Webster’s dictionary says a family is not only someone connected by birth or marriage, but it can be a group with a common goal. This is why I felt I was among dear family members while attending this year’s International Bowl Expo at the Las Vegas Hilton. It seemed that every turn or venue there was a warm face who you remembered from the past year or years and welcomed the chance to reconnect and catch up with what has happened in their life on and off the lanes since we last met.
Proprietors and bowlers had a golden opportunity to select from workshop sessions that included everything from Pro Shops and Coaching joint sessions to Business Planning and Marketing and Promotion. They were all featuring name speakers who are tops in their respective field. I’m sure those who attended one or more left with ideas that will help them immeasurably in the year ahead.
Several service awards were presented to individuals who have made an impact that is still felt in their respective fields. The Victor Lerner Memorial Medal 2010 BPAA Hall of Fame inductee was Ted Hoffman Jr., from Dublin, Calif. I remember when Hoffman bought his warm face and bounce into the Showboat when he was producing the PBA Western Regionals during the thirty years he served as their director. He runs Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl where he is currently President and co-owner with Earl’s wife Susie.
One of the good guys was honored with the Dick Weber Bowling Ambassador award. It seems fitting that long time bowling legend Johnny Petraglia, who has done so much on and off the lanes, would wear this crown. Petraglia has long been known for giving back. He hosted PBA tournaments in New Jersey with proceeds going to the Special Olympics. He stepped up for the past twelve years to help high school coaches and has donated over 600 bowling balls to New Jersey High Schools. He also works with veterans through the BVL. Weber would be proud.
The bowling coaches Hall of Fame Committee elected John Jowdy as its newest member of the Bowling Coaches Hall of Fame. Jowdy, who turned 90 this year, began his coaching career instructing and training youth bowlers in San Antonio in the 40’s and 50’s. He was already a well-known name when our paths first crossed in the 1963 All Star. I had made the finals and got up the nerve to ask him if he had seen anything in my game I should work on. Jowdy responded “you got here with your game just keep it” That was him – always direct and to the point. This past March, despite battling health problems, he took time, along with his wife Brenda, to attend the 20th Annual National Golden Ladies Classic. The women enjoyed talking with him about his past experiences, especially professionals he instructed over the years.
The late Joe Kristof was also inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame. I had the good fortune to know Kristof when we served in the early sixties as AMF Staff Members. Over the years, he conducted hundreds of clinics and owned a pro shop that was an innovator; that had a stub lane with a full approach in Columbus, Ohio. His son is still operating the shop that has been in the same location for 50 years. I feel privileged to have been picked by the committee to join these two gentlemen I have known and admired for so many years in the Coaches Hall of Fame.
The highlight of this reunion was the Hall of Fame & Museum Auction. It brought together all parties including the top stars of both the men and women’s tours. It’s the major fund-raiser for the Museum. Early indications point to a record total.
During the auction I had an opportunity to spend time with Jim Goodwin, owner and Editor of Stars & Strikes. He has taken on the task of helping to create the new wing of the museum that has been set aside for the Professional Women Bowlers. If you have anything of value that relates to the history of the PWBA, please contact Jim on his website www.starsandstrikesbowling.com or the paper, or you can email him at jgoodwinbowling@sbcglobal.net. He and his committee are hoping to make this a wonderful showcase for the women.
On a sad note, before and just after the Expo our industry lost a pair of legends. On Sunday, the day before the opening, we learned that Walt Steinsiek, a cartoonist and writer, who’s wonderful drawings brought smiles and insights into our sport, died of heart failure in his home in Micco, Florida.
He was passionate about bowling, and over the years has received many industry awards.
We learned seven days later that Dick Evans, an award winning writer has passed away in Daytona Beach, Florida. His career in journalism is unmatched in our sport. Our paths crossed for the first time at the All Star in1962. Among his accomplishments was serving as media director for the PBA Senior tour where he worked tournaments over a period of seven years. His wife Jodie informed me that he had a “bucket list” that he completed that included a cruise to Alaska and he wanted to die in a hospice.
Dick was an avid tennis player and would have probably liked having the obituary requested by a great writer and humorist, Art Buchwald. “He died on center court after acing Andre Aggassi.”
They left a void that will be hard to fill.
Thought for the day: “You make your own decisions and create your own happiness.”
