Mary Hruby was a friend to all in the St. Louis bridge community, and we will miss her.

Mary worked tirelessly for the St. Louis bridge community. She was a member of the Unit 143 Board of Directors for nine years and served as the Vice President for most of those years. Mary had a thorough understanding of how the Unit works, an excellent memory for past Board decisions and procedures, and was a stickler for the Board following the By-Laws and Standing Rules.

In addition to her duties as Vice President, she was the Intermediate-Novice Tournament chair, coordinated the annual publication of the date book, and as a member of the Tournament Committee was the partnership chair for the Sectionals and Regionals for many years. In 2007, Mary did an outstanding job as partnership chair for Nationals. After Mary left the Board, she continued to volunteer her services as partnership chair, as well as the coordinator of the date book.

In addition to all her service, Mary was a perfect bridge partner. She was always respectful of her partners, as well as the opponents. Mary truly modeled good conduct at the bridge table. Of course, she topped it off with her wonderful sense of humor. When partnering with Mary and your bridge game was not going “as well as you would have liked,” you could always laugh and walk away having had an enjoyable time.

This year the Unit 143 Board has nominated Mary for the ACBL Goodwill Member of the Year award. Annually, the ACBL Board of Directors awards this title to an “ACBL member who has exhibited unselfish dedication to the causes of good conduct, worthy participation, and ethical behavior.”

The honoree's name is inscribed on a plaque that is kept in the ACBL headquarters. The ACBL Board of Directors selects the individual from those nominated by the local units. Mary was not aware that the Board had nominated her for this award, and now she will never have the pleasure of accepting the award if it were bestowed. We all know in our hearts that she was extremely deserving of this honor. Mary's absence will leave a large void to fill. Hopefully, we in the Unit are up to the challenge.