Hall of Fame adds Three
It’s great to be back at an NABC even though
many of the celebrations and ceremonies are still
on hold. This year, the Hall of Fame committee
has chosen three individuals to join the ranks of
fellow bridge luminaries:
Sharon Anderson with the Blackwood Award, and John Swanson and Ron
Von der Porten as recipients of the von Zedtwitz Award.
They will be inducted at one of the three ceremonies next year.
Blackwood Award
The Blackwood Award is given to individuals who have made major contributions to the game of
bridge outside expertise at the table.
Anderson, who is from Eagan MN, served on
the Board of Directors for 12 years from 2009 to
2020, including a term as president in 2012. She
continues to serve on the District 14 board, where
she has been a fixture for over 40 years.
But it was her work on the ACBL Educational
Foundation that drew the attention of the Hall of
Fame Committee, said chair Mitch Dunitz, who
serves alongside Anderson as the co-chairs of
development for the Ed Foundation.
“It’s imperative more than ever to grow the
game and get more young players,” Dunitz said.
“She’s been a guiding force on the Ed Foundation.
She’s a fantastic volunteer. She has so much energy."
Anderson joined the foundation as a trustee in
2011 and has been involved in various capacities
since then, returning as a trustee this year after
serving as a volunteer most of the years in between.
She pushed for the reorganization of the foundation
that took place in 2017, aimed at drawing
leadership from a wider talent pool and bringing
a focus on evaluating the long-term impact of the
projects supported by Ed Foundation grants.
Leadership was a focus for her both in her
working life and in bridge organization. Before
retiring in 2002, she spent 25 years running a
leadership center at the Hubert Humphrey School
of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
She served on the boards of more than 100
organizations, many of them nonprofit.
“She’s really good at thinking about
volunteers,” said Joe Jones, executive director of
the ACBL. “She makes people feel important. She
gets the best out of people.”
For Dunitz, the selection was personal. “She’s
a mentor to me,” he said. “Everyone she touches
has the same reaction.”
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