Born and raised in Winnemucca, NV.

Learned Bridge while in the Army but started playing a lot a few years after I retired.  My current goal is to help introduce others to the game and grow the game at at the Mathewson Bridge Center.

*Nevada Real Estate Broker’s License and Business Broker’s Permit. Licensed from 1986

*CLA Certification from National Association of Certified Legal Assistants’ CLA; 1986 through my retirement in 2013

*Senior Paralegal with McDonald Carano, Reno, NV from 1998 through 2013.  I continue to work on individual projects for the firm.  While employed I worked primarily in estate administrations, probates, trusts and accountings required by various courts.

*Past United States Bankruptcy Court appointment as Administrator to Disbursing Agent for creditors’ disbursements and accountings for bankruptcy matter.

*Past Director for the State Bar of Nevada Legal Assistants Division (LAD)

*Past President and Treasurer, and inaugural Board member of Sierra Nevada Association of Paralegals (SNAP)

*Past Treasurer Women’s Council of Realtors

*Enjoying life with my husband of 37 years, Alan, a retired Reno Fire Captain.  We have three adult children, Ken, Hannah and Roger, and two grandchildren, Ant and CC.

I began playing bridge with a Southwest Reno group of women and joined the Reno Bridge Club as I got closer to retirement.  Upon retirement, bridge became a way of life, even more so when my sister Sandy Haslem retired.  

I feel blessed to have joined such a wonderful bridge club and just love all the members.  I hope to have more time to play as the grandkids get a little older. 

Don began playing bridge with his family at age 10.  He had his first duplicate experience in college, but didn’t start playing seriously until he moved to University of California at Santa Barbara in 1977 and had easy access to all the tournaments in the LA area.  He continued to play in the Palo Alto and Santa Rosa CA clubs after moving to the SF Bay area until about 1989, when he started what ended up as a ~20 year sabbatical from bridge to raise children, earn a living in various science and engineering jobs, and play in a variety of local rock’n’roll bands.   He returned to regular duplicate bridge play in 2010.   Don thought he had retired to Reno in March 2016, but shortly thereafter found himself a Club manager and directing five games a week, which sometimes felt suspiciously like an actual job.

In 2018 Don incorporated Washoe Bridge Society, Inc (WBS) as a Nevada non-profit corporation, and applied to the IRS for status as a 501(C)3 organization.  After receiving this approval, he transferred ownership of the local club sanctions to the corporation.  This allowed the WBS to receive a very large donation from Mr. Chuck Mathewson, and resulted in the opening of the Mathewson Bridge Center in late 2019.

Don is a Silver Life Master, with the majority of his masterpoints earned in the bad old days when they were considerably harder to come by.  His personal favorite system is Matchpoint Precision, but he is happy to play whatever system is most comfortable for his partner.

I am a California native. After my father died, my mother, sister and brother followed my grandparents to Reno. I attended Mount Rose Elementary, Billinghurst Jr. High, Reno High and UNR.

I opened my first retail store (Health House) at the age of 21 with a $7,000 loan from my mother. My husband, Stan, and I later expanded to 7 retail stores. We started packing a line of specialty foods which was distributed nationally and internationally until the flood of 1997. We lost our grocery chain placement when our inventory and packing supplies were destroyed by the flood water. I then got into Real Estate Sales, which I continue to this day. I am a highly active RE/MAX agent, but I still find time to play bridge several times a week.

I first leaned to play bridge with my mother and her friends when I was in Reno High School in the 60s. I played party bridge with friends as well as in a couple’s group for many years. I played about once a week until after the pandemic.

Bridge was prevalent in my family growing up.  My mother’s social bridge group of 8 women met regularly.  During high school I played some bridge, probably Goren without much instruction or skill.

I moved to Hawaii where I lived for 12 years pursing my education toward my master’s in social work.  I practiced social work in a healthcare setting both in Hawaii and later in Reno.  I worked with families who had babies admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units and patients  who were admitted to the adult intensive care unit and their families.  Later, I worked at the University of Nevada Reno on grants serving a geriatric and gerontology population – where I now find myself part of the geriatric population!!

Once retired, opportunities to play and learn bridge surfaced.  I have enjoyed taking bridge lessons at Wrondel Way when it  was the home of duplicate bridge in Reno.  I also went to classes offered through TMCC continuing education program and of course classes with Jill Wallace offered through Reno Bridge Academy at Mathewson Bridge Center.  Bridge is a great example and opportunity for lifelong learning!

I am honored to serve on the Washoe Bridge Society Board in support of bridge and all activities offered at Mathewson Bridge Center.  As I learned from my career, having outside stimulating activities for mind and body are healthy for all age groups. 

Steve was the first president for the Washoe Bridge Society, a Nevada nonprofit organization.

He has both Bachelors and Masters degrees in History and Political Science from New Mexico Highlands University. After 4 years as an officer in the US Army, mainly stationed in Germany, he went back to school for his law degree. He thanks all the tax payers for paying for his degree via the GI Bill. With a law degree in hand he went to work for the Farmers Insurance Group as a trial attorney. He was with them for 30 years managing litigation, and, finally, as chief of their claims department.

Steve was blessed with a great wife, now passed away, three daughters, and six grandchildren. In 2016 he relocated to Reno escaping Southern California.

During his college days he learned to play basic bridge, but had not played in over 40 years. A golfing buddy invited Steve to play with him at the Reno Bridge Club. After about six months he was cornered by Kathy Lane who asked if I would be willing to sit on the board of a new nonprofit company being funded by a wealthy donor. He agreed and upon receipt of a large amount of money, the new facility was realized. I hope everyone loves our Mathewson Bridge Center.

When did you get into Bridge and how long have you been Playing?  I learned to play bridge at a bridge studio in Huntsville Alabama in 1974.  I learned to play four-card Majors.  My first sectional I remember playing was in Huntsville at the Sheraton, with a layer of blue smoke covering the ceiling; I was very pregnant at the time.  When I returned to our quarters, I took a shower to get rid of the smell!

Another story:  I played Quarterly at the Federal Penitentiary and monthly at a minimum-security facility in Kansas.  At the ‘Pen’, visitors sat East/West and prisoners sat North/South.  One prisoner was the “Hungarian Connection.”  I was told that because he wore Gucci shoes!  At the minimum-security facility, we played in the cafeteria on Sunday nights.  There was an electric bug killer and when a bug got zapped, you could here it!  The director was in for mail fraud; one Sunday he said he was being released, but his brother would take over the game.  Several months later, he was back again!  Crime doesn’t pay!!

Where did you grow up and what brought you to Reno?  I was born, raised, and educated in northern New Jersey.  I met my husband Jon in Germany, who was from Reno.  Upon his retirement we moved back to Reno in 2014. 

Professional History:  B.A., Business Education.  U.S. Army Captain.  DOD Teacher, Germany.  Bridge director (briefly in Germany).  Retail Sales (Quilts).  Office staff, Waste Management Environmental Services.  U.S. Dept. Energy contractor.  Bridge TAP teacher. 

Hobbies other than bridge:  Knitting, Crocheting, Quilting, gardening.

How did you find the Mathewson Bridge Center?  I played at the Wrondel Way location and, as the Unit President at that time, assisted Linda Averett in finding the current location.  This process took quite some time to locate based on the cost requirements, size (Sq. Ft,), location, and parking.  Then it took over two months to renovate the building.  Thanks to Chuck Mathewson, he assisted with both the leasing and purchasing of some of the furnishings. 

Best advice for newer players?  Play a lot!  The more experience you have in seeing, bidding, and playing, the more you become a better player.  Discuss with your partner only one hand you both have difficulty in bidding and/or playing.  Try on partners for a definite period of time; if it works for you, good.  If not, part amicably.  You may find that experience with others may cause you both to grow.