REPORT INDEX (click on the report name to jump to it):
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | BOARD OF GOVERNORS | PRESIDENT |
BOWL EXPO | BOWLER OF THE YEAR | SENIOR BOWLER OF THE YEAR |
AMATEUR BOWLER OF THE YEAR | COLLEGIATE BOWLER OF THE YEAR |
BWAA BOWLER OF THE MONTH | COLLEGIATE POLL | ETHICS |
HALL OF FAME DISPLAY | JOHN O. MARTINO | LEGISLATIVE |
MORT LUBY SR. HALL OF FAME | PUBLICITY |
RIP VAN WINKLE AWARD | WEB SITE

Executive Director's Report
Steve James, Executive Director

I very much regret not being able to attend our convention and saying hello to so many old friends and having a chance to meet the new members whom I have corresponded with and expected to meet in Las Vegas.

Please express my deepest appreciation to the Goodwins for their efforts with the BWAA kiosk. We finally have a quality presentation of our organization for the world to see and Jim and CJ's efficient work made that possible. Thank you also to John Falzone for providing the kiosk some years ago.

I also want to thank all of the committee chairs. Work was completed on time and our recognition awards were outstanding with high quality recipients.

The internet has been a great way to provide our members with more information than ever before. Our non-internet members have received several pieces of information by mail, but in honesty, they do not get all of the bits and pieces of information that the users do. I hope that those members will make some effort to find someone with e-mail that will give them more access to more information.

Our membership continues to fluctuate with new members replacing those who have dropped out. At present we have 262 members, of which 14 are associate and nine honorary. There are about 10 people who will be dropped at the end of June for failure to pay their dues.

Our finances are in good shape. The internet has saved a tremendous amount of postage and copying charges. As of May 31, we have a balance of $12,666.94. There will be some bills to pay for the kiosk update, Flowers award and executive director half-season salary, but we are in good shape.

We have not received much feedback on our Web site. This is a living mechanism that can be enhanced. Please spend some time this week discussing what you would like to see on the site and recommend any improvements. Hopefully someone will be taking photos this week so we can feature them on the site.

I want to say thank you to President Bill Vint. He has worked tirelessly for our organization, and whether everyone agrees or not with all the actions, I know they were acted upon in the best interest of BWAA's future. Thank you also to Mike Hennessy, who was stuck with handling my duties this convention. He is a great asset to our organization, a pinch hitter who has delivered year after year. And congratulations to my friend Jerry Ramig on his ascending to the presidency Aug. 1.

Again, please accept my apologies for not attending. I'm certain that I'd much rather be with you this week than having a physical therapist making my life more painful. But in the long run, I'll be better off and will continue to serve you as long as you choose to elect me. I'm honored to be the BWAA Executive Director because it has allowed me to maintain contact and friendships with so many people.

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Board of Governors Report
Mike Hennessy, Chairman
The 2005-2006 BWAA year was a challenging one that could define the future of the organization.

Having missed the convention in Baton Rouge, I became involved in discussions with representatives of the National Women Bowling Writers during Bowl Expo in Orlando in June.

I was impressed with the willingness on both sides to put our two organizations under the microscope and see what the future might look like. Additional e-mail communications brought about feelings on both sides of the question and eventually led to a proposal which I feel does service to the memory of all those writers who have made BWAA what it is today as well as all the writers who we hope will come in the future to carry on the traditions which have been established.

I welcomed the feelings expressed by many of our members-both for and against any change. I know that those feelings came from a strong sense of loyalty.

I feel those members present at our first Bowl Expo convention will consider the merger proposal with an open mind, take part in clear and open discussion and then express our desires with a vote.

No matter what the outcome of the vote, I want to thank all who voted for me to serve you in this position. I am humbled when I think of the great writers and even greater people who came before me.

We also made several financial decisions which we felt were necessary. The executive director will now be paid twice a year. The first check will be for one half the salary and that will be on July 1. The second half will be paid on Dec. 31. In this way the director will be paid after completing one half year of work.

The second decision concerned our scholarship dollars and the decision to place them with the SMART program. This move made sense for a number of reasons. Our scholarship fund has grown fairly large and needed to be invested professionally. We needed to make sure that our scholarships paid were done so properly with correct documentation from the school as well as the recipient. The officers of the association needed to be protected from Internal Revenue Service intervention for failure to handle, distribute and filing documentation. The association with SMART will also improve ability to solicit additional scholarship funds from organizations.

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President's Report
Bill Vint, President
One of the tidbits of wisdom my father passed along was, "Leave behind more than you take." It's a philosophy I've tried to apply to my term as BWAA President by leaving behind an organization that will be better prepared for the future than it was when I was asked to serve.

It has been a challenging year. BWAA lost its traditional "home" as part of the ABC Convention, but has begun to foster a new relationship with the Bowling Proprietors Association of America. It hasn't been without a bump or two, but we think those who attend our 2006 convention in Las Vegas will have high praise for the net result of BPAA's generosity and cooperation.

The merger of ABC and WIBC into the USBC created a dilemma for the National Women Bowling Writers as well as for BWAA. Discussions about how the two organizations might work together quickly led to a proposal to "merge" the two into a new organization based upon the best of both parties. After months of telephone and e-mail conversations, BWAA's members in Las Vegas will decide the proposal's fate.

In the months since the proposal was originally presented to first the BWAA board, the Past Presidents and finally the membership, some controversial aspects have been modified to address membership concerns. For example, the original idea of giving a new organization a new name was eliminated when NWBW members unanimously supported keeping BWAA's name.

In my opinion, "merging" makes sound business sense and would give BWAA a solid organizational structure, a strong financial base and a significantly larger membership base, and at the same time retain BWAA's most cherished traditions. The membership attending the Las Vegas convention will decide the proposal's fate.

The "merger" issue is one of several activities BWAA engaged in:

• Our bowlingwriters.com web site was completely redesigned and provides BWAA with a quality presence on the Internet. Membership news, organizational documents and historical data are available to all members.
• We introduced a "two meeting" concept by providing a couple of "unofficial" activities for BWAA and NWBW members during the USBC Convention in Orlando. A bus trip, dinner and tour of the Kegel manufacturing and training facility in nearby Lake Wales included more than 60 writers, and USBC hosted a "hall of fame/media" luncheon prior to the USBC Hall of Fame inductions. It demonstrated that BWAA can play an active role in providing gathering points for its members at other major industry functions. Not everyone can attend Bowl Expo, or the USBC Convention, or any other event. We attend when we can afford the time and the trip, and if it makes sense. It suggests that BWAA should consider organizing breakfast at the U.S. Open, Masters, Tournament of Champions and/or Queens to provide opportunities for our members to get together more than once in places that are more convenient and affordable.
• We made extensive use of e-mail and Internet communications to keep our members informed. Today nearly 90% of our members have e-mail access. The ability to communicate electronically has given us an opportunity to keep the entire membership informed, rather than just those who attend our convention, and it cost us next to nothing.
• The same technology has been used for the first time to transmit our membership directory to members, saving us money in printing and postage, and creating a "living document" that members can readily update. We also can now periodically send a newly-updated directory, if needed, at virtually no cost.
• We have discussed the placement of a Mort Luby Sr. Hall of Fame Award display in the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. Details on the program will be presented to the membership in Las Vegas.
• We have resolved issues with the Chuck Pezzano Scholarship Fund, which is now under the management and protection of the USBC SMART scholarship program, pending approval by the membership.

Typical of organizations that rely extensively on voluntary contributions of time and expertise, BWAA has gotten a lot done thanks to the unselfish efforts of a number of people. I want to thank the committee chairs and volunteers, officers and board members who have given an extraordinary amount of energy to BWAA during my term. And I especially want to thank Executive Director Steve James and Board of Governors Chair Mike Hennessy who have not only put up with me, but provided sound advice when I needed it most.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

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COMMITTEE REPORTS

BOWL EXPO COMMITTEE
Jim Goodwin, Chairman
The BWAA Bowl Expo Committee has been working with BPAA for the past decade to give bowling writers a presence and recognition at what has become bowling's biggest week.

Five years ago, we started manning a booth at the two day Bowl Expo trade show, courtesy of BPAA, and we then added a silent auction for the Pezzano Youth Scholarship fund. Several thousand dollars have been raised in the past few years from this booth for this fund.

This year, with BWAA having its official meeting as part of Bowl Expo, we have expanded our presence at the prestigious show. We will now have a 10x20-foot booth and even more auction items, including several very valuable memorabilia items donated by Bud Fisher before he passed away in late 2005.

In the registration area of Bowl Expo, we will have a 7x20-foot "media wall" with a display of stories, newspaper and magazine covers, and misc. items from our members. Beside the media wall will be the BWAA info and awards kiosk that was last displayed at the ABC Championships Tournament in 2000.

The Bowl Expo Committee is also proud to have offered press conferences to attending media members in the past several years, and this year these conferences will feature Rudy Guiliani and Ed McMahon.

Bowl Expo Committee members are Cary Richmond, Jim Dressel, Dick Evans, Frenchy Letourneau, Paul Kreins, Walt Steinsiek, Bill Zuben, Jackie Wyckoff, Jim Wyckoff and Lyle Zikes.

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BOWLER OF THE YEAR COMMITTEE
Lyle Zikes, Chairman
This committee is assigned to develop a ballot of the year's highest achieving men and women bowlers for the purpose of conducting a Bowler of the Year election by the general membership.

For the 2005 ballot the committee was able to draw substantially from research used by the USBC in developing its All-American Team ballots. After updating the men's statistics and e-mail consultation among the committee members, the following ballots were created and formatted into a BWAA statistical presentation.

Male candidates were: Patrick Allen, Chris Barnes, Norm Duke, Tommy Jones, Mika Koivuniemi and Mike Scroggins. Female candidates were: Lynda Barnes, Leanne Barrette, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Liz Johnson and Tennelle Milligan.

Final election results: 2005 BWAA Dick Weber Male Bowler of the Year was Patrick Allen. Female Bowler of the Year was Liz Johnson. President Bill Vint made the award presentation to Patrick Allen during the PBA Dexter Tournament of Champions. The Female Bowler of the Year was presented to Liz Johnson during the USBC Queens by Past President Fran Deken.

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SENIOR BOWLER OF THE YEAR COMMITTEE
Jim Goodwin, Chairman
The committee developed a ballot of four top senior bowlers consisting of four men and one woman for 2005. Twelve veteran bowling writers serve on the committee and make the selection: Rolf Gauger, Joan Romeo, Connie Marchione, Len Nicholson, Paul Kreins, Pearl Keller, Matt Fiorito, Jim King, John Jowdy, Craig Mathews and Jim Zimmerman.

The men's ballot had four candidates — Tom Baker, Bob Glass, Vince Mazzanti and Dale Eagle, and Baker was the unanimous choice, breaking a string of five consecutive awards for runner-up Bob Glass. When we started looking for women candidates, there was only one clear choice — Shirley Levens, who won both major women's senior events in 2005. It was her third consecutive award.

A national press release was sent out in February announcing the winners, and the award plaques were presented to Baker at the PBA Tournament of Champions and to Levens at the USBC Senior Queens.

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AMATEUR BOWLER OF THE YEAR COMMITTEE
Bill Zuben, Chairman
Lynda Barnes, Flower Mound, Texas and Andrew Cain, Phoenix, Arizona were selected as BWAA's 2005 Amateur Bowlers of the Year by a committee was made up of Hall of Famer Dick Evans, Kevin Gabinski, Richard Kolb, Bob Maki, Jeff McCorvey, Mark Miller, Joan Romeo and Lucas Wiseman.

Barnes was a near unanimous selection, collecting all but one first place ballot. This was Cain's second selection, previously winning 2001.

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COLLEGIATE BOWLER OF THE YEAR
Frank Barnhart, Chairman
Due to the change in convention dates, the Collegiate Bowler of the Year Committee held its meeting by conference call this year. To keep call charges to a minimum, committee members were asked to review the nominees' data in advance of the call and submit a list of the athletes they felt were possible "top 8" selections (Collegiate Bowler of the Year, 4 Runners-Up, and 3 Honorable Mentions).

Based on these pre-conference-call responses, the list of 45 female nominees and 67 male nominees was narrowed down to 13 women and 17 men to be considered during the conference call.

The athletes who made it past this "first cut", but did not make the top 8 announced in Rockford:

Women — Brigette Harrelson, Central Florida; Heidi Kindorf, Fresno State; Emily Maier, Wichita State; Michelle Quirk, Fresno State; and Kerry Smith, Shippensburg

Men — Thomas Coco, Westchester CC; Shawn Deufel, Central Florida; Matthew Deuire, Dutchess CC; Jay Futrell, Wichita State; Daniel Hannagan, Martin Methodist; William Haverland, West Texas; Steve Kosier, Toledo; Tony LaCaze, Saginaw Valley State; and Seong Pak, North Texas

The results of the committee's final ballots were kept sealed until the announcement by President Vint during the Honors Evening at the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships in Rockford, Illinois, on April 26.

Collegiate Bowlers of the Year: Stefanie Nation, Central Florida, and P.J. Haggerty, Fresno State

Runners-Up: Lindsey Coulles, Morehead State; Clara Guerrero, Wichita State; Karen Rosprim, Fresno State; Olivia Sandham, Wichita State; Cory Simmmons, Newman; Ronnie Sparks, Jr., Pikeville; Zach Taylor, Kansas; Brian Valenta, Lindenwood

Honorable Mentions: Kayla Bandy, Pikeville; Michelle Carcagente, Central Florida; Megan Larson, West Texas A&M; Brian Halstrom, Central Florida; Cassidy Schaub, Pikeville; Erik Vermilyea, Nebraska-Lincoln.

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BWAA BOWLER OF THE MONTH COMMITTEE
Frenchy Letourneau, Chairman
Since the last annual meeting in March 2005, 13 BWAA Kegel Bowler of the Month awards have been selected by the voting members of the committee.

Ballots are submitted to the committee by email, and votes are then tallied from the email responses of the committee members.

Committee members are asked to prioritize and submit up to three choices, with first place votes earning 3 points, second place votes earning 2 points, and third place votes received 1 point. The candidate receiving the most overall point is declared Bowler of the Month. Ties are broken with first place votes, although this has yet to occur.

The committee members who vote regularly are: Matt Cannizzaro, Bob Johnson, Joe Lyou, Lucas Wiseman, Bob Cosgrove, John Jowdy, Connie Marchione, George Wooten, Dick Evans, Richard Kolb, Joan Schliewenz and Don Wright

Once a winner has been selected, the BWAA Executive Director orders plaques to be finalized and shipped directly to the winners. We sincerely appreciate The Kegel Company for funding the monthly plaques.

Bowlers of the Month since last BWAA meeting: APR 2005 — Patrick Allen, MAY 2005 — Tom Baker, JUNE 2005 — Vince Mazzanti Jr., JULY 2005 — Stefanie Nation, AUG 2005 — Liz Johnson, SEPT 2005 — Tommy Jones, OCT 2005 — Tommy Jones, NOV 2005 — Mike Scroggins, DEC 2005 — Pete Weber, JAN 2006 — Ritchie Allen, FEB 2006 — Tommy Jones, MAR 2006 — Walter Ray Williams Jr., APR 2006 — Chris Barnes.

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COLLEGIATE POLL COMMITTEE
Steve Lawson, Chairman
Three polls were conducted throughout the season based on dates agreed upon. In all instances, we sent out our statistics and retrieved votes in a timely manner and published the polls within days of the advertised dates. I would recommend just a little more time between the data being sent out and publication dates in the future as other commitments by our writers kept a few from voting on every poll in time. Otherwise, everything went well with the poll.

Results of the polls are available on bowl.com and bowlingwriters.com. As an fyi, the BWAA poll uses statistics from tournaments that are USBC Collegiate certified. Some NCAA teams bowl only in NCAA exclusive tournaments that were not USBC Collegiate Certified (or if they are certified, the results were not forwarded to Chris at USBC Collegiate for inclusion in our stats package that goes out prior to each poll). Some NCAA teams also bowl in tournaments open to all women's teams and because those are USBC Collegiate certified, their results showed up in the statistics we sent to our panelists.

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ETHICS COMMITTEE
Sam Vasta, Chairman
There were no ethics complaints filed with the committee during the 2005-06 season.

During the Baton Rouge convention, the committee was asked to review the code of ethics it presented. Below is a revised BWAA Code of Ethics the committee asks BWAA to consider for adoption in 2006:

Proposed BWAA Code of Ethics
As BWAA members we pledge:

• To represent the interests of the organization and abide by its rules and conditions.
• To keep confidential information confidential, and honor the trust of the BWAA and its members.
• To promote the ideas and goals of the BWAA and practice the highest levels of professionalism.

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HALL OF FAME DISPLAY
Elaine Hagin
BWAA members expressed their dissatisfaction over treatment by the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame during the Baton Rouge convention. In a subsequent meeting with IBM/HF Executive Director Jerry Baltz, an understanding about the IBM's needs and BWAA's concerns was addressed.

While the IBM is under ongoing pressure to generate revenue to sustain its operations, Baltz now understands that BWAA has not made the kind of financial contributions it had made in years past due to the priority of raising money for the BWAA scholarship program. Now that BWAA's scholarship program is on solid footing, the organization is in a better position to re-consider supporting the IBM/HF.

Concerning recognition for BWAA's Mort Luby Sr. Hall of Fame Award winners, Baltz agreed to provide wall space in the Frank Baker Library for a BWAA display, which would be provided and maintained by BWAA. A proposal to create such a display will be presented during the 2006 BWAA annual meeting in Las Vegas.

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JOHN O. MARTINO COMMITTEE
Bob Cosgrove, Chairman
The John O. Martino Award Committee presented five candidates to the membership. Voting results, based on 93 ballots on a 4-2-1 point basis, were: 198 — Carmen Salvino 198 points, BVL 188, Columbia 300 99, Robby Robinson 92 and Mark Gerberich 74.

Carmen Salvino will be recognized as winner of the 2006 BWAA John O. Martino Award during the Columbia 300/BWAA Awards Dinner in Las Vegas.

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LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Hazel McLeary, Chair
The Legislative Committee will present the following proposed amendments during the annual meeting:

REVISE DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT (submitted by Don Wright)

Present Rule
Article 4, Officers and Board of Directors
F. Duties of the President

The president shall preside at all BWAA meetings and the board of directors. He or she shall make such appointments as required by the constitution as well as any necessary for the conducting of regular activities. He or she shall determine the necessity for interim action as it may occur. In the event of the president's absence, the chair shall be handled by the president-elect in order of rank, followed by the executive director

Proposal: add to President' Duties
The elected BWAA President shall have the authority to appoint committees, chairmen of the committees and members of the committees. However, the President must communicate with the current chairman of an existing committee before adding or removing any member of the committee, including the chairman.

Reason:
The president is an elected officer of the association accountable to the Board of Directors and the membership. In the past, committee chairmen have been replaced and committee members have been removed and moved without their knowledge, causing much confusion about which committees they were serving on. It is common courtesy to communicate on such matters. If the President wants to change a committee, they should be able to explain their reasons for the change to the existing committee chairman.

REVISE THE AMATEUR BOWLERS OF THE YEAR AWARD PROGRAM (Proposed by Dick Evans)

Present: ARTICLE 7. AWARDS, Paragraph G. Amateur Bowlers of the Year
Presented annually to male and female bowlers who are residents of/or compete in, the North Region of the American Zone and meet WTBA amateur standards. A committee, appointed by the president, shall make the selection. The winners will be announced during the annual meeting.

Proposed:
Presented annually to a male bowler who is a resident of/or compete in, the North Region of the American Zone and meets WTBA amateur standards.

Reason:
I am proposing that the BWAA conduct only one female Bowler of the Year poll until a new women's bowling organization is organized and running tournaments. That would mean eliminating the female amateur bowler of the year award. I propose we list both amateur and female PBA players in one Bowler of the Year poll with the best lady winning. It is possible that the same woman bowler could win twice in one year if we continue to award two female Bowler of the Year awards. Submitted by Dick Evans.

Legislative Committee note:
If approved, the policy/procedure for Bowler of the Year and Amateur Bowlers of the Year will be amended for calendar year 2006.

REVISE THE AUDIT COMMITTEE PROCEDURE (Proposed by Executive Director Steve James)

Present: ARTICLE 5. MANAGEMENT, Paragraph B. Audit
The BWAA financial statement, including all records, shall be presented to the audit committee by the executive director the day prior to the association's annual meeting. After the committee has audited the records, it shall distribute a printed copy of the financial statement, together with whatever recommendations it might have, to the membership.

Proposed:
The BWAA financial statement, including all records, shall be presented to the audit committee by the executive director no later than 90 days after the end of the previous fiscal year. After the committee has audited the records, it shall distribute a printed copy of the financial statement, together with whatever recommendations it might have, to the membership.

Reason:
Waiting until one day prior to the annual meeting is too long of a delay, considering BWAA now meets in June. It also is difficult to ask the committee to conduct its work and prepare a written report for the membership in that short timeframe. Submitted by Steve James.

Legislative Committee note:
If approved, this policy will be adopted for the 2006 BWAA audit.

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MORT LUBY SR. HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE
John Jowdy, Chairman
The Mort Luby Sr. Hall of Fame Committee presented seven candidates to the membership. Joe Gennaro, the founder and long-time publisher of The Bowling News in Dallas/Fort Worth, was the top vote-getter. Other candidates on the ballot were: Jim Goodwin, Bob Johnson, Connie Marchione, Hazel McLeary, Harry Page and Lyle Zikes. Ballots were destroyed after being counted.

Joe Gennaro will be recognized as BWAA's newest hall of famer during the Columbia 300/BWAA Awards Dinner in Las Vegas.

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PUBLICITY COMMITTEE
Mark Miller, Chairman
To ensure there's no conflict of interest with sending BWAA publicity via USBC e-mail and to take advantage of bowl.com's new goal to be the ultimate news source for all of bowling, the Publicity Committee chair placed all BWAA stories prominently on bowl.com. This was in addition to e-mails sent to BWAA members by the Executive Director.

It is the Publicity Committee chair's recommendation that this committee be chaired by non-USBC members in the future to avoid all possible conflicts.

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RIP VAN WINKLE AWARD COMMITTEE
Dick Evans, Chairman
The Rip Van Winkle Committee submitted four hold-over and three new candidates to the BWAA membership, which in turn elected Al Matzelle.

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WEB SITE COMMITTEE
Eric Rehl, Chairman
The BWAA Web site — www.bowlingwriters.com — was re-designed and re-constructed this year to provide the organization with a more professional Internet presence and a more usable online resource. Work on the re-design was performed by Luke Spanton, with consultation and technical assistance from USBC as requested. Luke also continues to provide maintenance services for the site.

The new site features a substantially upgraded interface, making it far easier to use and navigate. In addition, the site includes an improved event calendar, more news, content on BWAA awards and scholarships, information about BWAA and membership, and links to industry entities. Plans for the future include a "Members-only" membership directory listing at some point.

The committee would like to thank and recognize Luke Spanton for his efforts in re-building and maintaining the Web site. Luke has provided BWAA with a professional online presence of which the organization can be proud.