LeRoy M. Lake was born on Oct. 18, 1896 and died in Exeter, NH on Nov. 15, 1966. He was a retired dairy farmer and had enjoyed a political career as Selectman in the Town of Brentwood for more than 40 years having just been reelected in the Spring of 1966. He also had the distinction of serving two terms as representative in the NH General Court.
It was the Lake family’s wish that the New Hampshire Bridge Association (NHBA), Unit 150 of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) periodically recognize bridge players who have shown special qualities. A trophy was provided by the family of Mr. Lake to memorialize him and his love for the game that he had enjoyed playing and supporting for many years.
The first requirement: There should be a notable presence and certain degree of success in NH Duplicate Bridge during the year in which the award is made.
The second requirement: There should be some degree of involvement with the NHBA in the year of the award.
The third requirement: Notably the most important of all; recipients must have shown superior behavior and gracious presence not only at the bridge table but in the company of their peers when away from the table.
2023 Leroy Lake Award Winner
Betty Brewster has been selected as the Leroy Lake Award winner for 2023. Lucia Carlisle, chairperson of the selection committee, in her presentation remarks cited how Betty had met the three criteria of the award. Betty had a notable presence in New Hampshire bridge events during the year. During the Covid pandemic when bridge was forced to go online, Betty was very involved with the distribution of funds from online games to the NH clubs and directors for a period of two and a half years. Throughout the year Betty exhibited superior behavior and a gracious presence at the bridge table and in the performance of the many tasks for the Great Bay Bridge Club in Portsmouth.
Leroy M. Lake Award Recipients
1968 Mrs. Arthur Houle
1969 Dorothy Damon
1970 Norman G. Sanborn
1971 Jane Smith
1972 James Beattie
1973 Paul Natale & James Hogan
1974 Louise Weber
1975 Marion Wyman
1976 Richard Laberge
1977 James Garnis
1978 Jean Dickinson
1979 Bruce McGinley
1980 Amy Scott
1981 Edward A. Gould
1982 Lee Weiner
1983 Rick Fletcher
1984 Joan Cook
1985 Geoff Phipps
1986 Phil Bell, Sr.
1988 Geoff Phipps
1989 Marcia Tarosky
1990 John Cook
1991 Ray Durocher
1992 James Drake
1993 Alleen Houle
1994 Linda Cardone
1995 Maurice Emond
1996 Margaret Noury
1997 Edward A. Gould
1998 Elaine Gordon
1999 Ernie Wilcox
2000 John Cook
2001 Merrick Weinstein
2003 James Felch
2004 Mark & Gretchen Teich
2012 Fred Graf and Bruce Downing
2017 Lawrence Cheetham
2018 Sarah Widhu & BL “Tink” Tysor
2019 Merrick Weinstein
2020 David Lawrence
2021 Lucia Carlisle
2023 Betty Brewster