CONTENTS
VOL 22.1
6 ISSUE AT HAND
30 COVER STORY
The “Thing” About Bowling
Leaning on celebrity league team owners to shine the spotlight on the PBA. By Mark Miller
• Passing of a legend: Billy Hardwick • Blue oil reveals it all. • Monday Night Bowling with the Giants • AWBA Invitational at Texas Station
PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott Frager frager@bowlingindustry.com Skype: scottfrager
The Paparazzi Effect
By Scott Frager
8 SHORTS
THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING
14
38 PROFILE Dream. Inspire. Create. Doug Wilkerson’s chosen path has led him to where the creativity flows. By Fred Groh
OFFICE MANAGER Patty Heath heath@bowlingindustry.com
CONTRIBUTORS Fred Groh Patty Heath Mark Miller Joan B. Taylor
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jackie Fisher fisher@bowlingindustry.com
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Designworks www.dzynwrx.com (818) 735-9424
FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)
Compiled by Patty Heath
45 MARKETING Loyalty, Respect and Raising Money
14 OPERATIONS
Through already-established leagues and tournaments, raising money for BVL is a natural next step.
Where The Customer Is King With customer-centered business philosophies, David Small builds his business, one center at a time.
By Fred Groh 22
By Joan B. Taylor
54 REMEMBER WHEN 1950 By Patty Heath
22 CENTER STAGE S’mores, Canoeing and Bowling
44 Showcase
At the former Vanderbilt family retreat, the outdoor bowling lanes get a worldclass refurbishment.
46 Datebook 47 Classifieds
By Joan B. Taylor
30
4
IBI
January 2014
12655 Ventura Boulevard Studio City, CA 91604 (818) 789-2695(BOWL) Fax (818) 789-2812 info@bowlingindustry.com
www.BowlingIndustry.com
HOTLINE: 888-424-2695 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, 12655 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604 USA. If possible, please furnish address mailing label. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2014, B2B Media, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the publisher’s permission.
MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:
THE ISSUE AT HAND
The “Thing” About Bowling The “thing” about bowling is that there are a million things to love--and hate--about it. For every reason to grit your teeth there is at least one reason, and usually a lot more, to sing the praises of this wonderful business yet again. Let’s compare lists. Here are some of my favorite things--and less-thanfavorite things--about it. What I love: The people--the staff, the bowlers, the vendors. Closing time and no one wants to leave. Coming home late at night (early a.m.) with empty streets and a feeling of a great day’s work behind me and another just ahead. Beating the numbers. Watching a plan come to fruition. Employees leaving early for a family graduation or celebration. Kids bowling. My kids bowling. Me bowling—with my kids. Full arcades. Community. Social visits by the local police and fire departments. Calls from virtually every school in the city for donations. Positive PR for bowling and our center. Happy guests who say they’re glad they spent time at our center. Visiting other centers and proprietors/ managers. Learning from the best. Risk. Closing the deal. Bringing in new bowlers. Fresh restrooms. Raffles and giveaways. People with passion. Teammates who refuse to give up and who strive to be better. Hard workers who take three busses and two-and-a-half hours to get to/from work, yet are never late. Loudmouth dreamers who refuse to listen to reason, only to ultimately change my opinion and broaden my perspective. What I hate: Guests who drink too much. Thugs. Lost children. 6
IBI
January 2014
Leaving the house before sunrise and returning after sunset--way after sunset. Missing family celebrations due to work. Skipping meals. Weight gain from too many business lunches. Hair loss due to too much stress. Being awakened in the wee hours because of bad news. Having to beat numbers. Risk. Programs that fail due to poor efforts. Criminals, thieves and vandals. Counterfeit bills that could pass as works of art. Credit card reversals. Insurance claims, false fire alarms, and power outages. Losing the deal. Losing bowlers. Terrible customer service and smelly restrooms. Headaches from loud music. Dirty rental shoes. Random scoring system malfunctions. Paperwork. Stingy arcade merchandisers who refuse to pay out. Giver-uppers. Blasé anything. Staff that can’t be bothered to show up on time or bend down to pick up some trash. Playing “closing time” before closing time. Schools neglecting to reciprocate when provided with free games or raffle prizes. Quiet times. At the end of the day, this business, this life we share is both exhilarating and exhausting. It gives you incredible highs and then, without warning, drags you down to the deepest depths. There’s a certain addictive quality to it. A constant rush of adrenaline that’s both liberating--and incarcerating. So how goes the business with you? I’d be very surprised if it isn’t a lot the same for you as it is for me. But maybe you can surprise me. Please visit our website, www.bowlingindustry.com, and share your list, the things you love and hate about this industry of ours that’s like no other. – SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR frager@bowlingindustry.com
4THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com NEW is the operative word. A NEW year, NEW resolutions, NEW determination to grow your business! IBI Online can put you in touch with NEW contacts and NEW ideas and NEW ways to achieve your goals. If you’re a member of bowling’s most comprehensive online site, revisit it and reconnect with other proprietors and suppliers and people involved in the business of bowling. If you’re not a member, become a NEW member today! 2014 is a NEW opportunity!
SHORTS
IN MEMORIAM PBA Hall of Famer and two-time PBA Player of the Year Billy Hardwick died of an apparent heart attack in November at the age of 72. In one of the greatest turnarounds in professional bowling history, Hardwick went from a rookie PBA Tour season in 1962 failing to cash in a single event, to winning four titles and becoming Player of the Year the very next season. Hardwick would go on to back up his stellar 1963 season by winning three titles in 1964. Diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis at age 10, it was through sheer determination, that he was able to overcome the condition and build a career. In 1969 Hardwick starred in a Miller High Life commercial, becoming the first professional athlete to appear in a commercial for beer. He was also a member of the USBC Hall of Fame, inducted in 1985, and was a two-time ABC tournament champion, winning the Classic team and Classic all-events titles in 1964. “Billy had a true star quality, a magnetic personality and a unique talent,” said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark. “The PBA mourns the passing of a legend and our thoughts go out to his friends, fans and family.” Hardwick, proprietor of Billy Hardwick’s All-Star Lanes in East Memphis, TN, is the father of podcast entrepreneur, comedian and talk show host Chris Hardwick. Chris, who is also owner of the Silver Lake Atom Splitters PBA League team, commented, “My dad was my favorite podcast guest. He was amazingly open and it brought us closer.” The interview may be seen on the Nerdist website at www.nerdist.com/2012/06/nerdistpodcast-billy-hardwick.
WILKES LANES LOST TO FIRE The Winston-Salem Journal covered a recent fire at Wilkes Lanes and the adjacent skate park. Firefighters from various fire stations converged on the property, but the building was completely destroyed. There were 15 people inside the center when the fire began in the late afternoon. Fortunately all were able to leave quickly and no one was hurt. The origin of the fire is yet to be determined. 8
IBI
January 2014
Media
WATCH
BOWLING IN BOOTS While chatting on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Lenny Kravitz gave up Prince and his bowling style. It seems Prince, beyond being “stupid good,” talks smack. Lenny said that during a bowling outing with the singer, Prince bowled with a purple ball and wore furry kneehigh boots instead of shoes. Couldn’t imagine him in regular bowling shoes, come to think of it. That spurred Jimmy to throw down the gauntlet and challenge Prince to a bowling game or ping-pong match. Can’t wait for that to happen!
AFTER-SHOW BOWLING PARTY Australian comedian Adam Hills took a theater full of people bowling after his show at The Queens Theatre in New Zealand. Hills said it was something he had thought about doing for a while. “I have always loved the idea of doing something for the audience.” Wendy Pullen, proprietor of Lets Go! bowling center, was happy to accommodate the comedian. Everyone was treated to bowling with Hills’ compliments and asked only to donate to the charity Movember, which aims to promote prostate cancer awareness.
WINDOWS PHONE BOWLING GAMES One can find a plethora of bowling games to use on a Windows phone. These games are simple to pick up and play but challenging to master. They are all entertaining, free and well worth the try. To name just a few: AE Bowling 3D; Shuffle Party; Rocka Bowling 3D; and Galaxy Bowling 3D. Go to the Windows Phone Central store and bowl yourself silly.
SHORTS
BLUE OIL CAN SHOW
HOW YOU ROLL
Popular Science’s online site gave a headsup to the PBA’s new experiment: blue oil. The Smurfy tint to the oil is meant to show spectators the mystical, unseen aspect of the game. As the balls roll The blue tint oil is applied with a Zamboni-style machine frame after frame, the oil shifts, and bowlers have to make minute changes to their throws to compensate for that. The blue oil, applied through a Zamboni-style machine, allows spectators to see where those dry and slick spots are, and tell for the first time how they’re affecting the strategy of the game. It is an insight that fans were previously not privy to. While football, basketball, hockey and just about every other competitive game has instant replay, bowling will now have the Smurfification of the lanes and hopefully a whole PBA bowler Chris Barnes in action on the new generation of bowling blue lanes. fans.
Just Because! This bowling birthday cake, created by Cakebox Special Occasion Cakes, is too wonderful not to share. Cakebox is located in Rochester Hills, MI and specializes in–yes!–cakes for all occasions. Love the motion effect with the bowling ball hitting the pins!
AWBA INVITATIONAL
The American Wheelchair Bowling Association held one of its eight invitational tournaments in Las Vegas at Texas Station this past December. The event attracted 52 competitors for a guaranteed total of $12,650 in prize money.
...And the Lanes Live
On!
took on a do-it-yourself project In 1958, Memphis got its first with the help of friends and bowling center, Imperial Lanes. The installed a new floor composed 48-lane center was ahead of its time of Imperial Lanes’ salvaged with one of the finest sit-down wooden lanes. restaurants, complete with chefs, “It’s heart-of-pine,” she says. waitresses and menu-ordering. It “The trees were hosted tournaments Stamp of resurfacing on the over 100 years and was known far Rendering of Imperial Lanes in 1958 salvaged lanes old when they and wide. However, were cut and the panels are an inch-andby the time it closed in 2006, it was the only remaining a-half thick. And if you look around, you can center without automatic scoring and glow bowling. see stamps from the last time the bowling Segue to Mary Burns, who worked for Java Cabana lanes were resurfaced.” She thinks the new coffee house—which opened in Memphis in 1992— behind the counter and ran the evening poetry readings. Mary Burns giving the new floor a good floor will improve the room’s acoustics. Another case of life after bowling. In 1998, Burns moved up to proprietress. Recently she sweep! 10
IBI
January 2014
GOODWILL CENTRAL
SHORTS
12
IBI
Community support and charitable offerings have no season. Look at what centers across the country have been doing. Michigan was a very busy state. The National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 579, in Blissfield, MI, held their fifth annual Bowl-A-Thon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at Rich Lanes. “One Toy, One Smile” was the theme for a toy drive headed by Shantel Harris of Saginaw, MI. Candlelite Bowling Center was the drop-off location and the designated organization was Underground Railroad Inc. of Saginaw County, serving victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The toys were distributed to women and families in the Underground Railroad program. To help, the center reduced the cost per game to encourage participation. B’s Bowling in Flint, MI, welcomed “Momunity,” a group creating a support network for families, and single mothers in particular. The goal, on this occasion, was to get families together for a bowling event. In northern Illinois, all bowling centers donated 100% of all open bowling proceeds to victims of the recent tornadoes which have plagued the area. Providence College hosted the first annual Bowling Classic for its softball and volleyball programs at East Providence Lanes in Rumford, RI. Over 240 alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends attended. The event raised $13,000 to benefit both programs. Cops and kids were the focus of two events. The annual “Cop and Kids at Christmas” program was held at Midland Bowl in Fort Smith, AR. The proceeds went to the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 39’s program for kids who would otherwise not have Christmas. In Conyers, GA, the Conyers police department and AMF Bowling Centers teamed up to raise money for the sixth annual Shop with a Cop. Through this event, law enforcement personnel accompany children from families experiencing financial hardships to Conyers Walmart to shop for Christmas gifts. What is your center doing? Email Patty Heath at heath@bowlingindustry.com.
January 2014
WALLINGTON LANES HOSTS GIANTS’ MONDAY NIGHT BOWLING The Giants have hosted Monday Night Bowling for four years. This event is organized by Intensive Therapeutics, a non-profit that provides group and individual occupational therapy services to children with autism and children with hemiplegia, from stroke, CP and brain injury. When Brandon Myers, a Giant tight end, was presented the opportunity to host this year, he knew it was a perfect fit. Myers has a niece who is involved in Brandon Myers signs a small fan’s shirt at Giants’ Monday Night Bowling event. a similar program. “It kind of hits home for me,” Myers said at the sold-out event. “I’m very privileged. For the kids who have some struggles, it’s great to raise some money, get to know them and help out.” Myers was joined by teammates Brandon Jacobs, Jim Cordle, Kevin Boothe, Henry Hynoski, Andre Brown and Bear Pascoe, who all signed autographs, posed for photos and rolled a few frames. All 48 lanes were sold out and the event raised approximately $30,000.
PEOPLE-WATCHING Creative Works, Inc. has added a new member to its team. Roxanna Gressel has come aboard as the Director of Project Management. With a background in fine arts and product design, she has a unique insight into the development of various 3D objects and spaces. Roxanna Gressel “Roxanna has been a great addition to the team, her organization and client management skills have greatly increased our work flow process at Creative Works,” commented Jeff Schilling, president. Goals for the new director are building client relationships, addressing all questions and concerns throughout each project and minimizing the learning curve to help clients achieve their goals.
OPERATIONS
CUSTOMER
IS KING
David Small’s philosophy proves to be a soild way to grow his centers.
By Joan B. Taylor
H
is name may be Small but this man’s business sense is huge. David Small was doing well as a successful operational efficiency consultant. For 13 years he would consult with companies, figure out their operations, rip through their P&L statements, understand what they did and how they did it, and analyze cost impacts of what they did. He would find opportunities for them to make money, reduce expenses and/or increase profit. Then everything changed, quite from an unexpected source. While David was visiting his mother, Lois, prior to her passing in December of 2007, she said, “You have a big job, you travel the world, but you’re not happy.” He said, “What do you mean?” She responded, “You have to find in yourself what makes you happy. You need to follow your dreams.” As an avid PBA card-carrying bowler, David had harbored a dream to own a bowling center. His mother’s intuition and suggestion gave him that “push” to take action. His years spent analyzing and improving companies’ bottom lines would prove invaluable in carrying out that dream successfully.
ENTER GEORGE PAPPAS After graduating from Penn State in 1994, Small lived in North Carolina for ten years. He enjoyed bowling at PBA champion George Pappas’ Victory Lanes in Mooresville, NC. “I asked the desk lady on my first night if George was there. She said that he was and that he wanted to meet me (I am about a 220-average bowler). Out from the office came this 5 foot, 7 inch, 120 pound guy. George said, ‘David Small, I
OPERATIONS
heard a lot about you.’ “The funny thing is that I was shaking and I said ‘Oh, Mr. Pappas, it’s such an honor to meet you.’ He burst out laughing and said, ‘Mr. Pappas is my father.’ It was the start of a lifelong friendship. I have since spent holidays at George and Peggy’s home.” When Small was ready to buy a bowling center, or two, he contacted George who has two centers himself (George Pappas Victory Lanes in Mooresville and George Pappas Liberty Lanes in Gastonia, NC), for input. George referred Small to Sandy Hansell, center broker and principal of Sandy Hansell and Associates. “George helped me put the deal together and Sandy handled the financial part.” Hansell laid out a few centers for consideration. Small said, “I looked at four centers and I took the ones that had the most opportunity for growth or expense control.” First, he bought a 63year-old, 24-lane center, Star Lanes in Lafayette, IN (January 2009), and in October of 2012, Pro Bowl West (31 years old, 56 lanes). “Another reason I bought the centers is because I wanted to give something back to the sport I loved. As a bowler I expected clean lanes, hot food, ice-cold beer, and a friendly staff. I would choose where I bowled based on how I was treated, how the center looked, and how I scored. But most bowlers who think they would like to own a center don’t know what goes on behind the scenes to make the center run. They haven’t seen a $10,000 outlay that went for food and beverages, or what happened when a machine broke down. I applied what I learned over my 13 years of cutting expenses and running a business efficiently. I also know what my bowlers expect, and I can do that and still make a profit.”
STAR LANES Before Small bought Star Lanes, he did thorough physical and financial inspections. The center uses Brunswick A2 pinsetters and Van Tech C Vantage scoring. Small hired Mike Ross as the head mechanic. Small put a service plan into place, consisting of hot food, cold beverages, excellent service – all meant to change customers’ perception of the 63-year-old center. In order to achieve this, Small refurbished everything in the center except the actual surface of the lane beds. That led to about a 25% increase in leagues. Star Lanes has also seen an increase in charity events, which Small believes is the best way to give back to the community. 16
IBI
January 2014
Part of Small’s plan to enhance the customer experience was to invest in food service. Small says, “We have a full-service restaurant and full-service lounge with tableside service, which seats about 85 people. We do a tremendous business with lunch. In fact, it accounts for almost 50% of my entire food and beverage operation. Everything is homemade, from scratch. We have signature sandwiches and blue-plate specials. As we say in Indiana, ‘It’s all cooked with love!’ We have a small video arcade and a snack bar. Unlike other places,
OPERATIONS
we do not page people when their order is ready, which would disturb the bowlers. Our servers bring the food to them.”
PRO BOWL WEST When Small was ready to purchase his second center, he chose 56-lane Pro Bowl West, sight unseen. Once Small inspected his new purchase, he wasted no time and spared no expense in installing new masking units and ball returns, remodeling restrooms, building a new pro shop, and putting in new hardwood floors in the bowlers’ area. “I like to spend money,” he joked. “But now Pro Bowl is a world-class facility.” The center has Brunswick A2 pinsetters and a QubicaAMF scoring system serving its 2,000 league bowlers and additional recreational bowlers as well. Marty Murphy serves as operations manager. “Pro Bowl would blow your mind,” Small said, proudly. From the new lounge and sparts bar, to the entertainment center, to new arcade, to a new pro shop run by Scott Savage, Small’s place has it all. “We always have something going on.”
THE BUSINESS PLAN AND PHILOSOPHY Small’s business philosophy is old-school. “If you take pride in what you do, you provide a good product and people will pay a little
18
IBI
January 2014
more for it. My centers are ten times better than the standard. That’s why we are growing. By the same token, I had no gray hairs when I bought my first center at age 35. Now, five years later, I have salt-and-pepper hair,” he laughs. “Do I spend too much money to make things better? Well, yes, but when you want to improve something and make it your own, you have to spend. I have put a quarter-million dollars back into the business at Pro Bowl since October 2012. Our first remodeling was $155,000.” Additional revenue comes from the centers’ Indiana Type 2 gambling licenses which allow them to sell pulltabs. “That was a big part of growing back our business for our guests 21 and older when the non-smoking mandate became effective. “I take pride in what I put out for the people. Am I the most expensive or cheapest in town? No. Some proprietors feel they have to give it away [so that] customers will walk in the door. That doesn’t work. They won’t book a birthday party or bring a family in. So many proprietors have
OPERATIONS
bastardized the business by turning it into a commodity. That’s not what it is. It is a service that you provide to a customer as a value proposition. Proprietors don’t get it, and it drives me crazy. I get tired of people coming into my centers, complaining about their neighborhood center. I say, ‘If you’re that unhappy come and bowl with our family.’ “I believe in leagues, tournaments, corporate parties, birthdays, open play and hosting community charity organizations. Our follow-up is good. Not only do my employees always thank our bowling guests for coming, but also after a charity event, corporate or birthday party, we give people numbered free-game passes. That’s our way of saying, ‘Thanks for coming in. Here’s a free game pass. Bring a friend or two.’ We can track how many came back and brought two people with them. My desk people always thank people for coming in and they invite them back.” His plan for growing the businesses is: present a clean and well-lit center to your guests, greet your customers with a big smile and get to know their names, and provide a fresh and consistent scorable pattern for your league bowlers week in and week out. What does “scorable” mean? “I basically designed the lane condition, because I felt it was important that all bowlers have a fair condition for every angle and style. It should be fresh every night you bowl and, above all, consistent. Last week I started on the 25board and I know I can do that again this week. People work hard (at their jobs) and I don’t want them to struggle. But we do also offer the sport league, the challenge league in both centers for those who want a tougher shot.” In Small’s business philosophy, the customer is king. He feels strongly about treating the customer right. He says, “My philosophy is that we at Star Lanes and Pro Bowl West offer nothing that you need. The time you choose to spend with us must be better than the rest of your day. If not, then we have failed that guest. What this means is that I don’t provide food on the bowler’s table [at home], clothing for their children, and so on. I offer nothing that they need to sustain life. What I do offer is entertainment, and every dollar that comes to me is discretionary income and is a choice. When they come through my doors they come to feel better. The time they choose to grace me with their presence and spend money in my facility is from income above their primary needs. They are paying a premium and deserve the hot food, cold drinks, good service and a clean and well-lit bowling center. We put the guest’s name in the computer at the front counter. It only takes a few seconds, but when they get to the lane it is up and ready for them.”
GOALS Small is currently a member of the Indiana Bowling Centers Association, and he is looking to become a director for the state, which will increase his involvement with other proprietors and the state association’s actions. 20
IBI
January 2014
Moreover Small says, “In 2014 I am hosting the PBA 50 Senior tour at Pro Bowl West, and for the first time anywhere a PBA Super Senior (over age 60) National Championship. I announced it at George’s center and got a standing ovation. They’ll have an event of their own! “My goal for both centers is to make them both a destination; not just a place to go once a week and leave, but for families to enjoy many types of entertainment at one location. Star has a smaller clientele in a small town, so they are already family-oriented. We know every customer by his or her name and their family members, and even their family history. Pro Bowl is different. It is so much bigger [than Star], so we do our best to give it that small town feel, to let people know that we know who they are and that we want them to come and see us.” Ultimately Small wants to buy three more centers. Although that’s a guarantee that his salt-and-pepper hair will probably give way to more “salt” than “pepper,” he won’t care. He is happy, knowing that his mother’s perception and suggestion got him there. ❖
Joan Taylor is a multi-award winning bowling writer based in East Stroudsburg, PA.
CENTER STAGE
P
By Joan B. Taylor
icture this: It’s 1914 and you’re a hard-working New York tycoon who suddenly feels the need of a little time away from the big city. On the desk is a letter from your friend Margaret Emerson Vanderbilt (those Vanderbilts), inviting you for the weekend to her little place in the Adirondacks. Right on the lake. Acres where you can stretch your legs. Solitude, or drinks and talk with some of her famous friends who may be visiting, too. Even an open-air pavilion where you can bowl a few games. Perfect. The lanes were part of Great Camp Sagamore, a complex in Hamilton County in Upstate New York. The camp is rich in history, both architectural and ecological. It was constructed by William West Durant, a railroad financier, between 1895 and 1897 on Sagamore Lake. The purpose was to
22
IBI
January 2014
CENTER STAGE
At the former summer hideaway of the Vanderbilt family, Great Camp Sagamore’s two outdoor bowling lanes get a full renovation.
Photos of Great Camp Sagamore grounds by Dave Scranton.
IBI
January 2014
23
CENTER STAGE
provide a setting where the wealthy could relax, host parties, and feel closer to nature. In 1901 Durant was forced to sell Sagamore when he encountered financial difficulties. He sold the original complex of 61 buildings located on 1,500 acres to Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, another railroad tycoon, who promptly improved the property to include flush toilets (a luxury then), a sewer system, and hot and cold running water. Later he added a hydroelectric plant and, in 1914, a “bowling pavilion consisting of 2 alleys.” Unfortunately Mr. Vanderbilt perished aboard RMS Lusitania when the ship was sunk by a German U-boat’s torpedo. He left Great Camp to Margaret, who remained at the complex until 1954, six years before her death. Margaret was an avid sportswoman and listed ten “sports” for her guests to choose from: bocce, croquet, paddle tennis (pingpong), bowling, tennis, rowing, fishing, martini-drinking, cardthrowing, and jigsaw puzzles, which she indicated was the “most difficult.” She enjoyed all the sports and was extremely competitive. To wit, she was inducted into the National Croquet Hall of Fame.
24
IBI
January 2014
The two bowling lanes were located in an open-air, roofed pavilion and are believed to be the only such structure in the country today. Unfortunately, the complex became run-down once the widow sold it, through various owners. It was on the verge of being torn down until a group of visionaries constitutionally protected 6 million acres with the creation of Adirondack Park, which encompassed the Sagamore complex. The group morphed into a group of preservationists known as the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks, who, by way of the state constitution, had the area designated a National Historic Landmark in May 2000. That was just the start of the ongoing restorations that had to be done. The lanes needed a makeover as well. The Felix Erickson Company, Inc. (Mt. Holly, NJ) was contracted for the job. They specialize in restoring bowling centers regardless of age, type or size. According to Curt Appleby, sales manager for the company, “This was the most unique restoration our company had because it’s an outdoor building with a roof and open sides. It is open to the outside air and has a fireplace at one end.” The company previously restored the Georgian Court (College) lanes (circa 1898), but those were indoors. The challenges were numerous. The lanes from approach to pindeck were extremely dirty. “It looked like someone poured tar on the lanes,” Appleby
CENTER STAGE said. “The ball return, manufactured by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, was called a ‘loop de loop’ and presented its own issues. The pinboys had to give the balls a strong roll to return them to the players, so there was quite a bit of wear and tear.” For all the winters the lanes endured, it was surprising that they held up as well as they did. They were built on six feet of concrete. The Erickson Company had a reconditioned cushion in stock for the area where the pins hit at the back. They then repaired and updated the kickbacks. Wood had to be filled in with epoxy and sanded by hand to repair the ball returns. Surprisingly, the restoration took only five days in July of 2013, with the company’s president, Andre “Duke” LeDoux V, heading the project along with his son, Forrest. According to Beverly Bridger, former executive director of Great Camp Sagamore, “Our local power company, National Grid, completely rewired the pavilion. Just to get the lights re-hung ran between $5- and $6,000. But the electric company donated all the labor. The sanding and replacement of the backboards and general tightening up cost $9,000. Repainting and recaulking the openings to the outdoors was another $3,000. And now we would like to replace the tent canvas, which serves as ‘windows.’ It is rolled up in the spring and down in the winter to keep out snow and leaves. That will run another $3- to $4,000.” Today, the complex has 27 buildings on 18 acres. People on staff double as pinboys when guests want to use the bowling facility. The “house balls” are only 12 pounds because “we were advised to take it easy because the alleys will be 100 years old [this] year and we still have to protect and preserve them,” Bridger said. Instead of a supply of sized bowling rental shoes, they provide footees for street shoes in addition to scorecards. Many groups have come to the complex
for weekend (or longer) seminars and retreats. There is a “Grands” program, spanning five days of activities for grandparents and their grandchildren. Part of a 2006 spy film entitled The Good Shepherd was filmed there. Of the cast members, Robert DiNiro stayed in the complex overnight. Who knows? He may have bowled a game or two. Given that 2014 will be the one-hundredth anniversary of the bowling pavilion, former executive director Bridger would like to see some commemorative festivities to re-dedicate the lanes. “We never had a group of bowlers stay here and would welcome the opportunity for pros with a sense of humor to do an exhibition, something we could film. And they could stay here in the lodges.” Great Camp Sagamore is open from Memorial Day at the end of May through October, when the fall foliage is at its peak. Detailed information is on their website, www.greatcampsagamore.org. Reservations for overnight stays or tours can be procured by calling 315-354-5311. Their website says, “Great Camp Sagamore is not a hotel; it is a bit of history.” No doubt that bowling was and continues to be a part of that! ❖
Joan Taylor is a multi-award winning bowling writer based in East Stroudsburg, PA.
26
IBI
January 2014
COVER STORY
30
IBI January 2014
COVER STORY
By Mark Miller
T
eam play was the backbone of bowling even before ABC was formed in 1895 to standardize the game's rules and equipment. Originally and foremost, it was competition among teams of five players at a local bowling club, but there have been numerous instances where the best men and women from one city ventured out to battle the same from another: • The annual ABC and WIBC championships dating back to 1901 and 1916, respectively; • Beer-sponsored teams of the 1930s through the 1950s; • The National Bowling League that lasted just for the 1961-62 season; • The ABC Tournament Classic Division, which ran 1961-79. When television exploded on the American scene in the 1950s and 1960s, bowling was a natural partner, but not under the slow pace of five-player teams. It was individual competition that helped fuel the fledgling PBA and Women's Professional Bowlers Association. However, the professional tours certainly didn't spell the end of team bowling. Iterations of those days of yore popped up with the ABC's Brunswick World Team Challenge in the 1990s and even PBA's recent experiments with the outdoor Summer Series. Many of USBC's championships still feature team play. While these formats may appeal to bowling diehards, they don't really resonate with casual or potential bowling fans. Enter a visionary like PBA Commissioner Tom Clark. As a true student of the game, Clark had long appreciated bowling's roots. Yet he also knew the sport needed to attract new audiences and new sponsors to survive. So he and other PBA leaders put the two together to create the PBA League. The concept, which features celebrity-owned franchises representing eight cities, finished its inaugural season last April. The New York City WTT KingPins, featuring Hall of Famer Pete Weber joined by Tommy Jones, Jack Jurek, John Szcerbinski, Scott Norton, and Kelly Kulick, won the title. They did it with KingPins owner and tennis legend Billie Jean King on hand to display the inaugural Elias Cup, named after PBA founder Eddie Elias.
IBI
January 2014
31
COVER STORY “It was an honor and a privilege to have Billie Jean King as our team owner,” said Weber, “and it was an honor and a privilege to give her the first Elias Cup trophy.” King, who admitted she didn't know a great deal about bowling, was an avid cheerleader for her team. “I was so calm playing tennis, but I was not so calm watching that,” she said. “I was dying. The match was so close. “I loved my team right from the start,” King added. “I watched them on ESPN . I even watched one match on a Jet Blue flight, but I could tell they worked together great. I was very happy to be here for the finals. “I love it; it’s exactly what I believe in. If you watch a World Team Tennis match, you’ll see my philosophy on life: it’s men and women working together, because we’re in this world together and we have to help each other.” Such teamwork and camaraderie were exactly what Clark envisioned when the idea of celebrity ownership was discussed. “All things considered, the launch of the PBA League was a great success,” Clark said. “So many elements had to come together, from naming and trademarking team names to designing logos and uniforms, conducting a player draft, writing a rule book, involving the celebrities, holding the tournaments, and televising the entire season on ESPN, among other things, from marketing and sales and promotions. So the fact it came off with an Elias Cup being awarded to the first champion, the New York City WTT KingPins, and with their team owner Billie Jean
32
IBI
January 2014
King there to hoist the Cup, well, it was very satisfying. “Entering the second year, we have revamped the rules, opened things up for free agency, and listened to the players on how to make the competition and TV shows more compelling,” Clark said. “The only way the League is ultimately successful, though, is through team-presenting sponsorship sales, so that remains the main focus.” While he was with USBC, Clark spearheaded a partnership with professional basketball star Chris Paul which resulted in the Chris Paul Celebrity Invitational, an event that's proven quite a success
COVER STORY since PBA took it over. “That show each year delivers the kinds of demos that sponsors and TV networks crave, and the association with great stars like CP3, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Nelly, Blake Griffin, Kevin Hart, etc., has helped us reach out to diverse audiences and introduce the PBA players to them,” Clark said. “I have had a great relationship with Chris Paul and his family since 2007, and so there is a level of trust that other celebrities and athletes have with Chris, so things went from there.” Growing from that experience, the PBA League concept was created in 2008, Clark's first year with the PBA. Clark said Paul's brother C.J. was a big part in developing the concept and securing the celebrity owners. Actor Jesse Williams of the television show Grey’s Anatomy, current Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley, and actor/comedian Kevin Hart previously took part in Chris Paul PBA bowling events. Clark had a relationship with Billie Jean King from his days covering her sport for USA Today. Another owner, Chris Hardwick, is popular with younger audiences who know him as an Internet entrepreneur and comedian, the same man known to the bowling world as the son of the late bowling Hall of Famer Billy Hardwick. Retired football stars Jerome Bettis and Terrell Owens have long been avid bowlers whom Clark contacted by email and social media, and they immediately expressed their interest. Paul, Bettis and Hardwick have a direct relationship with bowling (Bettis even owns a couple of 300 games), and most of the other owners like the sport in some ways, too. “Kevin Hart is a very good bowler,” Clark said. “Jesse and LaMarr are more into the fun of it but are very competitive. Chris Hardwick has bowled his entire life, growing up in his dad's center. Billie Jean has been involved with women's professional bowling, and the series of skills necessary for success in bowling is something she is very interested in and admires.” Woodley, a bowling enthusiast, said, “Bowling is a personal pastime for me. I grew up bowling in my hometown of Saginaw [MI], and now I go with my teammates and friends in Pittsburgh. I was introduced to the PBA when I played in Chris Paul's charity event and got a firsthand look at how incredibly talented these athletes are, and I couldn't
34
IBI
January 2014
be more excited to be a celebrity owner in the first-ever PBA League.” While all the celebrities are competitive, it was the fun of owning a team and being involved with the PBA League that piqued their interest the most. Maybe more important, they are spreading the word about their experiences to their legions of fans through their various social media outlets. “They are certainly not involved from any selfish standpoint,” Clark said. “It's cool to own a team in a pro sports league, and bowling is something they enjoy, and the PBA’s an organization they trust.” The celebrities did not shoe it up and compete with their teams during the first season, but all took part in one way or another. Some participated in the Chris Paul PBA League All-Stars event as partners of their franchise player in a special doubles event (won by Chris Barnes and Hardwick of the Silver Lake Atom Splitters over Hart and Bill O'Neill of the Philadelphia Hitmen), or by attending PBA League events, as Owens, Bettis and King did. “I think the area they had the most hands-on involvement in was actually naming their teams, choosing the city they would represent, and designing their team logos and uniforms,” Clark said. “Every owner was intimately involved with all of those details. The bowling and the decision making about the on-lane action, they are smart enough to leave to the professionals.” Who are the professionals? For Year Two they will include revamped team lineups and the addition of team managers. Here is the breakdown of each team in those respects: • Brooklyn STyLES – Jessie Williams, owner; Johnny Petraglia, manager; Sean Rash, franchise player. • Dallas Strikers – Terrell Owens, owner; Norm Duke, manager/franchise player. • L.A.X. – Chris Paul, owner; Andrew Cain, manager; Jason Belmonte, franchise player.
COVER STORY ($17,000); 3. Patrick Allen ($13,000); 4. Martin Larsen ($12,000); 5. Eugene McCune ($9,000). • Silver Lake – 1. Chris Barnes ($20,000); 2. Wes Malott ($16,000); 3. Tommy Jones ($16,000); 4. Dom Barrett ($11,000); 5. Byron Smith ($8,000).
• Motown Muscle – Jerome Bettis, owner; Del Ballard Jr., manager; Mike Fagan, franchise player. • New York City WTT KingPins – Billie Jean King, owner; Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, manager; Pete Weber, franchise player. • Philadelphia Hitmen – Kevin Hart, owner; Jason Couch, manager; Bill O’Neill, franchise player. • Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits – LaMarr Woodley, owner; Tim Mack, manager; Osku Palermaa, franchise player. • Silver Lake, CA Atom Splitters – Chris Hardwick, owner; Mark Baker, manager; Chris Barnes, franchise player.
The PBA League season on ESPN kicks off with the Chris Paul PBA League All-Stars on Sunday, February 2, with the first week of quarterfinal action in the eight-team bracket airing February 9. Each match in the eight-team bracket seen on ESPN will feature singles, doubles, trios and five-player Bakerformat games. The final two teams will advance to the PBA League Elias Cup Finals, which will be held in North Brunswick, New Jersey. The final will air on ESPN on April 13.
To fill the other four spots on each roster, teams were allowed to retain up to three players from the first-year (2013) roster. Unsigned players were then free to sign with any other team. If teams still didn't have full rosters, they could draft other players as needed but had to remain within a $71,000 base payment cap to build their squads. Based on the various acquisition methods, the 2014 rosters with preset compensation are as follows: • Brooklyn – 1. Sean Rash ($20,000); 2. Jason Sterner ($15,000); 3. Walter Ray Williams Jr. ($13,000); 4. Tom Smallwood ($13,000); 5. Michael Haugen Jr. ($10,000). • Dallas – 1. Norm Duke ($20,000); 2. Rhino Page ($15,000); 3. Mike Machuga ($12,000); 4. Amleto Monacelli ($12,000); 5. Dave Wodka ($12,000). • L.A.X. – 1. Jason Belmonte ($20,000); 2. Mika Koivuniemi ($18,000); 3. Parker Bohn III ($15,000); 4. Tom Smallwood ($13,000); 5. E.J. Hackett ($5,000). • Motown – 1. Mike Fagan ($20,000); 2. Chris Loschetter ($18,000); 3. Ryan Shafer ($15,000); 4. Mike Scroggins ($10,000); 5. Tom Daugherty ($8,000). • New York City – 1. Pete Weber ($20,000); 2. Scott Norton ($17,750); 3. Stuart Williams ($14,750); 4. John Szczerbinski ($10,500); 5. Jake Peters ($8,500). • Philadelphia – 1. Bill O'Neill ($20,000); 2. Ryan Ciminelli ($16,000); 3. Dan MacLelland ($15,000); 4. Mike DeVaney ($12,000); 5. Josh Blanchard ($8,000). • Pittsburgh – 1. Osku Palermaa ($20,000); 2. Ronnie Russell 36
IBI
January 2014
It is the faster pace afforded by the Baker system that makes the League a great attraction for television and among the reasons Clark is excited about the 2014 version of the PBA League. “More fun, a great CP3 PBA League All-Stars event, and every one of them wants very badly to win the Elias Cup,” he said. That especially includes defending champion Weber. “There will be a few changes to the program next season, but one thing that won’t change is the outcome,” Weber said. “I had the best team last year, and I’ll have the best team this season, too. “The PBA League was great fun, a great experience,” he added. “I’m really looking forward to defending our title in 2014.” ❖
Mark Miller is a freelance writer, editor, and public relations specialist from Flower Mound, TX. He's the author of "Bowling: America's Greatest Indoor Pastime" available at Amazon.com or directly from him at markmywordstexas@gmail.com.
PROFILE
38
IBI
January 2014
PROFILE
By Fred Groh
D
oug Wilkerson, whose firm has designed bowling centers and fun parks, FECs and what he calls “hybrid bowling entertainment venues,” once designed a juke box. A rather large one. Three people can walk into it at a time. They pick the music genre they want to “experience,” says Wilkerson significantly. “You pick the skill level. It has an interactive floor. You have to avoid these red tiles that are chasing you and lasers that are shooting at you while you’re rocking to your music.” Juke’n’Box was unveiled at the IAPPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) convention in November 2012. Like many highly productive creative people, Wilkerson is hard-pressed to say which past project is his favorite. But it’s not playing favorites to look forward to bigger and better, and stand-alone attractions he’s designed, like Juke’n’Box, may look like child’s play before long. “I grew up loving theme parks—the escape that it creates and the smiles it puts on faces,” he says. His dream is to design an entire theme park, and “maybe it’s closer than you think,” he says teasingly. For that ambition, Wilkerson has settled down in good digs. Orlando and evirons are home to Sea World, Universal Studios, and of course Disney World, “the most amazing creative world you can think of. I was just at Legoland, meeting with them today. Every single day we can go to a theme park.” Orlando is many geographical and spiritual miles from youth in Brownsburg, IN, population 15,000 in 2001, when he packed up for Florida. “There wasn’t a whole lot there. The state fair or a cool restaurant come into town, that was the coolness of Indiana.” He seriously considered life as a Christian missionary. He schooled in Scotland, where “they develop you to be in the field, on the ground, if you will, getting out and getting dirty.” Then outreach, as it’s called, in India, Brussels and England. He returned after a year abroad, undecided but “thinking hard” about whether to continue. Meanwhile, he needed a job. Today he says, mulling it over, “God had a place
for me. Just very odd circumstance.” Through a friend, he heard about SAI, an Indianapolis designer and manufacturer of restaurant interiors (now defunct). Hired “basically just to do anything,” he took a test a year or so later and became an estimator, drawing interiors and products as part of the work. His designs quickly drew attention from the design department—“Gosh! What are you designing here?”—which he was soon running. He worked his way through the company designing custom interiors. “I learned how everything was built, how materials work, how you put this together and why that’s done this way, how to space-plan,” ground-up training in which “the creativity I already had just blossomed.” He hadn’t known it was in him. In the late ’90s Wilkerson designed a bowling center interior, which again drew responses— from bowling people about the furniture. He proposed to his SAI boss that it be stretched into an entire furniture line, which was introduced at the East Coast bowling show as the decade closed. The furniture line, bought by Qubica a few years later, and other projects in bowling elevated his profile. Howard Ellman of Dynamic Designs, a Birmingham, MI architect for bowling centers and other location-based entertainment venues, was one who noticed. The two met at a bowling show, worked together for a year or so, found their styles simpatico, and made it formal four or five years ago. “Howard knows that I’m aggressive, I’m passionate. He’s a great partner because he doesn’t quench that, he encourages that. Howard’s the actual architect. I’m the designer, so I’m the Creative Director. We design everything, but I felt like I wanted to do more scenic design and attraction development.” Retaining his affiliation and duties at Dynamic Designs, Wilkerson opened Studio 41b in Winter Haven, 60 miles from the pot of gold, Orlando. The name was taken from the highway where his first shop was located, Business 41 in Fort Myers. At IBI
January 2014
39
PROFILE the studio, Wilkerson is the managing partner of three. A staff of 12 includes set designers, 3D modelers, scenic design fabricators and attraction designers. nnn On any given day, one or another of the staff is likely to hear the boss remark, “I’m not interested in being good, I want to be great.” It’s not conceit talking and Wilkerson is not a “yeller-screamer,” but he freely admits to being “demanding in quality.” “I just want things to be great, and greatness is in the details.” And on days when a major project is afoot, Wilkerson and crew may be huddled for “some of the greatest sessions we have.” He calls them creative labs. “Anything outside the box or a big project” always calls for one. Staff members whose special expertise fits the project assemble off-site, as at the Portofino Hotel near Universal Studios the last time, “and all these wonderful things are thrown on the table. No idea is a bad idea. We throw them on a white board, then we start to eliminate pieces until we come up with parameters. In the end the team has created the direction for the attraction or the facility. We try to include the client because they love it; usually I have them bring their team.” For all the talk in business these days about “team playing,” it often means that the group shuts up people with dissident views. Not so at his studio, Wilkerson is adamant. “A creative lab doesn’t work unless people feel complete freedom. You cannot have restrictions and create. Some people aren’t as creative as others, but sometimes
40
IBI
January 2014
a non-creative person may throw something out that may not be the smartest move in the world, but oh boy, does it trigger five ideas from the creative people and ends up inspiring great things! So freedom, freedom, freedom!” nnn “A creative person feels like they can better the world because they see, feel, sense what a guest feels,” Doug Wilkerson says. “I don’t care if it’s how the waitress speaks to the customer or how the guest is served or what the place looks like, we always see the missing pieces. Our minds see in big pictures. “A non-creative person sees things practically and doesn’t see the importance of the surroundings. You’ve got to hit somewhere in the middle. If you don’t, if you go either direction too far, you jeopardize the project. “I’ll give you an example. Say a restaurant has fabulous food and the chef says, ‘My food will stand on its own. It’s all about the food.’ So he puts his wonderful food in a not-so-pleasant place with lawn chairs. Well, the people that come to eat the food actually downgrade the perception of the food because of the surroundings, so he doesn’t get the full impact he could
PROFILE business-wise because he’s turning so many people off. “Let’s go the other route. We’ve got the creative person that’s going to create the restaurant. Well, he creates the restaurant with tables that are on hydraulics, that come down from the ceiling, they spin around and stop. The next thing you know the place is too expensive and it fails or they [customers] don’t pay attention to the product. “The bottom line is when creativity and practicality meet, it’s a beautiful thing, and that’s what I try to do because I have to live in both worlds. “I think most of it you’re born with. You’re born with creativity and some people are born more analytical. Each of them [has] a purpose. You need to match up what you’re made to do, your personality, your type, with your profession. When you match talent and passion together, boy, watch out! And that’s my life. I’m a creative person and I’m also passionate about the entertainment world.” nnn Ideas, concepts, themes, designs fly around at Wilkerson’s studio like Everglades mosquitoes in the summer. Thick. He says he almost always has three or four ideas “simmering” in his head. “Everywhere I go I’m touching things, I want to see how it’s made, how they created that, I want to know how that effect was done. My whole life I’m schooling myself.” Ideas will hit at night, in the morning, and especially in the morning when he awakens and is still abed. Out and about, “sometimes I’ll just see something, something triggers it [an idea] in my everyday life.” He immediately takes a picture with his iPhone if he can. Back in front of a computer, he brings up the picture and the idea that now dangles from it. But like everybody else, Wilkerson sometimes gets stuck. He tries to arm himself against it by always “having a story, a purpose for everything I’m designing.” He might supplement the minimalistic look a client wants for a restaurant with a prairie story, touches of stone and earth-tone colors, for instance. “When I’m designing, I always have a purpose for every decision I make. I don’t just sit there and start throwing things together.” Sometimes he gets dammed up anyway. Then he heads for inspirational surroundings as he did recently on a project that suggested African jungles. “It wasn’t moving like I wanted, so I packed up my laptop, got in my truck and drove
Troy Lanes, Troy, MI (40 lanes) We congratulate Jeff Forman on his purchase of this fine center and thank Community Bowling Centers for trusting us to handle the sale. We wish them both all the best.
Bowling’s Only Full-Service Brokers, Appraisers & Financial Advisors 28200 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076
(800) 222 • 9131
42
IBI
January 2014
to Animal Kingdom Lodge here at Disney. Went into the lodge, went through the lobby, found a nice comfortable couch right there in the middle of Africa, popped open my laptop and just started designing. Everywhere I looked I saw African memorabilia, I heard African sounds. Some of the animals can walk up; it’s almost like having a hotel on a zoo. I walked out, looked at the animals, smelled the smells, and boy! that got the ball rolling again, and I finished the project in that world.” Wilkerson says he doesn’t regret the path he didn’t take. He believes God meant him to be where he is. “I knew from an early age I wanted to have my own company. I often prayed about [it]. ‘Is it ego, Lord? If it’s ego I don’t want to do it. But I just have this urge.’ It’s the creative side, too. It’s not about the money. A creative person likes to take nothing and make something of it, and that’s what drives me. Just the satisfaction is almost more valuable than money.” He prayed “long and hard,” he says. “When I finally had the opportunity to do it, I told the Lord, ‘Since you opened this door and you gave me my dream come true, I want my company to be my mission field.’” He adds, “I always preach this to young people: There’s too many people who get a job just to get a job and they’re not matched up right. It’s the same thing when you go to a restaurant and your waitress has no personality. That waitress shouldn’t be waitressing. They’re not ‘people’ people. They need to be in a position that fits them. You have to find the job you are born to do, and a lot of people don’t do that and they live miserable lives.” Doug Wilkerson, a creative, happy man, is not one of them. ❖
Fred Groh is a regular contributor to IBI and former managing editor of the magazine.
SHOWCASE KEG SCALE
Alcohol Controls, Inc.’s Keg Scale eliminates the guesswork in determining how many beer ounces are remaining in a keg. When draft beer is inventoried accurately, managers can determine the precise amount depleted every day. Accountability is enhanced and giveaways are eliminated. On sale for only $229. This special price includes free software and UPS ground shipping. Learn more at AlcoholControls.com or call 900-285-BEER (2337).
HIGHLY-TUNED SIGMA STING™
The Sigma Sting™ from MOTIV™ is an incredibly versatile bowling ball and a musthave piece for building a solid tournament arsenal. The shell is Fusion™ Pearl Reactive, which is very angular when it encounters friction, yet retains energy with more length and faster response. It is wrapped with a 1500 grit Power Gel® polished finish; this is the first time MOTIV has put a pearl cover stock around the Sigma™ core. For more information, visit www.motivbowling.com or contact Scott Hewitt at shewitt@techlineproducts.com.
LED PINDECK LIGHTING SYSTEM
Bring your pins into the light with ZOT’s ColorSplash LED pindeck lights. This system adds effects such as color-chasing, music or video synchronization, and ambient colored lighting, and can be produced on a single lane, pairs or groups of lanes, even across the entire bowling center, plus having the ability to switch to standard white light for league play at a push of a button. For more information, contact ZOT at info@zotcolorsplash.com, 800-5258116, or www.zotcolorsplash.com.
SPECIAL LIGHTING EFFECTS
Put a spotlight on your promotional events. NLFX Professional offers its Ikon LED, a high–output, single–Gobo projector powered by a bright, 60w, white LED. Brightness and Gobo rotation can be adjusted on the rear of the fixture or by a wireless RF remote control. Ideal for private parties. This and other lighting needs can be found at www.NLFXPro.com/Bowling or call 888-660-6696.
44
IBI
January 2014
BOWLING PARTY KITS
Bowling is always fun!! Product Specialties, Inc. has created four distinct and fun party themes for older kids. Each party kit comes in two sizes, 250 or 500, including plates, cups, napkins, invitations, balloons and plastic forks. Also available are plastic, bowling-themed table covers which come in rolls to conveniently fit any size table. Food safe and certified, Product Specialties always goes the extra mile for your safety. “Without us, a party is just lunch!” Call TOLL-FREE to place your order: 800-442-0552.
THE “WOW” EFFECT
Creative Works, Inc. shows off its “WOW!” Effect at NRV Superbowl in Christianburg, VA. It has crafted a two-level area exhibiting amazing 3D black-light murals, fluorescent plants, and brightly–colored insects. Players experience over 4,800 square feet of sights, sounds and colors. Creative Works is a designer and builder of entertainment venues, manufacturer and supplier of attractions, and creator of props, effects, and décor. To learn more, visit www.THEWOWEFFECT.com or call toll-free 877-843-6348.
GET A GREAT SHOT
Struggling to maintain a consistent, highscoring lane condition that keeps your bowlers happy? Brunswick is offering its complimentary “Great Shot” service. A product specialist will come to your center to evaluate your lane conditions, including pulling tapes, to get the shot your center needs. All at no charge! THE KEY TO KEEPING BOWLERS – AND LEAGUES – COMING BACK IS A GOOD SHOT! Call 1800-YES-BOWL, option 1, 1, for more information.
CENTER SALE
Sandy Hansell and Associates, Inc. of Southfiled, MI, has once again brokered a successful bowling center sale, this time in Troy, MI. Jeff Forman, a practicing attorney and first-time proprietor, is the new owner of Troy Lanes, a 40-lane center. The seller was Community Bowling Centers, Inc. Sandy Hansell and Associates, Inc. may be reached at 800-222-9131.
MARKETING ´ ´ ´ ´
LOYALTY, RESPECT AND
Vets are top-of-mind every year at the finals of John LaSpina’s BVL tournament. The honor guard at the event last June represented (from the left) the Navy, Army and Marine Corps.
FUNDRAISING By Fred Groh
C
ould “doing BVL” do good things for your bottom line? Elizabeth Montanya, spokesman for the Bowlers to Veterans Link, says that’s how it’s working with “bowling’s own charity” these days. Her idea is that fundraisers for BVL generate great publicity for the center and that brings in new customers. “It starts out as community recognition. Does that pay off immediately? Let’s be realistic,” she says. “Probably not. But then you move on to something like a John LaSpina program, where he gets hundreds of bowlers active in the BVL program and they are so enthusiastic. Over the last four years, we’re starting to see lineage differences.” Montanya refers to a yearly in-league tournament LaSpina runs at his four New York
´
´
´ ´
´
FOR ´
´
´
´
´
´
´
´
centers (five centers until he sold one earlier last year). Mirroring the Miller doubles format, the player’s second game qualifies him for the finals. A bowler pays $5, of which $1.25 goes to the in-house prize fund and $3.75 goes directly to BVL. Four thousand bowlers typically pay for that second game. The tourney runs for two consecutive months sometime between Jan. 1 and June 1. About 200 vie in the finals, always held the first week in June. The winner gets a trip to Bowl Expo and there presents the check to BVL. LaSpina does not charge for the tournament or the lineage. That’s doing the tournament “the right way,” he says. “This is my gift to the people who pay for our freedom.” Typically a LaSpina center will raise $4,000-$6,000. On the day of the finals, LaSpina makes a personal donation of $500, and 50-50 drawings and raffles for a wide variety of prizes draw another $2,000 or so. In each of the last few years, his centers have donated $30,000 or more to BVL through the tournament. Yes, he says, he does make some money. “Can I say I make $8,000 on it? No, but I think I make a ton of money IBI
January 2014
45
MARKETING because of things like the BVL tournament.” Yet the money is secondary to LaSpina, as it is to most who donate to BVL. “More than money, I earn my customers’ respect and loyalty. BVL is one of those blocks of the foundation that creates respect for us. People like that we do [the tournament], trust that we do it, trust that 100% of the dollars go where [they’re] supposed to go. “We go from lane one to the last lane in the house and we ask everyone to join the BVL tournament. We’ve instilled what BVL does: recreational therapy for our veterans [and] some things for people who are fighting, like the carpeted lanes. Through all of this, [we] put BVL in the forefront for our bowlers. So I’m higher on the food chain of bowling centers [than] the next guy. “So we make money because we’re doing events like this. But it’s third on my list: let’s do it right; let’s gain people’s respect and loyalty; let’s ask them to join another league or another program or a tournament we make some money on.”
Four years ago, Montanya says, she could have had showgirls giving away BVL material at the Bowl Expo booth and nothing would have happened. At Expo last year, people were standing in line. As John LaSpina’s experience shows, some of them were waiting in line to make money at their centers as well as to do good for the men and women whose military service keeps us free. ❖
Fred Groh is a regular contributor to IBI and former managing editor of the magazine.
DATEBOOK
JANUARY 19-23 BPAA Bowling Summit Omni Hotel, San Diego, CA bpaa.com/Meetings.asp
28 – May 9 A-2 Pinsetter Training Program Moline, IL Frank Miroballi 540-325-7684 Frankm1441@aol.com
FEBRUARY 4-5 Lasertag 360 Hilton Garden Inn, Indianapolis, IN Kimberly Schilling @ Creative Works 317-834-4770 www.LASERTAG360.com
APRIL
JULY MAY 29 – June 1 3rd Annual Hall of Fame Xtravaganza Red Rock Lanes, Las Vegas www.bowlingmuseum.com/Xtrava ganza.aspx
13-15 72nd Annual BBIA Convention Loew’s Ventana Canyon Resort www.billiardandbowling.org
JUNE 22-25 USBC Convention and Annual Meeting Silver Legacy Resort & Casino, Reno Bowl.com/convention 46
IBI
January 2014
22-27 Bowl Expo 2014 Rosen Shingle Creek Resort & Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida www.bowlexpo.com
2-13 A-2 Pinsetter Training Program Moline, IL Frank Miroballi 540-325-7684 Frankm1441@aol.com
14-25 A-2 Pinsetter Training Program Moline, IL Frank Miroballi 540-325-7684 Frankm1441@aol.com 24-26 BCA Carolinas/Georgia Annual Convention Sea Trail Resort Sunset Beach, NC Howard Baum 910-484-5178 29 Bob’s Business Showcase/Tradeshow Willowbrook Lanes, Willowbrook, IL 800-328-9311 www.bobsbusiness.com/events 46
CLASSIFIEDS
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details (248) 375-2751. NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-2556436 or jayhawkbowling.com.
IBI
January 2014
47
CLASSIFIEDS
AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENT COMPLETE PACKAGES WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY ALL AMF BUMPER PARTS, XS Q-BUMP, DURABOWL AND GEN II IN STOCK
BUY
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 - daryl@tuckerbowling.com
www.tuckerbowling.com
48
IBI
January 2014
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BOWLINGFAN
CLASSIFIEDS EQUIPMENT FOR SALE See redline-products.com for replacement foul lights. Home of bowlingtrader.com. FOR SALE: (2) ZOT (completely) Reconditioned Gloss Bosses - $2750/ea. 32+ lanes AMF SPL + install. Call for quote. 24 lanes Super Helix Steltronic w/ flat screens. 24 lanes Excel Scoring w/ flat screens. Parts out the wazoo! Complete installs/packages available. Contact Knotrite LLC @ (970) 946-9933; knotritellc@gmail.com.
FOR SALE: 16 lanes & 8 lanes (combined 24 lanes) Steltronic auto scoring Super Helix with flat screens; 24 lanes AMF SPL synthetic panels; 24 lanes Pro Anvil, full lane; ZOT reconditioned Gloss Boss; 24 lanes XL scoroing. Installation available. knotritellc@gmail.com or (970) 946-9933. FOR SALE: “The Sanction Machine” by Kegel is available. In great shape and working well!! Wickless technology. Center out of business. For info call (404) 804-4504 or email CTBAKER222@gmail.com.
"Bowling Center Construction Specialists" 4New Center Construction 4Family Entertainment Centers 4Residential Bowling Lanes 4Modernization 4Mini Bowling Lanes 4Automatic Scoring CONTACT
Toll Free:
For FLORIDA CENTERS Call DAVID DRISCOLL & ASSOCIATES 1-800-444-BOWL 3800 Lake Center Loop, Suite B1, Mount Dora, FL 32757-2208 AN AFFILIATE OF SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES
BRIAN ESTES
(866) 961-7633
Office: (734) 469-4293 Email: build@capitalbowlingservice.com www.CapitalBowlingService.com
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
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BOWLINGFAN IBI
January 2014
49
CLASSIFIEDS EQUIPMENT WANTED LANE MACHINES WANTED. We will purchase your KEGEL-built machine, any age or condition. Call (608) 764-1464.
MANAGER WANTED Don't miss your chance to grow with an Industry Leader! Looking for Experienced, Service-Oriented General Managers for our U.S. bowling retail center locations. Please check us out at www.brunswickcareers.apply2jobs.c om for more details on our current openings. Act Now! Apply Today!
SELL YOUR CENTER
(818) 789-2695
MINIATURE GOLF COURSES Indoor/Outdoor. Portable/Pre-Fab. Black Light/Traditional/Pro Putter. 202 Bridge Street Jessup, PA 18434 570-489-8623 www.minigolfinc.com
LOCKER KEYS FAST! •Keys & Combo Locks for all Types of Lockers. •One week turnaround on most orders. •New locks All types
All keys done by code #. No keys necessary.
•Used locks 1/2 price of new
E-mail: huff@inreach.com CALL TOLL FREE
1-800-700-4KEY Orange County Security Consultants
50
IBI
January 2014
CLASSIFIEDS MECHANIC WANTED FULL-TIME MECHANIC FOR AMF 82-70 PINSPOTTERS. TARHEELLANES@ATT.NET; (828) 692-5039 or (828) 216-1221.
POSITION WANTED Accomplished District Manager with unique Operational, Team Building/Leadership and Marketing skills seeking comparable position. Very organized, self-motivated, multi-task master with a “can do” attitude. Open to relocation. Johnmillen@optonline.net or (201) 657-4684.
SELL YOUR CENTER
(818) 789-2695
IBI
January 2014
51
CLASSIFIEDS
SERVICE CALLS WORLDWIDE • PRE-SHIPS • WE SELL
AS80/90 • BOARD REPAIR • Frameworx NEW KEYPADS • FRONT DESK LCD MONITORS
Michael P. Davies (321) 254-7849
291 Sandy Run, Melbourne, FL 32940 on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: mike@bowlingscorer.com
52
IBI
January 2014
SELL YOUR CENTER
(818) 789-2695
CLASSIFIEDS SERVICES AVAILABLE Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring Ball Repair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com. AMF 5850 & 6525 CHASSIS. Exchange your tired or damaged chassis for an upgraded, rewired, cleaned, painted and ready-to-run chassis. Fast turn around. Lifetime guarantee. References available. CHASSIS DOCTOR (330) 314-8951.
CENTERS FOR SALE ALABAMA: 30-lane, well-established, profitable center with kitchen, lounge & pro shop. Real estate included. Located in thriving Huntsville. Russ Russell Commercial Real Estate (256) 536-7777.
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. 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. CENTRAL MINNESOTA: 6-lane center. Owner retiring. $99,900. Hartmann@midwestinfo.net. (320) 760-3377.
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. Call Bryan (218) 380-8089. www.majesticpine.com. 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. 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. CENTRAL ILLINOIS: PRICED TO SELL!! 8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables, karaoke machine & DJ system. Asking $125,000.00 with RE. (217) 3515152 or toms-uvl@sbcglobal.net.
CENTERS FOR SALE 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. 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. EASTERN OKLAHOMA: Newly remodeled & upgraded 20-lane center with laser tag, large game room and thriving lounge. Option to purchase shopping center available. Owner financing possible. (719) 251-1616. 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. NW NEVADA: Retiring Owner-Financed. 12-Lanes + Leased Café + Large Bar/Lounge + Arcade. Established Bowling Leagues + Pool Leagues/Tournaments + Slots. A-2s, Synthetic Lanes, Auto-Scoring, 13,000 s/f Building, 2 Acres, All Equipment. $950K; $50K Down; 5% Interest. (775) 867-5551 or Email: oasisbowlcasino@yahoo.com. EAST TEXAS: 24-lane center w/ bar, snack bar, game room, & pro shop on 2 acres. Some owner finance possible. (936) 634-6422.
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FOR OPTIMIZING CASH FLOW
Expense Reduction Solutions • • • • •
Credit Card Processing Fees Lease/Rent Restructuring Telecom Rate Savings Business Insurance Premiums Payroll Processing Savings CONTACT:
Andrew Nadler, CEO
(240) 821 - 6900
SELL YOUR
CENTER OR EQPT.
FAST!
(818) 789-2695
anadler@summit-strategies.com www.summit-strategies.com Clients include: 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/
ARE YOU A FAN OF BOWLING?
www.Facebook.com/BowlingFan IBI
January 2014
53
REMEMBER WHEN
1950 P
abst Brewing Co. knew that nothing sold like friendly competition accompanied by a good beer. So in this 1950 ad for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, they put two well-known actors/announcers on the lanes sharing an evening of bowling. At that time, Bill Goodwin was the announcer and sidekick neighbor on radio’s The Burns and Allen Show. Harry von Zell announced William Bendix’s The Life of Riley, among other shows. 54
IBI
January 2014
Just a year later, the ad would be played out in their two careers. In 1951, these dueling comrades would cross paths at The Burns and Allen Show, with Goodwin leaving and von Zell moving in and staying with the show on television. But in 1950 those changes were still in the stars. Bowling was the venue, and beer was the drink of choice. ❖