Letter from the New Chair of NZB

31st January 2018
This newsletter is tinged with some sadness but also a real commitment towards the future. On Sunday the 21st the Board regrettably accepted the resignation of Alan Dormer as Chair.

Alan was hopeful that his recovery would be speedy and that he would be in a position to commit fully to the task of Chair. Unfortunately Alan has hit a few road bumps and has concluded he has not got the strength to continue. The Board was united that Alan’s health and recovery must come first.

Over the last 10 months the Board has focused on restoring confidence, transparency and engagement. We have made significant progress and for this we are grateful for Alan’s leadership.

As you may be aware we have had a few challenges embedding our technology solution.
This is not unusual with technology developments. We hope we are now over the hump and on the path to normality.

In accordance with the constitution and transition arrangements I was elected as Chair pending our forthcoming elections. I am honoured to take the helm and have offered my services going forward.

As with every election cycle there will this year be a number of vacancies and we hope you will consider putting your hat in the ring.

As you will have read Alan Turner was honoured in the New Year’s honours list. A richly deserved recognition for services to Bridge. Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Alan.

Other news arising from the Board meeting was: - The significant efforts of Karen (leading our technology solution) and Jane (development, implementation of our regional Bridge Mates initiative and her effort in raising the profile of the organisation) were specifically mentioned by Alan in his farewell comments.

Also recognised was the effort of Ray Curnow in working with the Greymouth Bridge Club. You will have read recently that Greymouth have joined the organisation and it is a pleasure to welcome them into the fold.

We had over 1500 responses to the Tournament & Grading survey. This is a wonderful result. Our thanks go out to Kate Terry and Bauer Media who assisted with the survey.

The Board would like to congratulate those who have recently had a change in their ranking. Especially those who have achieved their Certificate of Proficiency and those who have reached status of Silver Grand Master and Grand Master. Well done to all concerned.

Clubs are returning to regular club play after the summer break and the tournament schedule is well underway. In addition to our own summer bridge festivals we see at this time of the year two significant events. The Canberra Bridge Festival and the Gold Coast Congress (mid-February).

Notable successes at Canberra were: Mike Cornell, Ashley Bach, Matthew Brown and Michael Whibley with a couple of Australians winning the South-West Pacific Open Teams Championship.

Julia Zhu and Tony Jiang- 2nd Canberra Rex under 750/300 teams, 2nd Neura Two Day Swiss Pairs, 3rd Penline 500 Swiss Pairs Championship.

Best wishes
Allan Morris