Kingpin’s

BY SUSAN ELISE CAMPBELL

The husband and wife team of Doug and Alison Bohannon, owners of Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun Center in South Glens Falls, added a second location to their business portfolio with the purchase of Spare Time bowling alley and arcade at 375 Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham.

The Bohannons said they closed the transaction on Nov. 30 for $3.2 million.

“I have been in the bowling business since 1999, starting out as a pin changer and working my way up through management,” he said.

In 2013 the opportunity was presented to purchase the Spare Time lanes in South Glens Falls. The Bohannans re-named the business Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun Center and in February 2022 was approached by Spare Time Entertainment about purchasing the Latham location.

“Th is is a company I was employed by for 13 years and who sold us our South Glens Falls alleys 10 years ago, so we are very familiar with each other,” said Bohannon. “Ne- gotiations went pretty quickly.”

The Bohannons changed the name of the center but have no plans to renovate at this time. Neither will there be staff changes among the 30-plus employees.

“There is a great staff here, and the manager, Carol Judge, has been at these lanes for 17 years,” he said. “She is very well known in the area for her bowling knowledge and ability to run an alley.”

He said bowling is very popular right now.

“Th is is true across the country, not just upstate New York where our alleys are located,” he said. The Bohannons want to make the new location in Latham “the destination of choice. We would like patrons to know what we have to offer, and customer service is the number one thing. People have money to spend right now. We want to give them their money’s worth and help them have fun so that they will want to come back.”

Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun Center is available for parties and corporate events. There is league bowling Monday through Thursday nights and open play on weekends.

Skidmore College Names New Vice President For Enrollment, Dean Of Admissions

Jessica Ricker, with over 20 years of experience in admissions and enrollment management at liberal arts colleges, will join Skidmore College as its next vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and fi nancial aid on June 5.

She will lead an integrated and collaborative enrollment management approach for the College, continuing Skidmore’s consistently strong performance in admissions and fi nancial aid support, college officials said.

“Th roughout her career, Jess Ricker has repeatedly demonstrated the ability and genuine drive to apply a creative vision to all she does— an ethos that will benefit the entire Skidmore community,” said college President Marc Conner, who chaired the search committee. “Her commitment to amplifying student voices and supporting historically marginalized groups will help ensure Skidmore continues to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive liberal arts experience for all.”

Ricker has served as dean and director of admissions at Wellesley College since 2018 and recently served as the interim dean of admissions and fi nancial aid. Before joining Wellesley, she worked in admissions at Connecticut College for 18 years in various capacities. She holds a Master of Arts degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Connecticut College.

At Wellesley, Ricker led a staff of 20 and oversaw admissions operations, including student recruitment, application review, marketing and communications, customer service, data analysis and reporting, event management, and staff development.

In 2022, she was the recipient of an Agent of Innovation achievement award, given each year to an outstanding member of Wellesley’s staff who has demonstrated the use of innovative ideas, approaches, or techniques in their work. She also initiated and led a yearlong assessment of implicit bias among staff, policy, and processes across the Admission and Student Financial Services Division and devised an equitable, mission-driven application review and selection process.

Ricker says she looks forward to partnering broadly to recruit, enroll, and support students at Skidmore.

“I’m elated to join the Skidmore community in June. Institutional mission has always been of paramount importance to me, especially the commitment to fi nancial aid and inclusive excellence,” she said. “As a fi rst-generation college student from the Midwest, generous need-based aid and Pell grants made it possible for me to have a transformational liberal arts college experience. It will be an honor and a privilege to contribute my passion and skills to the great work already being done at Skidmore.”

Ricker will succeed Mary Lou Bates, who will retire at the end of the 2022-23 academic year after 49 years with the college.

The national search was assisted by WittKieffer, a global executive search and leadership advisory fi rm.