‘YOGA FOR YOUR BRAIN’: Judy Kutin of Princeton will take the helm at a longstanding local bridge community this summer, as outgoing leaders Bill and Stephanie Miller take comfort that Princeton’s bridge tradition will endure. (Photo by Matthew Hersh)

By Matthew Hersh

After 25 years of guiding one of Princeton’s most quietly vital social communities, Bill and Stephanie Miller are stepping away from leadership of the Princeton’s Bridge Club, entrusting its future to longtime player, resident, and former bridge student Judy Kutin.

For the Millers, the transition represents a continuation of the culture they spent decades building, developing equal parts competitive bridge and building bridges throughout the community.

Bill Miller’s journey into bridge club ownership began more than two decades ago when he bought into a club in Somerset County before expanding operations to Princeton around 2003.

“My partner ultimately left, and I started running games down here as well,” Miller said.

The club operated in borrowed community spaces, including churches, synagogues, and municipal buildings. Once running games seven days a week, the club now focuses primarily on afternoon play, reflecting changes accelerated by COVID-19 and an aging player base.

These days, the club operates out of The Jewish Center of Princeton on Tuesdays, and Stone Hill Church on Thursdays.

“Our clientele has been very loyal,” said Stephanie Miller. “People want to win, but we keep it friendly. Sore winners and sore losers are not appreciated.”

Attendance ebbs and flows with the seasons, Bill Miller noted, as many members migrate south during winter months. “We lose our snowbirds to warmer climates, but they come back,” he said. “It balances out.”

Teaching newcomers became central to the club’s survival. Many players, often retirees seeking social interaction and stimulation, arrive through beginner lessons.

“People take lessons, play among themselves, and when they’re ready to improve, they come to a game,” Bill Miller said. Among those students was Judy Kutin, now the club’s incoming manager.
“Judy is one of my students,” Bill Miller said.

“You never know who’s going to develop.”

Kutin brings both experience and deep personal investment to her new role. She has taught bridge locally for 15 years and lived in Princeton for nearly 25 years. At the Princeton Adult School, her classes draw an unusually wide age range.

“We have students from 25 to 85,” Kutin said. “That’s one of the best parts. I see them in class, then I run into them at McCaffrey’s, and they’re living for bridge every week.”

Bridge, she explained, creates commitment and accountability.

“If you say you’re coming, you can’t let your friends down. You need four people at a table,” she said. “You’re making a commitment to your partner and to everyone playing.”

Regular players notice when someone is absent, check on one another, and form relationships that span decades. “We know more about people than their families sometimes,” Stephanie Miller said. “If someone doesn’t show up, people notice.”

Kutin has experienced that sense of mutual care firsthand.

“When my kids were little, bridge friends babysat for me,” she said. “And I’ve helped friends when they needed it. Would I have known these people otherwise? Probably not.”

The club also offers something increasingly rare: focused, screen-free social interaction.

“I call bridge yoga for your brain,” Kutin said. “You’re not on a screen. You have to focus on the people at the table.”

As a nudge to participants, Kutin’s classes include a few house rules. “No talking about politics,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a lovely break. When we’re playing, we stay focused.”

Kutin’s connection to bridge stretches back to childhood card games and later deepened when she met her husband through a bridge club while they were university students in Chicago.

Players range from young adults discovering the game to longtime enthusiasts in their nineties who still arrive weekly to compete and socialize. Maintaining fairness and structure also requires an advanced expertise. Kutin recently completed certification as a club director, passing a rigorous exam covering game rules and dispute resolution.

“It’s like being a sports referee,” she explained. “If someone bids or plays out of turn, you have to know how to restore fairness for everyone at the table.”

For Bill Miller, seeing a former student take over feels like the natural evolution of the club.

“If you play bridge anywhere near Princeton, you know about us,” he said. “But the goal was always to keep the game welcoming and fun.”

His teaching philosophy reflects that: “If you’re not laughing, something’s wrong,” he said. “Learning bridge is hard. People need kindness.”

As the Millers prepare to leave their home in Kendall Park for their new life in South Carolina, they leave behind more than a card club. They leave a community ready for its next deal under Kutin’s leadership.

“It’s always been this wonderful intellectual pursuit,” she said. “Regardless of age, people come together over it.”

For more information, contact Judy Kutin at JudyKutin@gmail.com.