American Contract Bridge League
Unit 484   District 20

Profile

Bill Reeves

(Published November 2002)

Looking fit and tanned, Bill Reeves arrived early at a Monday bridge game to talk to me about his life. Bill had spent the weekend logging 70 miles on one of his six bikes with the Siskiyou Velo bike group. In addition to playing bridge whenever he can and working part-time, Bill will log 5000 to 6000 miles on his bikes this year. He and his wife, Rebecca Ostrum, recently returned from a trip to France. They carried their bikes in their suitcases and assembled them after arriving in Southwestern France. Previous biking-trip destinations include New Zealand as well as other areas of France. "We love to travel," he said. "Getting lots of exercise on our trips helps keep the weight off"

Bill was born in Hackensack, NJ. His parents moved the family to Denver when he was six weeks old. He grew up in Colorado; he chose to attend Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. He received his MBA from the University of Alaska and his JD from Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA. Bill practiced law in Anchorage, AK. That is where he met and married Rebecca almost 20 years ago.

Rebecca and Bill selected Ashland in which to retire because of its size, charm, culture and skiing opportunities. They moved here five years ago.

Bill's mother introduced him to rubber bridge when he was young; he later played a little bridge while in law school. When the couple moved to Ashland they played social bridge for awhile. After reading a couple of bridge books they tested their skills at one of our local clubs. They liked the people and the competition. Soon after they joined the ACBL. They recall the excitement of winning the Knockouts at the Newport Sectional with Kathleen and Don Provence last year. "We've also won a couple of times on Monday night," Bill said, "and that is a real thrill and accomplishment". Bill and Rebecca have captured 60 master points. Though they would love to be Life Masters, that is not a high priority of theirs. Having fun is their goal.

Bill is a part-time Labor Arbitrator. Mostly, he arbitrates government work-rules disputes.

Bill is an active Unit Board member. He was Partnership Chairman at our recent Sectional; he designs the flyers for Unit events.

Bill has several ideas for improving attendance at games. He would like to see an increase in tournament publicity. "There should be fliers of our upcoming Sectionals at all neighboring tournaments." He sees the need for attracting more young people to our games.

Thinking outside the box, Bill wonders whether it's feasible to e-mail our Bridge News to save money.