January 2007 | Return to main news page
BWAA SELECTS
JONES, KULICK
AS 2006 BOWLERS OF THE YEAR
Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C. and Kelly Kulick
of Union, N.J. have been voted Bowlers of the Year for calendar
year 2006 by the members of the Bowling Writers Association of America.
The announcement was made Jan. 19 by BWAA President Hazel McLeary
of Victoria , B.C.
Jones, the Dick
Weber Male Bowler of the Year, won the U.S. Open, Atlanta Classic
and Ace Hardware Championship, earned $222,300 while cashing in
21 events, finishing in the top five five times, in the top eight
six times and top 16 13 times.
Kulick's greatest
achievement was qualifying for the Denny's PBA Tour for the 2006-07
season . She also captured the Rome, N.Y. regional, to become only
the second woman to win a PBA regional title, and she finished 33rd
in the USBC Masters among a field of more than 600.
Jones amassed
75 first place votes plus 23 seconds and 14 thirds for 435 points,
easily outpointing Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., and Walter
Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla. Duke had 250 points (21-55-35)
and Williams 238 (22-38-52). Chris Barnes, Dallas, was fourth
with 132 points followed by Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., with
30.
Kulick garnered
72 first place votes, 41 seconds and 18 thirds for 460 points. Liz
Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., was runnerup with 358 points (41-63-27)
and Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev., was third with 233
points (21-24-80). Amateurs Shannon Pluhosky and Diandra
Asbaty received write-in support. (1-4-2007)
HAZEL
MCLEARY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF BWAA
Hazel McLeary, long-time communications director for the
Canadian Tenpin Bowling Federation, begins her one-year term Jan.
1, 2007 as president of the Bowling Writers Association of America.
The BWAA is
the result of a merger of the National Women Bowling Writers and
the "old" BWAA, and will continue operations under BWAA's
established name. BWAA Past President Bill Vint will be Vice
President of the new organization and Steve James has been
retained as Executive Director.
Members of the
new BWAA Board of Directors are BWAA representatives Dick Evans,
Mike Hennessy, John Falzone, Tom Clark, Jim Goodwin, Craig Matthews,
Lyle Zikes and Vint. NWBW representatives are president Nancy
Chapman, Chris Beard, Joan Feinblum, Jackie Wyckoff, Fran Buettner,
June Lawhorn, Kathy Watson and McLeary. James also will sit
on the board. Fran Deken was recently elected as the representative
of the new organization's Council of Life Members and will become
a member of the board.
Other actions
taken by the new BWAA board in June include:
- Adopting
"Bowling Writers Association of America" as the organization's
name;
- Approving
International Bowling Expo, June 24-29, 2007, as BWAA's next annual
meeting site;
- Approving
an open membership optional gathering to be held in conjunction
with the USBC Annual Meeting March 28-31 in Nashville, Tenn.
Board met in October in Milwaukee, with actions as follows:
The Mission Statement was adopted pending member approval as follows:
(1) Create a new and continuing generation of bowling journalists
dedicated to disseminating bowling history, news, features and editorials;
(2) Offer opportunities for achievement, recognition and growth,
and (3) Provide programs honoring bowler performance, meritorious
contributions and scholastic excellence.
Chapman distributed
information concerning the tentative schedule for NWBW's final meeting
in Nashville March 30. There will be a banner from NWBW and BWAA
showing the joining of the two organizations and a brochure will
be produced promoting the new organization. During the time the
NWBW booth will be open, it was hoped there would be a male presence
working the booth. A motion was passed that NWBW and BWAA would
contribute $100 each to share the cost of the booth. A portion of
the four extra pages in the NWBW program will be devoted to the
new BWAA.
The bowling
tournament will not be held in 2007. The participants went from
60 to 23 the past two years and the expense for the sponsor is too
much. While there is sentiment to have the tournament, it does not
fit into the site. It was suggested that a mail-o-graphic event
could be held, and it will be considered by the new Special Projects
committee.
NWBW will not
provide BWAA with any member dues until 2008 due to its payment
structure and timing. BWAA members will pay 2007 dues. Past presidents,
life members and members emeritae all become life members Jan. 1,
2007 and will not pay dues. NWBW will forward a check for $10,000,
to BWAA Executive Director James to combine with BWAA's account.
Remaining NWBW funds will go to the IBMHF.
A motion passed
that BWAA dues will be $20 per year. It was determined there no
longer would be associate members, that they be charged $20 if they
are qualified members. Past Honorary BWAA members will be listed
on the web site, but there will not be any future honorary members.
All standing
BWAA awards will be presented in Las Vegas or at an appropriate
designated site. NWBW awards will be presented at its dinner in
Nashville. All awards will be evaluated by the newly appointed Awards
committee to eliminate duplication and determine what awards are
still of value. The committee also will determine whether awards
that carry specific names should be removed, or perhaps renamed.
There was sentiment to remove the names, but the one that should
remain is the Dick Weber Male Bowler of the Year. Clark stated that
writing awards will be evaluated by USBC and there could be an expansion
based on need.
The size of
the board was discussed and Vint said initially the final number
was to be 12, reduced on a two-year basis. A motion passed that
the 2008 board be cut by two and the 2009 be cut by two more, bringing
the number to 12. A proposal to amend the bylaws must be presented
by Jan. 1, 2008.
(1-4-2007)
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