San Mateo Unit 498              April 2025 

Happy Spring Unit 498 Members!

Congratulations to all our Unit’s Ace of Clubs, Mini-McKenney, and Virtual Ace of Clubs Winners from 2024.  In lieu of our monthly Unit game, we hosted an Awards Night on March 19th, where many winners of the races were on hand to receive their certificates and play in a Swiss Teams game.

Pete Goldsmith, Lucy Ballard, Kai Eckert, Bob Gleason, Jayson Lee, and Mary Bates
receive their certificates from Lauren Rosen.

After sharing cake and sparkling cider, our 24 players got some Teams instruction and tips from both Jenny Kuhn and Raad Bunni.  The top team was Doug Seifert, Cliff Chernick, Kit Morse, and Bob Gleason, while Jayson, Kate, and Rita Lee teamed with Kai Eckert to earn second place.

One of our award winners, Ken Hoeck, was unable to attend that evening, as he was collecting trophies at the NABC in Memphis with his wife Nancy.  Congratulations to them for placing first twice in the 299er pairs, with one 72% game and one 65% game.

Sectional Success!

Our Sectional on March 8-9 at the Palo Alto Bridge Center in Mountain View drew 149.5 tables total for the weekend —  the most tables we have hosted since the pandemic.  Many thanks to Tournament Coordinator Carol Lashman for creating such a welcoming environment for bridge players from throughout the area.  Volunteers Rita Armstrong, Leslie Braker, Janice Carter, Carl Ebeling, Bob Gleason, Kit Morse, Lauren Rosen, and Jeanne Urich helped welcome players and keep the whole event running smoothly.

Sunday’s team games, played in honor of long time Unit 498 member Janice Nakao, drew a lovely group of bridge family and friends.

Non Life-Master Sectional, Saturday, April 12th

Players with fewer than 750 Masterpoints who are not Life Masters have a chance to earn Silver points at our two-session NLM Sectional at the Villa on Saturday, April 12th.  

The morning session begins at 10:00 am and has a 199er stratification in addition to the 750 stratification.  The afternoon session begins at 2:30 and is open to all players under the 750 mp limit.  Play in the morning, afternoon, or both sessions.

New to this NLM Sectional will be an optional, discounted special lunch menu from Maverick Jack's. Order and pay in advance before 10:00 am and lunch will be delivered to our bridge room at 1pm. We will send you an email a day before the event with more details. Just make sure you Pre-Register in advance.

Go to our Unit498 Events for full tournament information.

Unit Game, Saturday, April 19th

Join us for our monthly Unit 498 Unit Game on Saturday, April 19th.
We will serve lunch at 11:30 with the game starting promptly at 12:15.
The game entry fee is $15 ($10 for students under 26) and lunch is provided.
The game will be directed by Jennifer Kuhn.

Please Pre-Register Here as space is limited.

Partnership Desk

We now have a partnership desk for players who need a partner for one of our games. This includes the Unit games and the Sectionals. Just click on this link: Partnership Desk Form. You can use the link more than once if you are looking for a partner for more than one game.
Please contact CarlEbeling498@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

Mentor / Mentee Program

We hosted our last Mentor/Mentee game for the first quarter on March 27th. Twenty pairs participated, with Sue Papilion and Paula Pagano finishing first overall and E/W with a 67.28% game and Fred Chasalow and Janice O’Brien coming in first in N/S at 65.12%.

The next quarter kicks off with new pairings, an in-person game, and a pizza party on Wednesday, April 30 at the Villa.  We hope all who played in the first quarter games will continue for the next three months. New faces would be awesome too!

5:45 PM - Meet your partner over Pizza and Salad (free)
6:30 PM - Let's Play Bridge! (Mentors free / Mentees $12)

Click this link to participate starting with the April 30 game at the Villa.

In most cases mentees will continue to play with their same mentor for our online games in May and June, the fourth Thursday of each of those months (May 29 and June 26).

Questions?  If you have any questions please email: kitunit498@gmail.com

New Club Games

499er Game Starting Wednesday, April 23

Jenny Kuhn is adding another face to face game to her Club schedule.  Players with fewer than 500 masterpoints are welcome to join her every Wednesday morning at 10:30, starting April 23rd at the Villa.  The session will last about two hours and play approximately 20 boards.

New, Separate 49er Section in Raad’s Tuesday and Friday games

Raad Bunni is creating a second section in his regular Tuesday and Friday Club games, held at noon at the Villa.  Players with fewer than 50 masterpoints will play the same hands as those in the open section, but only against each other and still earning masterpoints.  Raad does a short lesson at 11:30 before each of his games and will offer a short review session afterwards to go over challenging boards.

The Longest Day

Help us stand up to the darkness of Alzheimer’s and make a donation today to help the Alzheimer's Association support all those facing the disease and their caregivers.  Plan on joining us for our Longest Day Bridge Game on Saturday June 21st and participating in other fundraising activities throughout the next few months.

Please visit our team webpage.  From there, you can donate directly to our Unit 498 team, or start your own sub-team in order to reach your friends and family outside our bridge universe.

Click To Donate and/or Join our Team

You will find options for donating via credit card, bank account, Paypal, or DAF Pay for donor advised funds.

Look for more details on our Longest Day events coming soon, and thank you for your support!

Unit 498 Game Schedule

April 12:     Non-Life Master Sectional
April 19:     Unit Game
May 10:      Unit Game
June 21:     Unit Game - Longest Day Celebration
July 19:      Unit Game
Aug 9:        Unit Game
Sept 13:     Non-Life Master Sectional
Sept 20:     Unit Game
Oct 18:       Unit Game
Nov 1-2:     Sectional at Palo Alto Bridge Center
Dec 13:      Unit Game - Holiday Party

Please visit our Unit 498 website for more news on new members, rank advancements, results and schedules for our Unit and Club Games and more.  

The 2025 Board of Directors

Please feel free to contact any of us with questions or suggestions.

President               Lauren Rosen
Vice President       Kit Morse
Treasurer              Rita Armstrong
Secretary              Carl Ebeling
Director, Tournaments    Carol Lashman
Director, Unit Game Coordinator  Leslie Braker
Director, Unit Game Coordinator  Eileen DiGiorgio
Director, Membership and Outreach  Jeanne Urich
Past President       Janice Carter