BLYTHEWOOD – For Blythewood’s Joyce Hill, success has never been measured only by trophies or titles. Whether serving on nonprofit boards, supporting mental health initiatives, mentoring young bridge players or competing at the highest levels of the game, Hill has built a reputation for giving back to others.
That lifelong commitment to service recently earned Hill one of the bridge world’s highest honors—the 2026 American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Charity Foundation Volunteer of the Year Award.
The award recognizes Hill’s dedication to charitable causes and volunteerism, both within the bridge community and beyond.
“Joyce is an example of the best in bridge who donate both to bridge-related charities and to charities in their communities,” said Paul Cuneo, president of the ACBL Charity Foundation.
Hill’s commitment to helping others began early. As a child she collected newspapers for recycling, and while in graduate school she volunteered at Durham’s Hassel House crisis center, where she staffed phone lines and listened to callers seeking help.
Over the years, that spirit of service expanded into leadership roles with numerous nonprofit organizations, including the South Carolina Ballet, Columbia Museum of Art, Historic Columbia, the U.S. Equestrian Team and the U.S. Eventing Association.
Longtime owner of Farewell Farm, one of Blythewood’s premier equestrian facilities, Hill has hosted many eventing horse trials there, including the Eastern DeBroke Championship Trials where top-tier riders used strong performances to launch successful campaigns for the U.S. Olympic and World Equestrian Games teams.
Hill is also a generous supporter of animal welfare organizations. In 2018, she underwrote a $100,000 fundraising campaign initiated by Blythewood’s Hoof and Paw animal welfare non-profit.
Among her most significant philanthropic accomplishments was her work to improve mental health care. After studying emergency departments across the country, Hill became an advocate for better treatment of patients experiencing mental health crises. Her efforts helped inspire the opening of a Prisma Health emergency mental health center in 2013 bearing her name. She personally donated $800,000 toward the project and helped the Palmetto Health Foundation raise an additional $800,000.
Patty Tucker, who nominated Hill for the Volunteer of the Year Award, praised both her generosity to community welfare and her influence on young people.
Hill has been one of the earliest supporters of introducing bridge into schools, believing the game helps academically minded students develop critical thinking skills and confidence. She has supported the Atlanta Junior Bridge program and Jump Start Bridge for more than a decade.
While philanthropy has defined much of her life, Hill has also enjoyed an accomplished bridge career.
She began playing bridge as a child but didn’t pursue tournament competition seriously until 1998. Her first national championship came in 2008 in the 0-5000 Mini Spingold. She later teamed with fellow champion Jenny Wolpert to capture the Marsha May Sternberg Women’s Board-a-Match Teams title in 2009, successfully defend the title in 2010, and add two more women’s team championships in 2011.
Hill also finished second in the Keohane North American Swiss Teams in 2018 before winning the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams in 2022.
Now 78, Hill continues to compete successfully, recently surpassing 100 masterpoints at a regional tournament.
“I really feel blessed,” she said.
For those who know her, however, Hill’s greatest legacy extends well beyond bridge tables and championship trophies. It is found in the countless lives she has touched through her generosity, leadership and unwavering commitment to helping others.