Mark Ehret

Mark Ehret has been playing since 1982 and became a Director 10 years ago. He learned bridge in college but had to give up bridge and go to work. Mark runs a Wednesday day game. Mark is also available for private lessons. He is a silver life master. Mark's best memory of bridge is Fred McAvoy being his mentor. Fred (an experienced player) took Mark under his wing and helped him develop his game.

Mark directs games at St. Louis Bridge Center.

    Lee Hastings

I started playing duplicate bridge in the mid-70s and took up the hobby passionately the mid-80s. Bridge, specifically tournament bridge as we know it, faces numerous challenges to its viability as our current membership ages .

Additionally, I am an Diamond Life Master, an ACBL-certified teacher for bridge and Easybridge.  I am both a club director and the current owner of the Maryland Heights Monday morning game. I also run the 8 Is Enough and several games at Bridge Haven.

I love education and learning.  I have a BA in Business Administration and Economics, an MS in Risk Management and Insurance, an MBA with a concentration in Finance, the CPCU designation, and 7 insurance associate degrees. 

• Former  President and board committees member for a non-for-profit adult day care organization
• Current volunteer President of my homeowner’s association
• Member of four national committees for insurance industry organizations directing

  projects and planning national seminars and meetings

• Former member of audit and operations review committees for employers involved in merger and acquisitions of operations

I am married to Jennifer Luner and have three cats, Caesar, Cleopatra, and Charm(ian).

Lee Hastings directs games at Lee's West County Bridge club. 

Bob McDill

I am largely a self-taught bridge player. My parents played, and when I began to play in college, I used their little red flip chart reference book. I also read between 50 and 75 different books on bridge from C.C. Wei's book on Precision to Kelsey's Killing Defense to many books on conventions. Like most people, I gave up the game when my job got in the way. And like many, I began playing again at lunch for a break from the workday. As I got back in the game, I played at the three Sectional tournaments and the Regional with friends. I rarely played in club games because of my work schedule, and was only able to really start playing regularly after I retired. I am now a Bronze Life Master. I decided a few years ago that I should give back to the game I enjoy. At the suggestion of several people that I would be a good director, I said why not. I am looking forward to starting this new phase in my bridge career. And I'm especially happy to be directing a night game so that players with day jobs will be able to play and compete at the game they love.

Beth Percich

I started running bridge games in 1981 with my grandpa, Ted Browne; however I did not learn to play the game right away. I first was taught to score (of course, by hand) and when I asked, “When will you teach me to play?” He said, “Later.”

Next I learned all of the wonderful movements of this game including a few of Grandpa's. Again, I asked, “When will you teach me to play?” and he said, “That's the easy part. You need to know the laws and rules of the game first.”- which I did and took the director's test. I asked again about playing and he said, “Now you need to learn the most important part of the game and that is everyone's name”.

After awhile I was finally allowed to kibitz but only the players who played strong 2's, 4 card majors and a nice straight Standard American game. Well, here I am -- more than 22 years later and loving it! I know my Grandpa would be proud.

Beth Percich is the Senior Director at St. Louis Bridge Center.

Mike &Janet Vontz

Mike and Janet Vontz learned the basics of bridge one weekend in 1988 when they were trapped at Mike's parents' home in Buttonwillow, California. It had been snowing in the mountains and I-5 was closed over the Grapevine. The Senior Vontzes thought they could make the frequent visits of their son and his girlfriend even more enjoyable if they would become bridge players. It would also make the duration of the snowstorm more tolerable.Back home in Westlake Village, CA., Janet, a transplanted Missourian, immediately raided the local library and checked out six bridge books including Charles Goren's Precision System of Contract Bridge Bidding. The opening chapter made a compelling argument for its use, and Janet taught Mike the Precision bidding system. It was several years before Mike knew that there was another system of bidding. He is still quite lost when he plays Standard American. Soon they discovered duplicate bridge at a club in Thousand Oaks and became hooked.Mike and Janet married in 1989, and started a family. They both realized that proximity of cousins and extended family would become even more important since between them they had twelve siblings and eventually twenty two nieces and nephews. The choice was either Janet's family in Missouri or Mike's in California. Since Mike had never experienced Missouri, they headed east and wound up in Lake Saint Louis, even though no one in Janet's family had a clue that bridge was anything but a structure built over water (and still do).

Mike and Janet Vontz manage Bit O' Bridge Club in Lake St. Louis, Missouri and direct games at St. Louis Bridge Center.