New LMs: Ron & Caralee Hopman

Congratulations to Ron and Caralee Hopman, who worked as partners to earn the rank of Life Master. Ron grew up in New Jersey, attended the University of North Carolina and worked as a manufacturing representative for a variety of companies. His wife, Caralee, is an Illinois native. She grew up in Glencoe, graduated from Occidental University in Los Angles, and worked as a marketing manager for A.T.&T. They have three children -- one girl and twin boys who all live in the immediate area. They now are enjoying retirement and reside at Sun City, in Huntley, Illinois.

Caralee said she learned to play bridge well attending college. Upon her marriage to Ron, he also picked up the game. During their working careers, they joined with other people and played social bridge. After moving to Sun City, they meet Grace Selby, who encouraged them to try duplicate bridge and got them started in ACBL.

Both Ron and Caralee said it was a slow process of learning many new conventions and other nuances of duplicate bridge. On their way to Life Master, their first knock out experience at a tournament in Biloxi, Mississippi was very enlightening. They lost the first round by 85 points, which to any newcomer could be quite discouraging. Ron said he and Caralee took classes and were also mentored by Dave Germaine. Both of them earned their Life Master ranks at the Rockford Regional this past June.

Both Ron and Caralee have been president of the Sun City Bridge Club, which has about 250 members. Ron is also now on the board of directors for our district. Both of them have encouraged non-duplicate bridge players give it a shot. There advice to other social bridge players is to be “brave” and give it a try. As a result of their efforts, both the district and ACBL have grown in membership. They play regularly at Sun City, Elgin and St. Charles.

The Changing Scene:

New Junior Masters: Thomas Carroll, Genoa;  Jonathan Gaska, Huntley;  Sandra Prather, Rockford.

New Club Masters: Carol Bannon, Geneva;  David Germaine, Huntley;  John Leirsburg, Batavia; Stephen Chesek, Algonquin;  Charles Picus, Rockford.

New Regional Masters:  Yolanda Simmons, Rockford.

New NABC Master: Rachel Campbell, Elgin;  Sybil Brown, Rockford;  Burton Moore; Rockford. Karen Anderson, Batavia,  Robert Quintin, St. Charles.

New Life Masters:  Judy Coffee, Rockford;  Caralee Hopman, Huntley;  Ron Hopman, Huntley.

New Bronze Life Master:  Elinor Patrick, Oregon;  Karen Pickelsimer, Oakwood Hills.

Upcoming Area Tournaments

Oct 1-31 -- Club Appreciation Month club championships, Local clubs

16-18 -- St. Charles MO Sectional, Blanchette Park

16-18 -- Northern Indiana Sectional, Portage IN

19-25 -- CENTRAL STATES REGIONAL, Grand Geneva Resort, Geneva WI

 31-Nov. 1 -- Fall at the Spa Sectional, Original Springs Hotel, Okawville IL

Nov 2-8 -- District 8 Sectional-at-Clubs, Local clubs

7-8 -- Fall Bridge Weekend, Champaign IL

14 -- District 8 North American Pair finals, Eagles Club, Riverton IL