciation, and Bridge. Paul and Madeleine have traveled extensively. They have visited more than 100 countries and have been to every continent except Antarctica (they do not like cold weather). Paul finished his lifelong travel “bucket list” in 2020 with a trip to the Golden Triangle in India.

Paul has been playing bridge at our Club for the past 17 years and frequently partners with Patty Estes, Linda Scheible and Elliot Raphaelson. Next time you see Paul at the table, be sure and ask him about his many travel adventures!

The Orlando Bridge Club in alliance with the Alzheimer's Association presents the Longest Day on June 16, 2025.

The Orlando Bridge Club is committed to raising funds on behalf of the Alzheimer's association & will be holding a fundraiser to benefit Alzheimer's research.  We are looking for cash donations, gift cards for the silent auction & any in-kind items that can be used in the silent auction or a raffle.  Auction items will be on display during the week for bidding

Playing bridge regularly can offer cognitive benefits that might help with Alzheimer's disease or dementia prevention or delay. Studies show that bridge, along with other mentally stimulating activities like board games, musical instruments, crossword puzzles, and dancing, may reduce the risk of developing these conditions. Bridge specifically involves strategic thinking, memory, and social interaction, all of which can help keep the brain active and healthy.

Please help us in raising funds for this worthy cause.

Week of June 16-20
5151 Lake Howell Road
Winter Park, FL 32792

Click here for flyer:  Longest Day 2025.pdf

The Orlando Bridge Club is embarking on a new project called BEYOND BRIDGE.  Beyond Bridge consists of a series of articles focusing on one of our club players, highlighting their life, family, career, hobbies and special talents. We all know the bridge stories of our friends, and now we want to focus on other aspects of their lives.

If you would like to nominate yourself or a friend to be featured, please see Charlie Miner.  He will interview you, write your story and include pictures.

Our first featured player is the incomparable FAYE CONTI.  Enjoy!

FAYE CONTI

 BRIDGE PLAYER AND IKEBANA ENTHUSIAST

Faye Conti has three passions in life – her family, Ikebana (a Japanese art form of flower arranging) and duplicate bridge.  Her interest in Ikebana began in Hawaii in 1969, while her husband, Al, was serving in the United States Air Force and flying missions to Vietnam.

Faye attended her first Ikebana class with a girlfriend. Although her friend never attended another class, Faye continued and is still perfecting the art 56 years later. One of her favorite memories is when she brought her first Ikebana arrangement home, her husband complimented her and said: “now our house is a home”.  Faye was married to Al for more than 65 years and has two children and two granddaughters.

Recently, Faye participated in the annual Ikebana Art Show at Leu Gardens. She arranged a display and demonstrated the art of Ikebana to a packed room.  Ikebana is a method of flower arranging where three separate elements – the flower bloom, the stems, and the greenery - are placed in overlapping triangular formations in ceramic containers to create beautiful floral arrangements.  Several members of OBC attended the show, Charlie Miner, Georgette Lynch and Ann Farrell.  Georgette and Ann were so enthralled they are considering taking classes.

Faye has taught many people the art of Ikebana. She is a past President of Ikebana International Chapter 132, which is based in Orlando. One of her students, Irene Gomulkay, currently runs an Ikebana school in Orlando. Irene is the daughter of long-time member of our bridge community, Dena Axelrod. Past OBC President, Bob Buhrmann’s wife Louise also displayed one of her beautiful creations at the Leu Gardens’ Ikebana show.  Madeleine Sweeney, one of OBC’s newer players, has been a student of Faye for over 8 years.

Faye is still active in bridge as well as Ikebana. You will see her at our club every Wednesday playing with Lorraine Harris, her partner of 25+ years. Faye has been enjoying both bridge and Ikebana for over 55 years.  When asked which endeavor she enjoys more, she said that both are difficult to do well, but that she found Ikebana to be more peaceful, while bridge could be frustrating at times!

Keep up the great work Faye.  We can’t wait to see your new creations!

WELCOME OUR NEW DIRECTOR, DON GRACE!

OBC is excited to welcome Don Grace as the director of our Friday afternoon game.  Many of our players already know Don, as he played at OMBC for many years, with his son Francis Grace.  Don brings a wealth of experience with him. He has directed numerous games at the club, sectional, regional and national levels. He is also an accredited ACBL teacher. We invite everybody to play in his first game on Friday, March 7!

THE OBC/DARYL DREW INAUGURAL SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESS!

OCB hosted its first sectional tournament and welcomed players from Canada, Oklahoma, Maine, Illinois, and Floridians from all over the state.

Thanks to all our volunteers, donors, food angels and players who made our Sectional such a huge success! 

Special kudos to the following people:

            Charlie Miner – Tournament Chair

            Gloria McCain – Treasurer

            Jeff Ritchie – Liaison with ACBL Director

            Judy Newcomb and Georgette Lynch – Gracious Hosts

            David Kellogg – Church Liaison

            Nick Tallyn – ACBL Director in Charge

Congratulations to all our club members who earned silver points! Geoff Jones earned 18.7 points, along with impressive showings by Eileen Easterling, Lynn McKinney, Linda Schofield, Linda Scheible and Paul Vilmos.

Hilary Fischer, Ruthanne Brown and Ellen Victorica were thrilled to earn their first silver.

OBC appreciates your enthusiasm for bridge, however, if you are not feeling well, please stay home!

Effective immediately, if a player is showing signs of illness, a director, at his/her discretion may ask the player to leave or wear a mask.  This policy is enacted for the wellness of our bridge community.