IBI March 2011

THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING

CONTENTS

VOL 19.3

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott Frager frager@bowlingindustry.com Skype: scottfrager

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Chris Holmes

6 THE ISSUE AT HAND

22 COVER STORY

A Confluence of Collaboration

Vero Bowl Bringing back life, style & drama

By Scott Frager

By Robin Breuner

8 SHORTS

14

BPAA Awards NAIR’s Nancy Surprenant retires…

Kegel’s 30th Anniversary

32 MEMORY LANE The year 1968, the city Hong Kong.

Bowling, a Chinese passion

holmes@bowlingindustry.com

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Gregory Keer keer@bowlingindustry.com

OFFICE MANAGER Patty Heath heath@bowlingindustry.com

CONTRIBUTORS Robin Breuner Fred Groh Patty Heath Paul Lane Chuck Pezzano Lydia Rypcinski Joan Taylor SPECIAL PROJECTS Jackie Fisher fisher@bowlingindustry.com

By Paul Lane ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Designworks www.dzynwrx.com (818) 735-9424

48 REMEMBER WHEN

10 NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Archie Comics Since 1941 Archie and bowling have been a pair.

A university loses its lanes but the memories and wood linger.

FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)

13245 Riverside Dr., Suite 501 Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (818) 789-2695(BOWL) Fax (818) 789-2812 info@bowlingindustry.com

www.BowlingIndustry.com

By Joan Taylor

HOTLINE: 888-424-2695 22

36 Showcase 38 Datebook 38 Classifieds

12 MY PARADISE Bruce VanMetre: Drumming to his own beat

14 PIONEERS PBA founder Eddie Elias How imagination, energy and savvy elevated bowling

MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:

By Chuck Pezzano with Fred Groh 32

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SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy of International Bowling Industry is sent free to every bowling center, independently owned pro shop and collegiate bowling center in the U.S., and every military bowling center and pro shop worldwide. Publisher reserves the right to provide free subscriptions to those individuals who meet publication qualifications. Additional subscriptions may be purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50 per year. Subscriptions for Canada and Mexico are $65 per year, all other foreign subscriptions are $80 per year. All foreign subscriptions should be paid in U.S. funds using International Money Orders.

POSTMASTER: Please send new as well as old address to International Bowling Industry, 13245 Riverside Drive, Suite 501, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 USA. If possible, please furnish address mailing label.

Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2010, B2B Media, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the publisher’s permission.

THE ISSUE AT HAND

A Confluence of Collaboration So what happens when you bring 40-50 bowling proprietors from across the country into one room, at one time, in a great town with some outstanding bowling centers?

I recently discovered that answer, and a lot more, at the Brunswick Showcase event held in Portland this past February.

I hadn’t visited Portland in many years, and it felt great leaving the megalopolis called Los Angeles to the more down to earth city where the mighty Williamette and Columbia rivers merge.

The rivers, however, are not the only things of confluence in this town. In the metropolitan Portland area of 2.2 million, there’s a bowling renaissance, of sorts, that seems to be spreading throughout the Northwest.

As part of the Showcase, Brunswick Bowling showed off three centers in the Portland area that represented what our industry is all about. We toured Grand Central, a couple-years-old boutique center, Sunset Lanes a traditional center gone hybrid with an incredible redemption arcade, and the brand new mega-center Big Al’s Beaverton.

You’ve read about Grand Central and Big Al’s in past pages of IBI. So have I. But, until Brunswick’s Showcase, I’d never been to either of these locations. As amazing as the published photos were, seeing these facilities in person amongst proprietors and fellow vendors really evoked a sense of pride in our 6

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industry’s creative, collaborative spirit.

Watching proprietors interact, kicking centers’ “proverbial” tires, making frank and extemporaneous comments (some constructively critical, most overwhelmingly complimentary) provided an invaluable insight as to how thoughtful one must be when making decisions about purchasing equipment and upgrading facilities.

On the line are not only hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars but it can certainly mean the difference between make-it or breakit for the center.

That’s a humbling responsibility for the proprietors, the makers of the equipment and designers of the facilities to whom investors are looking for the right answers. It’s clear from this event that it’s a responsibility Brunswick takes very seriously.

In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of waters.

In bowling, we have our own powerful confluences.

Trade shows, conventions and events are the meetings of the minds. As we approach our industry’s busy trade show season, I hope to have the opportunity of seeing you at one or more of these events.

– SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR frager@bowlingindustry.com

THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com The best kept secret of the bowling business should be shared. That is definitely true of IBI’s website. It’s YOUR site; extend it to your friends and colleagues in the bowling world. Michael L. Monroe of 247 Sportsclub of Waukee, Iowa did! Each new member brings vitality and ideas and that’s the way to grow a web community. Thanks, Mike!

Simply log on or become a member and click “Invite” on the toolbar. You will be guided to how to host more members. And, as they say…the more, the merrier!...and the smarter! …and…

SHORTS

Bowling U.S. Women’s Open Taps QubicaAMF Equipment The 2011 Bowling U.S. Women’s Open will feature four lanes of equipment provided by QubicaAMF including 90 XLi Pinspotters, SPL Lanes, ball returns, foul detectors, masking units and AMFlite II Pins.

The event will be nationally televised on ESPN on July 2 from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will be held in conjunction with the 2011 International Bowl Expo.

This event is open to all female youth and adult bowlers in the U.S. This will mark the first time in the history of the sport that a women’s major professional bowling event will be held in a traditional sporting venue. The finals will be broadcast live on the stadium’s famed 60-yard high definition video board.

John Losito, Tournament Committee Chair, stated, “We are proud to partner with QubicaAMF for the equipment and are looking forward to an exciting finals at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.” John Walker, CEO of QubicaAMF Worldwide responded, “We are committed to work with the BPAA to make this event a success, to promote the sport of bowling and keep bowling as the largest participatory sport in the U.S.”

Nancy Surprenant’s Retirement Mention NAIR and you think Suprenant! For 36 of the 39 years of NAIR, Nancy Surprenant has served as the Executive Secretary and, along with her husband Ken a past president who has held the position of Convention Chairman for 33 years, is the heart and soul of the organization. Nancy is retiring and in honor of her and Ken’s service to NAIR, Gregg Pasdiora, current president, presented them with a lifetime achievement award on January 20th at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Acknowledging the efforts and dedication of the Surprenants, Steve Johnson, BPAA President came to the meeting to shake their hands and thank them for their decades of service to the bowling community.

This fall NAIR will be holding a 40th Anniversary meeting and celebration. The dates and location will be announced at a later date.

THE LAST RIDE FOR HARMATZ Billy Harmatz, 20-year career jockey and bowling proprietor, passed away at home on January 27. He is survived by his wife Connie, his partner and friend for 59 years. The youngest of nine children, Harmatz grew up in Boyle Heights, California.

During his years as a jockey, Harmatz won the Preakness in 1959 and rode in the Kentucky Derby four times. He was awarded the prestigious George Wolfe Memorial, held a record for winning six races in one day and was part of a very rare triple dead heat.

After retiring from racing, he moved to Vista, California and began managing his bowling center, Vista Entertainment, and was a vital part of the local and regional bowling community. Along with his wife, Harmatz leaves four children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services were private.

Donations may be made to Vista Rotary Foundation Polio Plus, P.O. Box 24, Los Angeles, CA 92085 8

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Back row,( left to right) Steve Johnson,President BPAA (left). Steve Caffrey, Ed Jandreau, Scott Freeman, Gregg Pasdiora, NAIR President; front row (left to right) Nancy Surprenant, Ken Surprenant and Mark Neumann.

Charity Begins on the Lanes Bowling centers tend to be the support foundation of a community.

It is there people gather to support their neighbors. This is very true at Camelot Bowl in Youngstown, Ohio where a packed house bowled to raise money for four-year-old Hunter Shaffer who suffers from epilepsy.

With the help of the Mahoning Valley Epilepsy Foundation, Camelot and Hunter’s parents hosted a Family Fun Day to raise awareness and money for Hunter and the foundation. A portion will go to help offset Hunter’s medical expenses and the rest will go to Mahoning Valley Epilepsy foundation.

In Niles, Michigan it was support for breast cancer research. The Niles Four Flags USBC Bowling Association and Joey Armadillo’s Bowling Center sponsored the 5th Annual Bowl for the Cure on February 19. In 2010, the association donated more than $11,000 and ranked eighth in the nation for most donations from a single association. The goal this year is $10,000 and the proceeds will stay in the local counties to help fund breast cancer research, education and screening and treatment.

SHORTS

PEOPLEWATCHING

BPAA Service Awards Announced The BPAA announced the recipients of the 2011 Bowling Industry Service Awards, the most prestigious awards presented by the bowling industry, at its Town Hall Membership Meeting held at the Red Rock Resort and Spa in Las Vegas in January.

Pat Ciniello of Bowling Management Associates has been selected the 2011 BPAA Hall of Fame Inductee and recipient of the Victor Lerner Memorial Medal. The Lerner Medal is the highest honor in the bowling business and is awarded for a lifetime of service to the industry.

Ciniello is cited for his many years of bowling center management in his Bowland chain of centers Pat Ciniello in Florida, service to the BPAA and its programs, events and tournaments as well as the bowling industry on local, state and national levels including MUBIG and the relocation and rebuilding of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame.

Mark Voight of Community Bowling Centers will be recognized with the President’s Medal for his many contributions and years of service to the BPAA and leadership in Michigan’s bowling industry.

Mark Voight Bob Gudorf of Classic Products will receive the coveted V.A. Wapensky Award, named after BPAA’s long-time chief executive officer, “Chief” Wapensky. Gudorf is recognized for more than 50 years in the bowling industry and his support of BPAA events over the years and support/service to the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame.

Parker Bohn III will receive the Dick Weber Bowling Ambassador Award for his many contributions to the Bob Gudorf game and sport of bowling both on and off the lanes.

The Service Awards will be presented during International Bowl Expo 2011 on Monday, June 27 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas.

...and More Awards One of the highlights of the Bowling Summit Town Hall meeting held January 21 in Las Vegas was the State Association Awards recognizing the contributions and accomplishments of BPAA’s affiliated state bowling proprietors and center associations for their achievements in various areas of association management, member communications, membership and special programs or projects.

The awards were given as follows: Best Member Program, New Member Recruitment: Texas BCA; Best Charitable Project: Northern California BPA for its canned food drive; Best Community Project: Illinois State BPA for the 50th Anniversary “Beat the Champs” contest organized and presented by Chicagoland BPA and the Chicago Sun-Times; Best Bowling Promotion: Bowling Centers of Southern California for its major sports “Jersey Promotion” to enhance centers’ league participation.

Congratulations to all!

NUTMEG BOWL HOSTS K-9 FUNDRAISER In January, Nutmeg Bowl in Fairfield, CT hosted a fundraising event for the police department’s new K-9 unit. Mike Lauterborn of the Fairfield Patch wrote that the event “was sponsored in large part

by Bearingstar Insurance, which helped with coordination, secured merchandise for an onsite raffle and recruited bowlers.”

Hoping to have a trained dog on board by June 1, the goal with the monies received is to buy the dog, train the handler, buy equipment including a vehicle with a safe cage, and sustain this operation for five years, the normal working life of the dog.

Kathy Piro, an insurance consultant with Bearingstar, put all of her energies toward the event. “This is an important need for the town that’s probably overdue,” she said. The dog will be used for tracking suspects, building searches and missing person cases. There is also the hope that the dog could also provide narcotics detection.

From left to right, Fairfield, CT Police Chief Gary McNamara and Lt. Jim Perez on Nutmeg Bowl’s lanes. Photo by Fairfield Patch writer Mike Lauterborn.

KEGEL TURNS 30 2011 marks the 30th Anniversary of Kegel which celebrates three decades of serving and researching the sport of bowling. A worldwide corporation located in Lake Wales, Florida and founded in 1981 by John Davis, Kegel operates divisions in manufacturing, quality control, software development, chemical production and packaging, and technical support along with Kegel Connection Pro Shops, Foundation300 and the renowned Kegel Training Center. Davis’ ultimate goal? “All we want is to make two lanes play the same.”

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS

STAFF, STUDENTS GIVE U W-STOUT LANES A HEARTY SENDOFF

By Joan Taylor

T

he Memorial Student Center at the University of Wisconsin’s Stout campus in Menomonee, Wis., closed for a year-long $19 million renovation project in December.

Unfortunately for Stout bowlers, though, the center will be minus its eight bowling lanes when it reopens in January 2012.

“It would have cost $500,000 to update and upgrade the lanes,” according to Darrin Witucki, interim director of University Centers. Some of the equipment, he said, went back to 1959.

“Additionally, the town has Broadway Bowl, a nice 20-lane center close to the campus, and our lanes couldn’t compete with that,” Witucki said.

“Given the priorities and space needs identified in the renovation planning process, the space covered by ‘The Underground,’ where bowling, billiards and concerts were available — about 7,000 square feet — was needed to meet those goals.”

At least one of those interest groups isn’t expected to suffer; a billiards area was included in the plans for the new center.

The campus doesn’t have a formal, structured intercollegiate bowling program as such, but rather “club bowling.” When university officials 10

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decided to eliminate the lanes, it did not impact a “regular” university sports team or its on-site practice area.

To soften the blow for students and staff, Witucki orchestrated and hosted a “farewell” ceremony and bowling evening on Nov. 18 for eight current or former staff members and eight students whose names were picked in a drawing.

He wrapped the event around the 25th anniversary celebration of the student union itself and called it the “Last Bowlers Event.”

The staffers, “most of whom came from long distances, retirement or both, had an important connection to the student center and were true supporters of recreational activities that had gone on in this space,” Witucki said. The guest list included three former student center directors - Bob Johnson, Bill Siedlecki and Lucy Nicolai - as well as Pookie Albrecht, former executive director of Student Life Services and namesake of the Pookie Helmuth Albrecht National Residence Hall Honorary Chapter at UW-Stout; Joe Krier, current executive director of Athletics and Recreation, Lori Anda-Bowen, current director of University Recreation and the Sports and Fitness Complex; Krisi Patterson, former long-time coordinator of the Rec Center/Underground; and Anne Buttke, the first coordinator of the Rec Center.

Nick Cross, Brandy Makovsky, Brett Martinsen, Matt Marusak, Jacob Medford, Ellen Pedersen, Lindsey Reynolds and Seth Rosenthal were the

NEW DEVELOPMENTS eight lucky students who won the lottery drawing.

Witucki made sure everyone involved in the “last night of bowling” was captured in pictures to record their night of history and came away with a night of fellowship, lasting memories, and a final night of fun bowling.

On the bright side, what happened at UW-Stout does not seem to be part of a trend.

“We are not aware of any additional [collegiate] centers that closed their doors for good,” said Gary Brown, USBC collegiate manager. “ Several closed for renovation but have Left to right: Helmouth "Pookie" Albrecht, Ann Buttke, opened back up. [Looking Lori Anda-Bowen, Krisi Patterson, Joe Krier, Lucy Nicolai, Bob Johnson and Bill Siedlecki. Photo by Bill Wikrent, UW- ahead,] we are not aware of any additional schools closing Stout Senior Media Specialist. their lanes in the near future.

“USBC Collegiate has 184 different schools as members. And there are several more schools with bowling programs, who are not USBC members.”

Although Witucki did his best to make “Last Bowlers Event” a positive if not nostalgic experience, student Jacob Medford had difficulties with the impending destruction of an area close to his heart and his years at UW-Stout.

“I worked in the student center for the last four-and-a-half years doing lights and sound for concerts, and the bowling alley was where the weekly shows

were held,” Medford said. “I guess I always considered it something concrete; something that I never thought would change and [would] be here 20 years from now.”

Each lane, Medford said, had its own unique personality.

“One had a temperamental pinsetter that would put down only nine pins now and then,” he recalled. “Lane one was a little warped at the end.

“Mostly, I remember the people - friends who worked there climbing on the machines to unjam them, bands bowling a few rounds before their set. And the sounds - the constant thunk of a ball followed a few seconds later by a clatter of pins, the roars of triumph and the groans of defeat.”

Medford said it felt “a bit surreal” to bowl at the student center lanes for the last time.

“I graduated in December, so it means I left just as the building was shutting down,” he said.

“At least I got to leave there with all of the memories of the building as it was - intact. It was a nice way to say ‘goodbye’ to the building.” ❖

Joan Taylor is a multi-award winning bowling writer based in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

RECYCLING MEMORIES While the bowling lanes at the Memorial Student Center of the University of Wisconsin’s Stout campus are gone, the lanes will live on in the renovation project underway. In Phoenix-esque fashion, tables, benches and decorative wall panels will arise from the wooden lanes. “While we will miss

our bowling alley, we are excited for the space it opens up within the renovation project for other needs. We are also proud of our reuse of the lanes and our efforts to remember our bowling alley ‘heritage’ so to speak in the renovated building,” Darrin Witucki shared.

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MY PARADISE

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MY PARADISE

n 36 years of playing, Bruce VanMetre counts four local bands he’s drummed for. He’s played bars, dance halls, weddings, you name it. He thinks his drums have been part of marrying off maybe 300 people through the years.

Shows what can come of Tinker Toys. He got a set when he was small, proceeded to pull everything out of the container, turn it upside down, and begin beating time to the radio with the two longest sticks. He plays thousands of songs, tends not to remember them by title but by how they go and, having learned the drums by ear, doesn’t read music.

About five years ago, he tore down a summer kitchen next to the old farmhouse where he lives in rural Delphos, OH and put up a storage building. It turned into a place where the VanMetres entertain in the summer and Bruce can escape the blues at Delphos Recreation Center, which he owns.

“I go out there and go into my own little world to recoup,” he says. He puts in a CD according to his mood and starts playing along, whatever song comes up.

“I have a jam session with myself.

That day, whoever you want to be, you can just be the drummer in their band, and get away from everything.” ❖

I

PHOTO BY LISA VANMETRE

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PIONEERS

The Buck Starts Here The big deals and big life of PBA founder Eddie Elias.

Photos courtesy of Chuck Pezzano and the Professional Bowlers Association.

Chuck Pezzano with Fred Groh ddie Elias created a sport. That’s an accomplishment that puts him among the greats of sport. Before Eddie Elias, there was no such thing as professional bowling.

Not only did Eddie create a sport that was not there before, he created a sport that got the deepest respect.

During the Elias years, I wrote for Sporting News.

Every writer I met through the News had the highest respect for bowling.

He was the type of guy that lit up a room without even trying. He was a formidable physical specimen – well over 6’ 2” and about 225 pounds. Always nattily dressed. Very friendly.

He went to Western Reserve Law School, graduating in 1955, but while he never had a law practice, he did go into court once for a famous golfer, “Terrible Temper” Tommy Bolt. For smashing golf clubs and other temperamental outbursts on the links, Bolt was suspended from golf. Eddie took up the case, defended him, and got him off suspension.

At the time he came into the bowling area, Eddie was already the well-known TV and radio host of an eponymous talk show in the Cleveland area. He started the program when he was in college and had hosted it for about 10 years by the time it left the air and Eddie had gone on to other pursuits.

One of his interviews on the show was Dick Hoover, a great bowler who won the All Star Championship when he was only 21 years old. When Hoover proceeded to win the ABC Masters in back-to-back years, 1956 and 1957, he appeared on Eddie’s show.

Hoover was based in Akron, OH, from where Eddie’s show emanated.

Hoover – not Don Carter, as many believe – was Eddie’s initial impetus to get into bowling. During the interview Eddie asked, “How is your organization doing?” and Hoover looked at him and said, ”What organization?” Eddie’s mind was always churning. He was always two steps ahead of the conversation. He

E

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The bowling center at U of Akron’s student center was renamed in honor of Eddie in 2005.

Cover of the donation solicitation shows him during the run of The Eddie Elias Show.

PIONEERS

Among dozens of other entertainment and sports celebs Eddie snagged for the show were Dinah Shore, Steve Nagy and Florence Chadwick.

With early ’60s PBA stars and Harry Golden, PBA tournament director.

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began thinking about an organization for bowling.

He didn’t jump in immediately because he was busy. He had gotten to know entertainer Danny Thomas from attending functions where Thomas was present and because both of them were Lebanese. He grew close to Danny’s daughter and later TV star Marlo Thomas and became something of an occasional agent for both of them.

Meanwhile, Eddie was also promoting racetracks and golf tournaments, often by way of his TV show. He wasn’t a big shot then, but the show was valuable exposure for those who appeared on it.

His network of contacts grew, partly because he was very good with people. He made it a point to treat everybody very nicely. He didn’t fawn over anyone, but treated everyone – the secretary or the president – the same.

That was how he met Peggy Emerson, who had been a Miss Ohio. Peggy was a busy model in New York, with hundreds of appearances as the model for Jean Naté cosmetics and other products. She had also been the lead singer for Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. She had moved much further ahead in her career by then than Eddie was in his. She gave it up when she and Eddie began dating steadily.

Behind the scenes, Peggy was a great force for Eddie. He was the kind of guy who would call her with the news that in a halfhour he would be having 10 people over and she would have to prepare for them. She didn’t let him down.

Once Eddie got into something he didn’t mess around. He wanted to meet the bowlers first, and the officials, and the writers.

He talked privately to Don Carter and Dick Weber among other top names, and then turned to the TV status of bowling.

Bowling had sporadic shows and some major sponsors, such as White Owl Cigars. It had homes on three channels in the New York area, not that the shows paid much money. The winner would get $200 to $300 and the loser would get $100. But the winner was able to come back and keep trying to go on, so there was always a lot of action for better bowlers in the area. Bowling wasn’t completely invisible on TV. Eddie also learned about an organization of some of the notable East Coast bowlers of the day, among them Frank Esposito, Junie McMann, Lou Campi, myself and a dozen or so others. We felt that bowlers were giving themselves away.

People would call up for exhibitions and the like, and we wanted to set up guidelines for what we would be paid. When someone called to do a charity exhibition and it was difficult to say no, we would spend money getting there, spend money there, and money coming back. We wanted a better arrangement. This kind of thinking fell right into Eddie’s plan for the PBA because the idea behind our organization was that bowlers should be treated like pros.

Everybody thinks that Eddie was the guy that discovered that there was a possibility for pro bowling. I don’t want to call that

PIONEERS a falsehood, just ignorance of history. Even from the early years of any sport, you have to recognize that it has a possibility of becoming a professional sport, and Eddie was one of the first to recognize it in bowling.

The Masters in 1958 was the big meeting. That’s where Eddie made one of the best pitches that I ever heard.

Seventy or 80 people were at that meeting. It is always said that 33 of them became “organizing members” of the PBA. Eddie’s offer was that first 33 that put up $50 were to be the organizing members.

But after the meeting, we decided that instead of naming the first 33 we would make the first 100 “charter members.” I think we actually wound up with 106. To my knowledge, there is no official list of the first 33.

Many of the early members of the PBA were from the East Coast, however. That was because of the organization we had set up, (before the PBA was born at that meeting) for exhibition fees and other remuneration for our services.

When Eddie went into his pitch, it was very simple. He said, “I’m not getting into this because I’m a nice guy. I can see the business end of it. I can see where I can do pretty well, if I can do pretty well for you. By the same token, I can’t make you any great promises.

I’m pretty sure I can come up with a national tour, starting very limited. I will get you life insurance coverage and I’m pretty sure I can get you on national TV.” He didn’t say he was going to make big stars out of them.

What he told them was what he felt he could do. And he knew he could do that. But that was more than the bowlers had ever had.

Here was a guy coming out of nowhere, not guaranteeing too much but more than anyone had offered before. Basically, this was going to be a business arrangement where he would be the executive director, although he called himself founder and legal counsel.

He explained the kind of set-up the PBA would have, with a board that would make the final decisions. Eddie gave the bowlers more say than any organization ever had. He went by that, even if he didn’t approve, and his board always trusted him in response. Eventually, we on the board gave him the title of commissioner – we thought that sounded more impressive.

Sometimes the first thing that comes up in a situation like this is “What’s in it for you?” That was one of the first things Eddie told them. He was going to make money. They couldn’t argue with that, and he didn’t come across as being greedy.

Eddie was always a good speaker. A guy who would listen. He always listened and answered questions and before he would go on to the next question he would ask, “Are you satisfied with my answer. Is there anything else?” He won over 75% of the people there immediately.

If you are a people-watcher, you would notice that when Eddie walked into a room he sized it up with a quick glance, the people he knew, the people he didn’t know. If he didn’t see a person who was supposed to be there, he’d check with someone he knew to make sure that person was there. He was something of a detective IBI

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PIONEERS

About 1980 with Billy Hardwick at ABC Hall of Fame induction.

Peggy and Eddie with client and friend Chi Chi Rodriguez.

when he attended events.

Early in the game, Eddie realized that Akron was not a magnet city for PBA business. He took an office in New York within walking distance of ABC-TV, and spent three days a week there most of the year. TV was soaring and Eddie got to know everybody at ABC. He could talk to Roone Arledge, not an easy man to get time with.

But he knew that the key to TV success is selling your show to the local affiliates. So Eddie made it a point to get to know all the people whose job it was to sell these affiliates. These were not big-time people, just regular 20

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employees. It got to where he treated them so nicely that they helped him. And that helped the ratings.

On Eddie’s side that was a lot of work. He made sure he got to know practically every top announcer at all the networks. We went on in the summertime on NBC and we got $50,000 a show from the network, which was unheard of. We were on about five years.

With ABC we had a 13-week schedule from 1962 on, and we were on 30 years. You could make this generalization: we got up to $196,000 rights money per show during the 1960s, and we were reaching 5-10 million viewers with every telecast.

Eddie was in the midst of it. He was always in the midst of everything. It was Eddie’s idea to brand an entire 13-week series with one sponsor’s name; that idea produced the Firestone Tournament of Champions show. In anything related to TV that could affect the PBA, Eddie was notified by the television people or he was sitting with television people who got the word.

He was with the PBA, as Founder and Legal Counsel, until he died in 1998. The ownership and top management at PBA for most of the years since then has come from the world of large corporations, very different from how Eddie started. It is not a bad angle. But Eddie would have frowned on attempts to turn bowlers into flamboyant celebrities. He would have done the things Steve Miller did, in a more conservative way.

He continued active outside of bowling. He became the agent for about a dozen top golfers, including Chi Chi Rodriguez. He occasionally repped Danny and Marlo Thomas and became Chris Schenkle’s and Don Carter’s agent.

He was a charitable man, the kind of guy that would go over to a bum in the street and throw them a five-dollar bill. But by the same token when it came to negotiating, he could be tough. He always knew where he stood, how far he could go either way.

He put professional bowling on the highest level it has ever achieved.

If I have anything to fault Eddie for, it is two things. He probably went too far in giving power to the players. They sued the PBA and Eddie was almost in tears. He said, “They’re suing themselves.”

If a sponsor gave the PBA, say, $300,000, Eddie and his staff in Akron would sometimes sit down and say, “This tournament doesn’t need $300,000. Two hundred thousand would suffice and let’s put $100,000 aside to strengthen the weaker tournaments.” Which makes sense when you’re trying to build the whole tour. But the players won the lawsuit and cost the PBA one million dollars.

My second thought is that Eddie didn’t develop a successor. But then, I can understand that. There was only one Eddie Elias. ❖ Chuck Pezzano has written between one and five bowling columns a week for more than 50 years. Author of 13 books, 500 magazine articles and more than 6,000 columns, he has been involved in more than 1,000 national TV shows, was a PBA founder and won the first intercollegiate match game tournament while a student at Rutgers.

COVER STORY

A Cinderella Bringing life, style and drama back to VERO BOWL

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COVER STORY

Story

By Robin Breuner

V

ero Bowl is a Cinderella story. The rundown, neglected, diamond-inthe-rough bowling center meets Prince Charming and is magically transformed.

In reality, it took much more than magic to transform the old Vero Bowl space into what it is today.

Michael Rechter, chiropractor turned successful real estate developer, bought the shopping center housing Vero Bowl and quickly found himself faced with a dilemma.

His real estate career began with the purchase of the buildings that housed his chiropractic clinics. After reading a book by Ray Croc, the founder of McDonald’s, he decided to model himself after Croc’s success.

Rechter said that when you buy a share of McDonald’s corporate stock, you’re essentially buying fifty percent burgers and fifty percent real estate.

His initial foray into the real estate market proved so successful, that he expanded into buying other income properties. He went from a duplex to a fourplex to an eightplex and a mobile home park. In 2005, he purchased the Indian River Plaza shopping center in Vero Beach for $6 million. The center was in disrepair and in foreclosure.

Rechter said, “The hurricanes had nailed it.

It was in foreclosure before foreclosure became a big thing. It was a $6 million shopping center, which sounds expensive, but it was cheap for $6 million.”

He immediately put his passion to work, renovated the property and handled the leasing process. Very quickly, the center went from 70% vacancy to 90% occupancy.

When the shopping center next door became available, he jumped on the opportunity, purchasing it for just under $12 million. Although it was in better shape than its neighbor, there were other issues.

A theater located in the center had, at one time, been the only theater in Vero Beach until a new mall opened across town featuring a 24-plex, state of the art, AMC theater. The customers gravitated to the new mall, and the IBI

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COVER STORY time, ‘That theater is terrific, when are you going to do something about the bowling center? That place is terrible,’” Rechter said.

He approached the owner of the center who had no interest in investing any money to upgrade it.

“I had no ambition to get into the bowling business,” Rechter said. “I tried to go to the owner of it to say, ‘Can you please work with us to make the place better?’

I wasn’t expecting the Taj Mahal, I just wanted to take it from an F and perhaps make it into a C. Obviously, I was hoping for a B,” he said.

“When you just spent $12 million on one shopping center and $20 million total, the last thing you want to hear is people going somewhere else because they Vero Bowl Owner Mike Rechter hosting Indian River County/Vero Beach Chamber couldn’t stomach the bowling center,” he said. of Commerce Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Vero Bowl - October 2010.

He approached Starr again to help him renovate the center. However after completing his due diligence Starr concluded that the price tag was too high to justify the investment.

Rechter was left with the difficult choice of trying to find another investor or biting the bullet and doing it himself. He was well aware of the fact that banks are loathe to the idea of lending money to those types of risky investments.

He said that even in today’s bad economy, investors can still go to a bank, put down 30% and get a 70% loan. According to him, the banks don’t want to lend money on bowling centers because they can’t collateralize it. They know how to lend on a piece of real estate. If someone doesn’t pay, the banks can foreclose, and then they are the owners of the property. With a bowling business, if someone defaults on a one or a two million dollar loan, it doesn’t want to have to take back the pinsetters or the lanes.

He knew that he was going to have to go it alone.

Vero Bowl Co-Owner/Developer Mike Rechter with Vero Bowl He flew around the Southeast to Houston, Atlanta and all over general contractors Mike Williams and Randy Trent of MH Florida to as many bowling centers as possible to get a sense of what Williams Construction he did and didn’t like.

“Essentially, there were two schools, there was the traditional old theater declined to the point where it was only bowling alley, which is plastic chairs, crappy food, that’s the old thing, surviving by showing dollar movies. and frankly, I think that’s the reason that bowling went downhill for a Rechter approached Cinemaworld owner, Rick bit. They didn’t keep up with the times, “ he said.

Starr, who proposed the concept of transforming the He said that in the 70s and 80s when this kind of center was popular, space into the Majestic Theater, a 1940s – 1950s era there weren’t the same kind of options for entertainment that there are concept designed to attract the older demographic now. Now, kids can just stay home and play video games. He said that of Vero Beach. you also have to be able to attract not just the kids but the parents who According to Rechter, they blended the best of the have many entertainment options as well. old look with the best of the new technology. He said Rechter said, “What I ended up seeing was the old style, which I that the theater was so successful that they changed knew I didn’t want to be, and the new style, Lucky Strike probably being the name of the center to Majestic Plaza and as a the most popular of the new style, which is more of a bar with a little result, they became an attraction in the area again. bowling than it is a bowling experience, per se.”

That’s when he set his sights on the bowling center.

He knew, however, that a town like Vero Beach could not sustain this “Unfortunately, I had this tenant in there, a bowling concept. There are simply not enough people year round to justify it. space called Vero Bowl. On a grade scale, it was According to Rechter, there are approximately 200,000 full time horrible. I mean it was an F. You couldn’t get any residents and about double that during the high season. worse than this space. People would say to me all the 24

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That’s when he decided to hire Doug Wilkerson of Dynamic Design, specialty designers of theme-based bowling centers. He was quickly overwhelmed when he discovered the cost of the plans.

“The cost to build a center is a fortune. I’ve opened many offices, I’ve bought many buildings, I can’t tell you how shocked I was by the costs that were being thrown around to build a new center by the industry people. I believe that the bowling center that I built, not only is it a firstclass place, I believe I built it for less dollars per square foot than any other center of its type in the country,” said Rechter.

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He was told that he would need to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million to refurbish the center. He is proud to say that he was able to trim that budget down to approximately $2.5 million and still come out with the integrity of the design intact.

He was able to accomplish this by saving both on equipment and on design finishes. He was involved in every aspect of the project and knew where to trim costs and where to splurge. For example, Brunswick had quoted him $1.4 million for all new equipment. Instead of accepting this, Rechter found a center that was closing and was able to buy their lanes for $750,000. He then went on line and found an incredible deal to buy some used pinsetters, which he had refurbished. He found other equipment from various centers that were being demolished.

“Michael really committed to the feel of this place,” Wilkerson said. “He wanted to change the perception.

He was committed to the design, and it turned out really well. I have never seen a guy who was more ‘hands on’ than him. There was not one item that wasn’t bid out 3 or 4 times. If it was still high, he would meet with other sources to see if they could make it work. In the end, he got my design, but he was able to create the same effect by figuring out how to do it for less,” he said.

“Bottom line is, I saved a million dollars, a half million dollars of savings that I got from the bowling equipment and scoring, and then I probably saved another half million dollars plus on the finishes and still keep the design integrity intact. I tried to find things that were true to what was designed by the designer – only cheaper,” Rechter said.

“Vero was a great project because we started with a center that was shut down. Pretty much the dump of all dumps. It was moldy and nasty and really, really old and dilapidated. We basically reimaged the center. It turned out really well,” said Wilkerson.

What they ended up creating was a hybrid center.

Rechter said that he looked around at what was

COVER STORY working and knew what he wanted. He didn’t want the plastic seats but he did want the leagues. He said that the problem with the Lucky Strike concept in a place like Vero Beach is that you don’t have enough of a bar business on a daily basis.

They created a concept that is leaguebased during the day to specifically accommodate the senior bowlers, and in the evening around the happy hour crowd. Feel becomes more a hip combination of bar and bowling scene.

Wilkerson said, “Right now, the hot designs are these hybrid bowling centers that have a boutique element and still have a family entertainment element.”

“We are really kind of becoming all things to all people demographically,” said Rechter.

Wilkerson said that the whole bowling industry has really been transformed over the last eight to ten years with more boutique and upscale entertainment complexes, and that Vero falls right into that mode.

“The industry is actually moving a little bit right now where the boutique style is really the hot commodity, what everyone wants to duplicate. Lucky Strike and those type of projects started the fad, but lately the industry is really not only still doing the boutique but almost a theme park element is coming into these entertainment complexes,” said Wilkerson.

Bowling, somewhere along the line, strayed off path, where everyone else kept on a remodel schedule

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COVER STORY

and kept upgrading because they knew they didn’t want to lose the market. He said that bowling got behind because they didn’t want to put money into the centers and now they’re trying to catch up to the rest of the entertainment industry.

“In today’s society, it’s all about the ‘hip’ place to be. If you’ve got $500,000 to spend, upgrade some of your equipment, but you better make your place look like the place that would be the ‘in’ place to be,” added Wilkerson.

He said that what they did at Vero and what they encourage proprietors to do if they want to reinvent themselves in an old center is to open up the bar and make it part of the overall experience and environment.

He said that often the bars and lounges in old centers are just little 30

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“holes in the walls”, hidden in the corners, or if they’re not hidden in the corners, they’ve got one little door going into them, and people don’t even know that they’re there. Just by opening up the bar, the revenue should increase dramatically.

“The one item in Vero that really stands out to people is the bar and the lounge that is still separate but still part of the overall environment. At Vero, that is the key element of the whole design,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson said that Michael is unusual in that he wasn’t in the bowling industry before. He said that people that aren’t existing proprietors are typically more open. They see more of the feel of the facility as being just as important as the equipment, so they put more emphasis and spend more money on the feel.

He said that’s an important lesson that needs to be learned by most proprietors because it’s about more than just the scoring and the equipment and the lanes. It’s about what people feel and see when they walk in that creates the perception.

Rechter said that prior to eight months ago, he hadn’t been bowling in years. He was a once a year bowler with his kids. He had no experience in bowling.

He had no experience in restaurants. He had no experience in bars. All of a sudden, he became an owner of all three.

“If you basically took two people and put them into a bowling center, one a 20-year veteran of bowling, and one, a good business person with no experience, I think the business person with no experience would do better at the end of a period of time. They will question things and look at things differently and run with a fresh set of rules, ” said Rechter.

Wilkerson added, “Vero is what I’ve preached to all of my bowling friends. This is what you need to do to take the next step. Hopefully, this will encourage more centers to upgrade.” ❖

Robin Breuner is a freelance writer who lives on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, California with her husband, two kids and two dogs.

MEMORY LANE

D

By Paul Lane

uring my first seven years with AMF in England, my international travel experiences had been limited to attending grand openings of bowling centers, bowling in tournaments, and conducting instructor and ball drilling seminars in a handful of European and Scandinavian destinations.

In late November 1967 that was about to change when I was summoned upstairs to Bob Conor’s corner office at AMF’s International

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MEMORY LANE Headquarters in London. Conor was the president of AMF’s International Bowling Division.

Bob’s secretary ushered me into his office where he introduced me to a Chinese gentleman, Mr. K.C. Wai, the chairman of the bowling division of the South China Athletic Association (SCAA) in Hong Kong. That meant nothing to me at the time.

Bob’s driver was downstairs waiting to take us to a bowling center and Bob asked if I was free for dinner afterward. Off we went to a recently opened center outside London, a private, members-only club where we ended up bowling a couple of games. I gave Mr. Wai a few tips, much to his pleasure.

But at the time I had no idea what his experience would lead to.

When we finished bowling we traveled back to London and went to dinner at the landmark Scott’s Seafood and Fish Restaurant in London’s fashionable Mayfair district. By the time dinner was over, Mr. Wai had offered me an all-expenses-paid trip to Hong Kong to conduct bowling clinics for SCAA members and to run instructor, ball measuring and drilling, and promotion seminars for the staff.

Fast-forward three months — to February 1968 — and there I was, sitting in the first-class lounge at the BOAC terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport, ready to embark on the first of my many trips to Southeast Asia.

In those days, it was a long flight in a Boeing 707, requiring frequent refueling stops in places like Rome, Bombay and Bangkok. It was also years before laptop and iPod, in-flight movie and audio channel entertainment, so a good book and (hopefully) good conversation with a fellow passenger were almost mandatory. I lucked out on both counts.

Twenty-three hours after takeoff from London, we were approaching our touchdown at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak International Airport.

Looking down, you could not see land — nothing but water on both sides of the plane because the runway jutted into the harbor. Overshoot and everybody would be rowing to customs. Then an abrupt drop, the flight path tilting down sharply between mountains and skyscrapers. It was night and spectacular – gliding past apartment windows in high-rise buildings where we could see people watching TV, having dinner, or putting washing out on their balconies on bamboo poles.

I cleared immigration in minutes and then lined up to go through customs. When it was my turn I lifted my suitcase and bowling ball bag onto the counter ready for inspection. “What’s in here, sir?” asked a very polite customs officer. “A bowling ball,” I replied. “And why are you bringing a bowling ball to Hong Kong?” he asked.

A minute after explaining why I was in Hong Kong I was on the other side of the counter giving the first lesson of my trip to a group of customs men while other passengers testily had to wait to be checked.

In the arrivals hall I was met by a representative from AMF and whisked away to my hotel where the idea of a real bed seemed heavenly. But as I checked in I was met by a tailor who was there to measure me for a blazer to wear at a press conference the next day. He returned the following morning for a fitting while I was having breakfast and delivered the blazer (with an SCAA badge on the pocket) that evening. All that remains of the blazer is the pocket and badge.

Finally, alone in my room, I unpacked and went down to the lobby to exchange some travelers checks for local currency. Standing at the desk and asking for me was Jerry Pulle, a writer for The China Mail, who had found out where I was staying and wanted to get a jump on the press conference scheduled for the next day. I was not comfortable with this, but did not want to alienate him either, so I let him take a photo of me changing my money and conducted a very brief interview.

MR WAI HAD OFFERED ME AN ALL-EXPENSES-PAID TRIP TO HONG KONG TO CONDUCT BOWLING CLINICS ...

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MEMORY LANE By now I was tired but also wound up and, since it was still only about 8:30 in the evening, I decided to find the South China Athletic Association’s bowling center, which I discovered was within walking distance of my hotel on Caroline Hill Road. Off I went. I was in for a shock.

I had not prepared for the scale of the facility, having thought it to be only a bowling center. I did not know that SCAA provided more than 20 sports for its members, from track and field to swimming and soccer (including a first-division soccer team) and that their membership was over 125,000.

I entered through a huge lobby and flight of stairs leading up to the center. Mounted at the top of the stairs was a large framed photo of my good friend Dick Weber bowling in front of the largest gallery I’ve ever seen. I knew Dick had been there to give an exhibition several months before (after going to Vietnam on a goodwill tour) but I had a sinking feeling about the expectations of the locals when I looked at the score sheet below the photo and saw he had averaged over 250 for a three-game exhibition.

I should not have been intimidated since I was there to teach, not give exhibitions, but I felt intimidated nonetheless.

I was also not expecting to find the 40-lane center so busy. All the lanes were full and so too was the large concourse. It was a sea of people.

There was a five-person-team handicap league

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on the first 24 lanes, which I stood and watched for a while.

Everyone was in a team shirt with the team name and the league sponsor’s name embroidered on the back. The sponsor’s moniker was also imprinted on the acetates for the overhead score projectors (this predated automatic scoring by more than a dozen years). I was impressed, but later horrified, to learn that the sponsor (a cigarette manufacturer) not only underwrote the shirts and prizes and put a carton of cigarettes on the score tables for each team every week, they also paid the bowling fees.

This league was far from being a premier scratch league, being made up of average bowlers typical of any handicap league you’d find anywhere in the USA, and they were bowling for free. My argument with the management a few days later was that they were developing league bowlers who thought bowling was great when it was for free, but how would they react when the time came when they would have to pay for their bowling? Sadly, at the time I don’t think they understood my concern. They liked the idea of having the lanes full and a corporate sponsor giving them a check each week.

Moving farther along the concourse I found there was a live TV show in progress. I was spotted on the concourse and called in front of the cameras to give an impromptu interview, the first of several that week. The show was the finals of a bowler-of-the month contest, a round robin between 12 bowlers who had qualified over the previous four weeks. Here I saw for the first time how good Hong Kong’s more elite bowlers were. They all had form like you would see in an instruction manual. Whether this was from coaching or emulation I had no idea but they all looked good. At last, however, I was too tired to stay up any more and I went back to my hotel for a long sleep.

The next morning I was picked up and taken to the center to meet with K.C. Wai and his management team, including Paul Pau, the general manager of the club, and Mr. Edmund Poon, the deputy manager. I later learned that Pau was quite a celebrity, having been a star goalkeeper with SCAA’s first-division soccer team and a player for Hong Kong in the Olympics.

Most of my mornings for the next 10 days were taken up with classes for the staff at the South China bowling center, all of whom were eager to learn and took the classes very seriously. In different groupings we covered everything from basic to advanced instruction to promoting and running learn-to-bowl classes, reception skills (meeting and dealing with the public, telephone skills, and the like), ball measuring and drilling techniques, advertising and promotion, league formation and management, and making outside sales calls.

Most of the afternoons were spent giving instruction to members in different categories – beginner, intermediate and advanced, men, women, and seniors, among others. The attendees had all signed up for the

MEMORY LANE

lessons before I arrived, and all were charged a fee according to the type or level of lesson they were attending.

The lessons were sold out and at every one, a gallery of bowlers behind the lanes observed and tried to absorb some of what I was imparting to the paying participants. We ended each class with a question-and-answer period of 10-15 minutes when we allowed the people in the gallery to ask questions too. I’d worked with groups like this all over Europe in the past, but had never met with the enthusiasm and attention paid by my new Chinese friends. They hung on every word and were not afraid to adapt to new concepts. They were hungry to learn and improve.

A highlight of the program for me was the sheer volume of prime-time television coverage on TVB Jade’s network over the 10 days. In addition to the three scheduled demonstrations and interviews, camera crews showed up several more times to film the classes we ran and to interview many of the participants. Robert Leung, the executive producer for Jade’s sports programming, became personally involved and showed up at the center virtually daily to watch the activity. At the close of the last show Leung 36

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presented me with a fine Omega Seamaster watch. I wear it still, 43 years later.

I was also impressed with the level of interest and volume of coverage in the local English- and Chinese-language daily papers. The South China Athletic Club’s PR department obviously had a good relationship with the local media and had done an excellent job promoting my visit.

Despite the busy schedule K.C. Wai made sure I had many opportunities to enjoy Hong Kong, with visits to tailors to get suits and shirts made in 24 hours, and splendid meals at the world-famous Tai Pak Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen Harbour and at the elite Hong Kong Country Club by Deepwater Bay. That was besides sightseeing. I saw the city spread out far below from Victoria Peak, which still today is reached by a very steep tramway ride of about 15 minutes. And I felt almost surreal among the artifacts and architecture of the Tiger Balm Gardens, built in 1935 by the manufacturer of Tiger Balm, a popular restorative that is still on the market.

At my request we also visited an orphanage I’d seen at the bottom of Caroline Hill Road on my way to the bowling center each day. It housed orphaned Chinese children anywhere from day-old babies to boys and girls in the mid-teens. The priest who ran the facility showed me around and I was horrified at what I saw, dozens of children with little hope of a meaningful future once they left the orphanage.

“What happens to them when they leave?” I asked. “The boys will probably end up working in road gangs or on construction sites,” he said.

“The girls, if they were lucky enough not to be attractive, will probably end up as maids or in a Hong Kong sweatshop at a sewing machine,” he added.

“The unlucky ones, the attractive girls, will most likely graduate to a red-light district — at least until their looks begin to fade.”

In the middle of the week I was invited to be the guest speaker at a lunch with a local chapter of the Lions Club International. Knowing this was an affluent group of businessmen, I put them on the spot to sponsor monthly visits for groups of youngsters from the orphanage for a bowling activity at the South China bowling center. They agreed!

The trip ended with a farewell dinner with the key executives and management of SCAA plus John Garfield, the Hong Kong-based managing director of AMF’s Southeast Asian operation, and several members of the Hong Kong media, including Robert Leung of TVB Jade’s network. There were speeches and presentations – including diplomas and bonuses for the employees that had attended the classes – and the gift of a magnificent handcarved ivory ornament for yours truly to take home as a memento.

I returned to Hong Kong more than a dozen times in the next 15 years, staging AMF’s Bowling World Cup there in 1971, and it was always a thrill to be reunited with the many friends I now had there. But nothing compared to the excitement of the first visit in 1968 that started in Bob Conor’s office in London and a bowling lesson for Mr. K.C. Wai. Thank you, Bob, and thank you, Mr. Wai. ❖

Paul Lane is former Director of Marketing and Marketing Services for AMF Bowling, Inc. He has been the director of 18 AMF World Cups, an officer in national and international trade associations, and a pro bowler during a career that spans more than 60 countries and 50 years.

SHOWCASE SOCKS

CUSTOM PROMO ITEMS

CLEANER

COACHING SOFTWARE

MOBILE MARKETING

SCORING UPGRADE

EMAIL CLUB

NEW CONSTRUCTION & MODERIZATION

Berry Cutler Hosiery is the leading sock distributor for bowling centers across the country. They offer a wide range of bowling socks as well as the ability to create your own logo. With over 800 centers and 25 years of experience they can help create the ideal situation for every bowling center. For questions or to place an order contact Perry Trafman at ptrafman@gmail.com or 708-410-2500.

Solve-It Orange All Purpose Cleaner is Felix Erickson Company’s newest maintenance product.

It is a citrus based foam aerosol cleaner that clings to surfaces to increase cleaning effectiveness, dissolves away grease and surface grime and has a light pleasing citrus scent that doesn’t annoy your customers. Get twelve 18 ounce cans per case for a suggested retail price of $69.95. For more information, call 800-445-1090 or visit www.festrikezone.com.

eBowl.biz is introducing Mobile Marketing for bowling. This new service will deliver text messages to a list that they help you build, along with tracking reports. With a read rate of over 90%, text messaging can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Pricing starts at under $100 a month. For more details go to www.BowlingWebDoctor.com or call Carey Tosello at 877-326-9599. eBowl.biz provides internet marketing services to bowling centers in more than 30 states.

Register to receive QubicaAMF’s monthly Supply Line E-newsletter and you could be the winner of a $100 Visa gift card! Log onto http://www.TheEmailClub.com/QubicaAMF and register today for your chance to win. One lucky person that registers between March 1 and March 31, 2011 will be selected to win! Visit website for full rules and details.

Sierra Products has specialized in promotional products for the bowling industry for over 15 years. They can personalize most of their products to showcase your bowling center, league, tournament, or birthday party package!

Don’t have a logo? They can make one for you free of charge!

Check them out on the web at www.noveltybowlingstuff.com, call toll free 1-800-900-7695 or email: shelly@noveltybowlingstuff.com for more information.

Ebonite introduces BowlersMAP™ 3.0, that brings enhanced capabilities to the most successful and most popular coaching software ever developed. The new software includes the ability to work with all recent versions of Windows software, including Windows 7. Quickly find the peak angle of the backswing, spine tilt angle and swing shape ratio of the bowler. You can send lessons, drills and videos directly to your bowler’s email address or upload them to the internet. Contact Brenda Green at 270-881-1200.

Revolutionize your customers’ bowling experience and upgrade your Vector, Frameworx®, AS-80 or AS-90 scoring systems to the latest LCD flat panel overhead monitors. Impress your customers with a more clear and precise picture quality, and rest assured that the commercial-grade electronics will last for years - even if operated 24 hours / 7 days a week. For more information, contact your Brunswick representative, call 1-800-YES-BOWL or 1-231-725-4966.

Brian Estes, owner of Capital Bowling Service is no rookie when it comes to building a “state of the art” bowling center. With 32 years of on the job experience, Brian has the knowledge to get the job done right. When it comes to new center construction, modernization (scoring, lanes, etc.), mini bowling lanes, or home installs…Capital Bowling Service is one of the top builders in the industry. For more information visit www.capitalbowlingservice.com.

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SHOWCASE LOCKER LOCKS

10 SMART SEATS

KARAOKE CONTEST

DJ LIGHTS

Celebrating 25 years working in the bowling industry, Orange County Security Company is a lock and key business that makes keys for all types of lockers. They also repair locks, sell new locker locks as well as combination locks. There are master keys available for the combination locks and the regular locker locks. One week turn around on most orders. It’s easy, just send them your locker codes and they make the keys! You can call them at 800-700-4539 or e-mail huff@inreach.com.

The Lighting Store presents the Seventh Annual International Bowling Karaoke Superstar Contest taking place at bowling centers across the country. This contest is a great reason to invite customers to your bar area.

Visit www.soundandlightkaraoke.com for a complete list of participating centers. The semi-finals and final rounds will take place at Bowl Expo in Texas. First prize is $5,000! Call 888746-5483 for more information.

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The Bowl America chain recently decided to upgrade its seating at their Burke, VA center. They selected the patented Smart Seat covers from GKM. Operations Manager Don Armel stated, “Smart Seats are attractive, durable and cost effective.

And since they slip on over our existing seats, installation is fast and there is no need to change the seat pedestal or floor tile as with other manufacturer’s seats.” For more information on Smart Seats call 310-791-7092 or visit www.gkmintl.com.

Farralane introduces the Flash Panel 16, an affordable LED panel that can be controlled via DMX or via the optional CF card controller. Multiple panels can be linked together to make one large screen. Dynamic effects can then be played on it, which makes this system ideal for bars, dance areas and glow bowling. For more information on this and all your lighting needs call 800-433-7057 or visit www. farralane.com.

DATEBOOK

MARCH 8-10 1st International Bowling Exhibition Kuwait 2011 Mavenpick Convention Center, Salmiya. www.BestExpo-kw.com 14-18 GS Series Pinsetter Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 16-19 ENADA-Intl. Amusement & Gaming Show Rimino Expo center Rimini, Italy http://en.enadaprimavera.it/ 21-25 Vector Scorer Maintenance Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 23-24 BCA of Ohio Seminars & Meeting Embassy Suites, Columbus, OH Pat Marazzi, 937-433-8363

APRIL 11-15 Bowling University Management Training Program Enroll: BowlingUniversity.net Kelly Bednar, 800-343-1329 Ext 8462. Email: Education@BPAA.com

26-28 Foundations Entertainment University Dallas, TX www.FoundationsUniversity.com.

Frank Seninsky, 732-254-3773, fseninsky@aol.com

MAY 2-6 GS Series Pinsetter Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 9-13 Vector Scorer Maintenance Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 16 Illinois State BPA Board of Directors Meeting Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Normal.

Bill Duff, 847-982-1305, billduff@bowlillinois.com 23-25 BCA of Ohio State Convention & Trade Show Crowne Plaza, Dublin, OH Pat Marazzi, 937-433-8363

JUNE 6-8 Kansas State BPA Annual Meeting Courtyard by Marriott, Junction City, includes table top exhibits & KSBPA Hall of Fame inductions.

Mary Thurber 913-638-1817

13-17 GS Series Pinsetter Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 20-24 Vector Scorer Maintenance Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 26-7/1 Bowl Expo Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine, TX. 888-649-5685

JULY 11-12 Iowa BPA Summer Annual Meeting and Trade Show Econolodge, Newton, IA Jenny Duede, 515-255-0808, www.iowabpa.com 13-15 Intl Billiard & Home Recreation Expo Sands Expo & Convention Ctr. Las Vegas www.bcaexpo.com 18-22 GS Series Pinsetter Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695

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DATEBOOK 21 Montana BPA Annual Board and Membership Meeting Fairmont Hot Springs, MT Tom Brendgord t.brendgord@att.net 23-24 Oregon Bowling Summit Lincoln City, OR Christy Herman 877-567-6374 24 Illinois State BPA Board of Directors Meeting with Bowling Centers Association of Michigan Convention and Trade Show Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Mt. Pleasant, MI Bill Duff, 847-982-1305, billduff@bowlillinois.com 25-29 Vector Scorer Maintenance Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695

SEPTEMBER 16-18 Wyoming Bowling Council Jamboree Hilton Garden Inn, Laramie WY Charlene Abbott kcabbott@bresnan.net 22 BCA of Ohio Executive Board Meeting Embassy suites, Columbus, OH Pat Marazzi, 937-433-8363

CLASSIFIEDS

OCTOBER IBI 2–4 West Coast Bowling Centers Convention Silver Legacy Hotel, Reno, NV Sandi Thompson, 925-485-1855 Sandi@norcalbowling.com

4-5 Kansas State BPA a Annual Meeting Pittsbury, KS Mary Thurber 913-638-1817 10-12 East Coast Bowling Centers Convention Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ Lee Ann Norton, 800-343-1329 Leeann@bpaa.com IBI

17-21 Vector Scorer Maintenance Training Brunswick Training Center Muskegon, MI Email: schools@brunbowl.com 800-937-2695 IBI 26 Bowling Centers of Southern CA Annual Meeting Location TBD Scott Frager, 818-789-0900 Scottf@socalbowling.com

NOVEMBER 9-10 BCA of Ohio Seminars & Meeting Embassy Suites, Columbus, OH Pat Marazzi, 937-433-8363

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE USED BRUNSWICK PARTS, A2 parts and assemblies.

Large Inventory. www.usedpinsetterparts.com.

NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment.

Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-2556436 or jayhawkbowling.com.

Pinsetter Parts New from ALL major manufacturers. HUGE IN STOCK inventory.

USED Brunswick Scoring parts, AS90 cameras, processors, lane cables, monitors, and PC boards. Order online @ 888SBIBOWL.com or (888) 724-2695.

The Mechanics Choice!

REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details (248) 375-2751.

For Sale: used pin decks. Buy one, get one FREE. 27” monitors for AccuScore Plus & XL Scoring. Also XL Scoring package. (641) 4141542.

FOR SALE: Entire contents 8-lane center currently in operation & closing mid-May 2011. AMF 82-70 pinsetters. Twelve Strike scoirng, wood lanes w/ Lane shield, refrigertion equipment, pro shop equipment , 90 lockers. Will furnish complete list upon request. Steve (702) 293-2368 or ljjaa1414@yahool.com.

EQUIPMENT WANTED LANE MACHINES WANTED. We will purchase your KEGEL-built machine, any age or condition. Phone (608) 764-1464.

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Official magazine of the convention

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CLASSIFIEDS EQUIPMENT WANTED 30 used synthetic lanes & scoring. (616) 796-4769.

CENTERS FOR SALE

CENTERS FOR SALE 16-lane center in Southern Colorado mountains. Great condition. 18,000 s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge.

Paved parking 100 + vehicles.

Established leagues & tournaments. $950,000 or make offer.

Kipp (719) 852-0155.

CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 12 lanes, auto scoring, Anvilane synthetics, 82-70s. Great food sales. Yearly tournament. Attached, large 3 bedroom apartment w/ fireplace. $550K. (715) 223-8230.

NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s, Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game & pool rooms.

See pics and info @ www.visitcolby.com or contact Charles (785) 443-3477.

UPSTATE NEW YORK: 8-lane center/ commercial building built in 1992.

Synthetic lanes, new automatic scoring, kitchen and room to expand! Reduced to sell @ $375,000. Call (315) 376-3611.

SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained 8-lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant.

Includes business and real estate. Nice, smaller community. Owner retiring. $212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828.

WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM

CENTERS FOR SALE SOUTHERN INDIANA (close to Indianapolis): 18-lane Brunswick center with lounge, liquor license & movie theater on 4+ acres. Turnkey business.

Owner retiring. Great investment!

(765) 349-1312.

ARIZONA, PAYSON: 16 LANES. Assume mortgage. Details @ http://rimcountry lanes.com/4sale.pdf. Bob (602) 377-6657.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lane center w/ synthetic lanes, 82-70s, 19,000 s/f building w/ lots of parking. Newly remodeled bar & large kitchen. Owner retiring. (530) 598-2133.

NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Island region. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmic bowling, auto scoring. Established leagues + many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill @ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302.

EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-lane Brunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thru liquor store in small college town. Also, 3 apartment buildings with 40 units, good rental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or (701) 430-1490.

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CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling.

Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluth w/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Two large State employment facilities nearby.

High six figure gross. $1.2m. Call Bryan (218) 380-8089. www.majesticpine.com.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One of the top five places to move! Remodeled 32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.1m gets it all. Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362.

BUY

AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENT COMPLETE PACKAGES WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY

SEL L

Danny & Daryl Tucker Tucker Bowling Equipment Co. 609 N.E. 3rd St. Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-4018 Fax (806) 995-4767

Bowling Parts, Inc. P.O. Box 801 Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-3635 Email - bpitx@texasonline.net

www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com

WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM

CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center and restaurant in central Idaho mountains.

Small town. Only center within 60-mile radius. Brunswick A-2 machines; Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring.

(208) 879-4448.

SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING: 12 lanes + café & lounge, 2 acres w/ 5 bedroom home. Full liquor & fireworks licenses.

Outside Salt Lake City area. Dennis @ Uinta Realty, Inc. (888) 804-4805 or uintarlt@allwest.net.

GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, real estate included. Great location in one of fastest growing counties in metro Atlanta.

5 years new with all the amenities.

Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lane center REDUCED to $799,000 for quick sale.

Synthetics, 82-70s, 19,000 s/f + parking.

Newly remodeled bar, large kitchen. Owner retiring. Will consider selling only equipment or building. www.siskiyoulanes.com. (530) 598-2133.

NORTHWEST LOUISIANA: 12-LANE Brunswick center. REDUCED TO SELL NOW! Includes auto scoring, glow bowling, pizza, large dining area & video poker. Good income. Long Lease. Great opportunity. Call Mike (318) 578-0772.

NW INDIANA (Lake Michigan/National Lake Shore area): Well-maintained 32lane center, family owned & operated since 1997 with spacious nightclub lounge on 6.6 acres. Also billiards, arcade, pro shop, full-service restaurant, established leagues, birthday party activity & MORE! Owner retiring. Reasonably priced. (219) 921-4999.

SELL YOUR CENTER

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CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE CENTRAL ALABAMA: Recently remodeled, split house w/24 synthetic lanes (16 & 8) in 28,000 s/f building in shopping center; Brunswick A2s & 2000 seating; AccuScore Plus; VIA returns & storage tables; systems for Cosmic; established leagues; snack bar, pro shop & game/pool table area. Nearest competition 28 miles w/ colleges & Honda factory within minutes. Need to sell due to health. Reasonably priced. (435) 705-0420.

I could not have gotten my loan without him.

Bill Hanson All Star Lanes Fort Myers, Florida The leading source for real estate loans with low down payments

Ken Paton (503) 645-5630 www.kenpaton.com kpaton@kenpaton.com

NE NEVADA: New 2001. 16 lanes, 19,200 square feet, 1.68 acres paved, sound & lighting, lounge w/ gaming, arcade, full service snack bar & pro shop. Call (775) 934-1539.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS: PRICED TO SELL!!

8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables, Karaoke machine, DJ system. Includes RE. (217) 351-5152 or toms-uvl@sbcglobal.net.

LOCKER KEYS FAST! •Keys & Combo Locks for all Types of Lockers.

•One week turnaround on most orders.

•New locks All types •Used locks 1/2 price of new

All keys done by code #.

No keys necessary.

E-mail: huff@inreach.com FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:

"Bowling Center Construction Specialists" New Center Construction Family Entertainment Centers Residential Bowling Lanes Modernization Mini Bowling Lanes Automatic Scoring CONTACT

Toll Free:

BRIAN ESTES

(866) 961-7633

Office: (734) 469-4293 Email: build@capitalbowlingservice.com www.CapitalBowlingService.com

WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM

530-432-2933

CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-700-4KEY INTʼL 530-432-1027 Orange County Security Consultants

For FLORIDA CENTERS Call DAVID DRISCOLL & ASSOCIATES 1-800-444-BOWL P.O. Box 189 Howey-in-the-Hills, FL 34737 AN AFFILIATE OF SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES IBI

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CLASSIFIEDS

Sell Your Center or Eqpt.

Fast!

(818) 789-2695

CENTERS FOR SALE MISSOURI, St. Louis area: Two centers for Sale or Lease in great bowling areas.

1) 16-lane Brunswick recently remodeled.

2) 24-lane Brunswick/Qubica Scoring, stateof-the-art with all the whistles and bells.

MUST SEE! Contact Voss Management Properties (636) 458-9430 or stlbpa@aol.com.

MINNESOTA—Brainerd Lakes area: Successful 8-lane AMF center with pizza, restaurant & bar. 7,952 s/f. In middle of Nature’s Paradise! Contact Chris @ CloseConverse (218) 828-3334.

EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI: 24-lane center with property included in high traffic area—well-maintained; solid business.

Lease/purchase and/or owner financing available to qualified buyer.

Email: yolo2011@yahoo.com.

AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC board repair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fast turnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service 5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054 Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695) Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon) E-mail: wb8yjf@earthlink.net Visit us on the WEB! http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/

TEXAS, SE of Houston: 40-lane center in mid-sized market. Updated scoring, lanes, seating, masking units in 2007 plus remodeled bar. New roof. Includes RE. Bank owned. Ken Paton (503) 645-5630.

SELL YOUR CENTER OR EQUIPMENT

FAST! (818) 789-2695

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SERVICES AVAILABLE Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring Ball Repair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com.

AMF 65-25 CHASSIS: Conversion, Repair, Replace & Exchange. Includes rewiring, requested repairs, conversion to MK 30 board system and converting chassis to new PR system where applicable.

TOTAL SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. References available.

CHASSIS DOCTORS (330) 314-8951.

POSITION WANTED Wanted – job as a manager for a bowling center. 30+ years experience in all phases of running a center. Great references, reliable and trustworthy. Seeing is believing! Call Ed (515) 771-7606. Please leave a message.

MANAGER WANTED Citizen Potawatomi Nation & the NEW Firelake Bowling Center are seeking a customer service related manager to run our brand new state of the art facility. Experience a MUST. Complete applications at www.firelakejobs.com. For more info please contact HR Dept @ (405) 275-3121.

CLASSIFIEDS MINIATURE GOLF COURSES Indoor/Outdoor. Immediate Installation. $5,900.00 & up.

2021 Bridge Street Jessup, PA 18434 570-489-8623 www.minigolfinc.com

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CLASSIFIEDS

SERVICE CALLS WORLDWIDE • PRE-SHIPS • WE SELL

AS80/90 • BOARD REPAIR • Frameworx NEW KEYPADS • FRONT DESK LCD MONITORS

PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70 S.S. & M.P. MACHINES Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. Board Exchange & Repair!

A reasonable alternative for Chassis and P.C. Board Exchanges MIKE BARRETT Call for Price List

Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576

Michael P. Davies (321) 254-7849

291 Sandy Run, Melbourne, FL 32940 on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: mike@bowlingscorer.com

WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM

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EASY WAYS

to place your Classified Ad in International Bowling Industry Magazine

Call (818) 789-2695

Fax (818) 789-2812

E-mail your ad to:

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March 2011

CLASSIFIEDS

3

EASY WAYS

to place your Classified Ad in International Bowling Industry Magazine

Call (818) 789-2695

Fax (818) 789-2812

E-mail your ad to:

info@bowlingindustry.com IBI

March 2011

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REMEMBER WHEN

1941 A

rchibald “Archie” Andrews knew a romantic venue when he saw it!

It was 1941 when our rumpled, comic hero, ever 17, came upon the scene. He is still up to his tricks today and manages to get himself in a lot of good, old-fashioned trouble on the lanes.

A creation of Bob Montana, Archie and his friends could be heard on radio during the 40s, read about to this day in comic books published

by Archie Comics Publications, and seen in a live-action, TV movie on NBC in 1990.

Anyone remember the two young ladies in his life? His best friend? I bet someone can even conjure the name of his Model T Ford if given a moment or two. And, who was Waldo Weatherbee anyway? ❖

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