IGBO Magazine Template Oct 2014.indd

Vol. 35 No. 1
TIMES
The International Publication of IGBO
October 2014
Put Some South in Your Mouth
Jacksonville prepares to roll out the red carpet for 2014 Mid-Year
At this year’s Mid-Year tournament
in Jacksonville, Fl, be ready to experience some true Southern Hospitality. The Jacksonville crew will make
you feel right at home while you are
in town. Here are a few events happening throughout our city during
the week.
Wednesday Nov 5, the monthly
First Wednesday Art Walk spans
more than 15 blocks that includes
more than 40 galleries, museums,
cultural venues, restaurants, bars
and businesses, plus dozens of
artists in Hemming Plaza, street
performers and live music.
Friday Nov 7, The Jacksonville
Landing Friday Market takes place
every Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
in the Market area on the first floor
of The Jacksonville Landing. The
Friday Market features beautiful
displays of art, jewelry, unique gifts
and more. Located just across the
river from the host hotel.
Don’t miss our live entertainment
in the Hospitality suite Sat night
during the Women’s Social/New
bowler meet and greet. Come ready
to sing your heart out.
The Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair opens on Nov 5th and
runs to the 16th. You can find the
Fair schedule at www.Jacksonvillefair.com.
Saturday at the Beaches, Buddy
Walk 11:00am to 4:00pm at the
Jacksonville Sea Walk Pavilion.
Down Syndrome Association of
Jacksonville fundraiser to include
beach walk, music, inflatables, food,
and children’s activities.
Jacksonville promises to show you
what true southern Hospitality is all
about. Y’all come on to town and
let us show you how it’s done. We
can’t wait for y’all to arrive.
Former IGBO president strikes through breast cancer battle
By Mark MacBain as told by
Sharon Stump
It’s a call no man or woman ever
wants to receive. The one that says
the test came back positive for
cancer. For Sharon Stump, it was a
call she waited on for several days.
From a home town so
small it lacked even a main
street, Sharon rose to great
heights, literally. She climbed
20+ 14,000-foot peaks in
Colorado and became the
first and only female to serve
as president of the International
Gay Bowling
Organization. It seemed
there wasn’t anything she
couldn’t do. But when the
call came, things for the
first time were out of her
Please see “Sharon” on page 27
2
From the desk of President McDaniel
Greetings!
I’d like to take this opportunity to
welcome you to the start of a new
IGBO year – one in which
we will celebrate our 35th
Anniversary! I’d also like
to welcome our North
American members back to
another fall-winter season
of league play. I hope
you’re as excited about the
upcoming bowling season
as I am.
This time of year is always
exciting and very busy in the World
of IGBO. Our 2014-15 membership
renewal drive is in full swing and the
IGBO Committees and Board of Directors are diligently preparing for our
Mid-Year Tournament and Convention
in Jacksonville. Member tournaments
are signing up to participate in our
14th year of Sponsorship with Storm
Bowling Products, and our bowling
members are making their tournament plans for the season. Busy times!
I’m personally excited to see a
resurgent interest in IGBO across the
organization. Committee participation
is at an all-time high – with committees holding regular meetings, sharing
exciting ideas and making plans to
enhance the experience of IGBO members worldwide. The focus of 2014-15
is shaping up to be Technology, Communication and Marketing – areas in
which our organization can always
need some attention.
Hopefully you’ve already experienced
some of the benefits of our focus on
Communication. The Online Committee continues to deploy new and
innovative methods of communicating
with our membership.
You can find these
enhancements on our
website and throughout
our online presence,
including Facebook and
Twitter. Every-other
week ‘blasts’ help keep
you in the loop, remind
you of upcoming IGBO
happenings, and even point you to
interesting events and information
pertaining to the bowling industry at
large. If you’re not following IGBO on
Facebook and/or Twitter you’re missing out on a world of information!
You will certainly notice a change
with this publication – the IGBO
Times – over the upcoming months.
Our newsletter is getting an exciting makeover – including a sleeker
design, interactive links to additional
articles and membership features, and
more opportunity for member recognition and sharing. Beginning with
this edition, the newsletter will now be
published every other month – providing ‘fresher’ information about what’s
going on in IGBO. I hope you will
find these changes to your liking.
There has been quite a bit of activity across the organization since our
last newsletter. Hopefully you’ve been
keeping up on social media but here
are a couple of highlights:
• Richard Foster, Kevin Wheeler and
the entire Tucson committee overcame
a mountain of obstacles to pull off a
fantastic Annual Tournament Event.
• League and Tournament Reps
elected Mark MacBain as the new Vice
President of IGBO during the General
Membership Meeting in Tucson. Also
elected/reelected: Bill Roman – Secretary, Steve Martinez – Pacific Northwest Regional Director, Paul Scheib
– Northeast Regional Director, and
Joey LeBlanc – South Plains Regional
Director. Alex Gregory (Southern) and
Donny Tang (Mid-Atlantic) accepted
appointments to continue serving
as Directors of their Regions until a
special election can be held during
Mid-Year in Jacksonville.
• The 2014 IGBO Fellowship Award
was presented to Ray Nastasi (Dallas)
and Ron Sperry (San Diego). Congratulations to both.
• During the General Membership
Meeting in Tucson, the Reps selected
Albuquerque, NM as the site of our
36th Annual Tournament and Convention in May of 2016.
In closing I’d like to thank Tim
Tkacik and Rob Silliman for their
years of service to IGBO. Although
both gentlemen have concluded their
service to the IGBO Board, I sincerely
hope we’ve not seen the last of either
of them!
Good Luck and Bowl Pretty!
In Unity, Fellowship and
Communication.
Rob McDaniel, IGBO President
3
Inside this edition:
Content
page
Jacksonville Update/Sharon Stump 1
President McDaniel 2
Editor Note / Online Committee
4
Board of IGBO
5
IGBO Committees6
Fellowship Winners7
STORM ad8
Tish Johnson Q & A
9
Region 8 - Spotlight
11
Region 9 - Spotlight
12-17
Welcome new regional directors
18
IGBO annual 2015 – Omaha ad
19
Contentpage
Gay Games 9 report
20
IGBO high rollers
21
In memoriam 22-23
South plains region report 24-25
North American Heartland 26
Upcoming tournaments
27
Fellowship nomination form
29
STORM ad30
IGBO, an international gay bowling organzation, provides educational services, communication avenues,
and social opportuties to promote the sport of bowling and to enrich the lives of individuals through leagues and
tourtournments worldwide.
Disclaimer: Inclusion in the pages of this newsletter, either in text or photographs, is not a reflection of any indivudual’s sexual
orientation.
They go together like strikes and spares:
Get your ball today!
+
a winning combination!
Order by contacting your regional director
4
Note
from
the
editor:
Welcome to the first newsletter of the
2014-15 IBGO season!
I’m delighted to be serving as not
only your vice president, but also
editor of the IGBO
Times. To realize
President Rob
McDaniel’s vision
for the newsletter,
we have some
exciting changes in
store, including:
• Briefer, but more frequent editions.
• In-depth looks at our regions,
spotlighting a few at a time.
• More human interest stories on
our members, both on and off the
lanes.
• Tournament results page. (I
encourage everyone to send their
results to regional directors.)
• Spotlights on committee activities.
Please feel free to share your
thoughts on the changes you’ll be
seeing in the months ahead. I’m
eager for your feedback and open to
your suggestions on what you would
like to read. After all, this is your
newsletter!
In unity, fellowship and
communication...
Mark MacBain, Vice President and
IGBO Times Editor
Online Committee Update:
Members-only content now available online
By Brian McCollum
In September, the IGBO Online
Committee debuted a new ‘Members
Corner’ on the website. After multiple
requests to protect certain content on the
website, the IGBO Online Committee has
come up with a way to secure content that
is meant for responsible IGBO Members
only.
Initially Members Corner has a hidden
section of the site which allow signed-in
users to Download IGBO Logos and access
the IGBO eBlast Archive.
Additionally, links to popular items
from the IGBO Library were added.
To access the Members Corner, visit
nearly any page of IGBO.org and click
on Register. After completing the simple
form, your account will be sent to the
IGBO Online Committee for approval.
After approval, users will be able to
login and view the new Members Corner
content.
Don’t forget to follow IGBO on
Facebook and Twitter @IGBOBowling.
Brian McCollum
5
Board of IGBO
Board PositionNameEmail
PresidentRob [email protected]
Vice PresidentMark MacBain [email protected]
Secretary Bill [email protected]
TreasurerTerri [email protected]
North American
Heartland
Region #5 Director
Ken Scaddan
[email protected]
Pacific Northwest
Regio #6 Director #6
Steve Martinez
[email protected]
Northeast Region #7
DirectorPaul [email protected]
Southern Region #8
Interim DirectorAlex Gregory [email protected]
Southwest Pacific/Nations
Region #9 DirectorJudy [email protected]
South Plains Region
#10 DirectorJoey [email protected]
Upper Mississippi Valley
Region #11 Director
Curtis Martin
[email protected]
Mid-Atlantic Region #12
Interim DirectorDonny [email protected]
Rocky Moutain Region #13
Director
Greg Frey [email protected]
6
IGBO Committees
Archives
[email protected]
Toby Pineau*
Rob Silliman
Audit
[email protected]
Jim Tsugawa*
Donny Tang
Sharon Stump
Kent Petty
William Spivey
Jerry Lovell
Bid Standards
[email protected]
Steve Frable*
Mike Letendre
Jamie Morrow
William Spivey
Tim Tkacik
Ron Suttora
Sharon Stump
By-Laws
[email protected]
Mike Letendre*
Jim Tsugawa
Steve Mathis
Skip George
Claude Sloan
Greg Edenfield
Rob Silliman
Ronnie Grist
Deaf & Disabled
Bowlers
Larry Pike*
Jeremy Glasser*
Michael Vigil
Federation of
Gay Games
[email protected]
Michael Ferguson*
Michael Witt - Delegate
Toby Pineau - Delegate
Kim Shephard
Federal
Compliance
Committee
federal.compliance@
igbo.org
Greg Edenfield*
Jeremy Glasser
Fellowship
[email protected]
Skip George*
Earl Haney
Mike Ferguson
Mel Krist
Toby Pineau
Hal Bergin
Ronnie Grist
Todd Denmark
Jerry Sesco
Jerry Lovell
Fund Raising
[email protected]
Bryan Hoff*
Jose Aguilar*
Terri Paulk
Judy Thompson
Todd Denmark
Richard Aronson
Joseph Puckett
James Fuller
Kevin Wheeler
Marketing,
Sponsorship &
Research
msr.committee
@igbo.org
Rob Silliman*
Curtis Martin
Alex Gregory
Rob McDaniel
Ken Hoffman
Danny Schrafel
Membership
[email protected]
Rich Villanueva*
Joseph Puckett
Tim Keller
Kim Shephard
Claude Sloan
Fernando Pacheco
Brandon Richard
Brian McCollum
Donny Tang
James Fuller
Newsletter
[email protected]
Mark MacBain - Editor
Sharon Stump*
Judy Thompson
Mark Kerr
Brian McCollum
Danny Schrafel
Online
Communications
[email protected]
Brian McCollum*
Ken Scaddan
Curtis Martin
Rob Silliman
Jamie Morrow
Kim Shephard
Tournament
Average Database
[email protected]
Steve Mathis*
Steffen Nye
Fernando Pacheco
Kim Shephard
Rob Silliman
Women’s Outreach
[email protected]
Jamie Morrow*
CC Ford
* committee chair
7
2014 IGBO Fellowship Award winners:
Ron Sperry and Ray Nastasi
or nationality; and B) The
companionship of individuals in
a congenial atmosphere, on equal
terms.
According to this definition, this
Good evening, IGBO Bowlers! My financial circumstances near the
individual qualifies under both
end of their lives.
name is Mike Ferguson and I am
areas:
here to speak to you about one of
Susan is described as a kindA) Their work within both the
the winners of the IGBO Fellowship hearted person who bends over
bowling community and city
Award, whom I will refer to as
backward for anyone who needs
while working with groups of
“Susan.”
a helping hand. They are a great
diverse people.
human being with a giant heart
“Susan” is a pioneer in their
B) T heir close friends in IGBO,
and they truly embody what the
community and very involved in
USBC, church, and non-profit
IGBO Fellowship Award is all about,
their local bowling community,
organizations.
because of their lifetime dedication
having served in various roles
This nominee has served bowling
to our IGBO organization.
on the committee for their local
in many positions and on many
bowling tournament.
IGBO bowlers, it gives me great
levels, from league officer to
pleasure to present the 2014 IGBO
Susan has also been an officer
Fellowship Award to “Susan” – the president of the state USBC Youth
in their local bowling leagues
Susan Lucci of the IGBO Fellowship Board. They also have started new
and has served as an IGBO rep, as
leagues and tournaments over the
Award, who has attended all 34
well as an IGBO regional director.
years. And, as an active member
IGBO annual tournaments.
Susan has provided significant
of IGBO, they have attended many
financial support to many IGBO
Please join me in congratulating
annual and mid-year tournaments
tournaments, both in and around
Ray Nastasi.
and meetings while representing
their region. They also are active in
the San Diego Tournament and San
Mike Ferguson,
their community, both financially
Diego leagues. Fellowship and unity
Fellowship Committee
and personally, and promote
are traits this nominee displays
and foster unity, fellowship and
regularly and unselfishly.
communication.
Community service activities
Susan is a true leader and is
include: serving as a member
widely respected in their community San Diego has had several
individuals nominated for the IGBO and deacon of the Metropolitan
because they are a champion for
Fellowship Award over the years
Community Church; operating the
many causes, such as local AIDSand
they
now
have
another
very
Uptown Faith Community Service
related agencies, breast cancer
qualified candidate.
Center Homeless Store Front and
charities and organizations that
serving as chairman of the Uptown
Fellowship is defined as: A) The
provide support to individuals who
Faith Community Service Center;
require financial or health support. condition of sharing interests,
ideals, or experiences, as by
Susan has shown devotion to dear
Please see “Fellowship” on page 10
reason
of
profession,
religion,
friends who were in dire health or
Below are the transcripts of the speeches that
preceded the 2014 Fellowship Award presentations,
delivered by Ronnie Grist and Mike Ferguson.
9
Up close with bowling’s “Iron Woman”
By Danny Schrafel
Tish Johnson is a member of the
PWBA and WIBC Hall of Fame. She
began bowling
at the tender
age of 6 (or 2 –
depending on
what you mean
by “bowling”),
and won the
1980 Albert
Tish Johnson
E. Crowe Star
of Tomorrow
Award as the sport’s most
“Promising Female Newcomer.”
Two years later, she had the high
average in the WIBC National
Tournament with 224.
She was named the Ladies
Professional Bowling Tour Bowler
of the Year in 1990 and 1992. She
led the tour in winnings both years
with $94,420 in 1990 and $96,872
in 1992, when she won two major
tournaments, the Women’s Open
and the Sam’s Town Invitational.
She led in earnings again in 1995
with $123,440 along with winning
her third Bowler of the Year Award.
She has established a reputation
as the “Iron Woman” of the
women’s tour competing in a record
236 consecutive tournaments, until
the end of the PWBA Tour in 2002.
IGBO Times caught up with
Tish after she bowled in the IGBO
Annual Tournament in Tucson,
Ariz., in May.
IGBO Times: Did you start
bowling as a child? What’s your
earliest memory of swinging a ball?
Tish Johnson: I started bowling
when I was 2. The first time I
started swinging the ball I was 6.
IT: What drew you to the sport?
TJ: Both my parents bowled.
IT: D
o you come from a family of
bowlers?
TJ: I come from a bowling
family. My parents don’t bowl
anymore, but my two brothers
and I still do.
IT: A t what point did bowling
go from hobby to passion to
profession?
TJ: W
hen I was 8, when I saw Earl
Anthony bowl on TV, because
I’m left-handed and he was
left-handed.
IT: W
hat is your most memorable
match and against whom at
what tournament?
TJ: A gainst Aleta Sill at the U.S.
Open.
IT: M
ost embarrassing bowling
moment?
TJ: T hrew a gutter ball on
national TV and then won the
tournament.
IT: Are there any common
misperceptions about the sport
of bowling that you come up
against?
TJ: That everyone thinks bowling
is easy.
IT: If you weren’t a professional
bowler, would you have played
another sport? If not, what
career path would you have
chosen?
TJ: I knew when I was 8 that I
wanted to be a pro bowler. If I
didn’t have bowling, I would
have been a sports therapist.
IT: What advice do you have for
new bowlers just starting out?
TJ: If you are going to do it for
fun, have fun. If you want to
get better, get instruction so
you learn the right way.
IT: How did the IGBO tournament
in Tuscon go? Do you think
you’ll be joining us again at
another tournament in the
future?
TJ: I had a lot of fun, plus STORM
asked me to bowl since I am
on the STORM staff, and yes I
will bowl again.
IT: What do you do for fun off the
lanes?
TJ: I play video games and play
golf.
10
“Fellowship” ... from page 7
and serving on the Imperial Court of San Diego.
As far as bowling, the nominee has been involved
in: SDIT; Las Vegas; Showgirls Tournament; Phoenix
Regional Invitational Tournament; Rainbow League;
High Rollers League; Easy
Pick-up League; and the local
USBC board as president of
the Youth Council and as a
youth coach.
The first time I met this
individual, I was really
struggling with my ball. (I
know: Color you surprised.)
They came up to me, not
knowing me from Adam, and
said, “It can’t get any worse and, no matter how bad
you throw that ball, IT WILL come back to you through
that big hole right there.” They smiled and walked
away, and all I could do was laugh. They had and have
a very infectious smile.
I asked a couple of people if they could give me any
negative qualities, and the only thing that I got was
that this person smiles a lot even, when they are not
feeling well. They try to make you feel better even if
they don’t.
Comments from people who admire this nominee:
• “Ever since I have known this individual, they
have always been willing to help a person in
need, whether in the bowling alley or out in the
community. I can promise you that
they know how to smile; I’ve seen it a
few times. Consistently fair, never afraid
to admit mistakes, but always willing
to become a better person.”
• “They volunteer to help the
homeless by providing shelter, food,
clothing and counseling to get
these individuals back on their feet,
and also encourage them to help
one another.”
Other organizations have also honored this individual
with awards, the most prestigious being the 2013
Citizenship of the Year Award, given to individuals of
the gay community from the Imperial Court of San
Diego.
It is with honor and total respect I presented the 2014
Fellowship Award to Mr. Ron Sperry of San Diego.
Ronnie Grist,
Fellowship Committee
Congratulations,
Ron and Ray!
11
Regional Spotlight:
Greetings from the Southern Region
As the summer season winds down
and fall kicks off, things around the
Southern region start to heat up.
It has been an active
summer in Region 8,
with tournaments in
Fort Myers, Tampa and
Raleigh. And there’s
buzz about another
new tournament in the
region in the near future. Top that off with
Jacksonville hosting
Mid-Year in a few short
weeks, and I think you
can see why things are moving and
shaking in the South!
Our first post-Tucson stop was our
annual U.S. Independence Day celebration in Fort Myers, FL, as COPIT
treated us to a superhero-studded
Christmas-Com in July. Vincent Scott,
Andrew Candeloro, Bill Thomas and
Mike Humphreys pulled off the biggest heist yet!
Every superhero in the Southern
Region had a dynamic time. I wonder which Super Hero took home all
the loot? If you didn’t make it this
year, you really need to put it on your
calendar for next year. Rumor has it
next year will be even more crimestopping.
Then the ladies in Tampa hosted
the 4th Menopause – The Tournament event. Though small in numbers, Jamie, Tammy and soon-to-be
momma Kate treated the ladies to a
fantastic weekend of fun, food and
some bowling thrown in for good
measure. I’ll not mention the rousing game of Cards Against Humanity,
except to say that my eyes
and ears have been opened
in ways I’ll never forget!
Next year, this annual
women’s event will return to
its city of origin – Orlando,
for the fifth anniversary!
Labor Day weekend gave
us an opportunity to return
to the ’80s at our regions
youngest tournament –
ORBIT in Raleigh. Thomas
Norwood, Chris Huff and Jeremy
Harrell and the entire committee put
on a fantastically themed event, complete with costume and trivia contests
and surprise visits throughout the
weekend by ’80s stars like Michael
Jackson and Boy George. Participation in ORBIT increased by one-third
for their second annual event, and
plans are already in the works for
next year – a Vegas theme complete
with a new, downtown hotel venue! If
I were you, I’d start making plans to
attend now – 2015 very well could be
a sell-out!
Our friends in Huntsville decided
to take a year off from hosting the
HIC (Huntsville Invitational Classic)
tournament, but are planning on
coming back strong in 2015. There
is also talk of a new tournament
joining IGBO from the great state of
Alabama in 2016. Rumor has it that
Birmingham is working on plans to
8
host an event and trade years with
Huntsville.
Personally, I think this is an ideal
model for smaller tournament events
– providing extra time to raise funds
and build excitement for the event.
Of course, in just a few short weeks
all eyes will turn to Jacksonville
as they host IGBO Mid-Year 2014.
Tim Locke and company have been
working their backsides off preparing
for your arrival, and they nvite you
all to “Put some South in your
Mouth” in Jacksonville.
Shifts for the tournament are filling
fast, and the deadline for the IGBO
rate at the host hotel is quickly
approaching, so I encourage you to
stop procrastinating and get on the
ball! This Mid-Year promises to be
an unforgettable event and I know
you don’t want to miss out.
In closing, I’m excited to report
that several people have thrown their
names in the hat and will be running
to replace me as Regional Director in
Jacksonville. It has been my pleasure
serving in this position for the past 3
1/2 years, and I look forward to assisting whoever is elected.
Alex Gregory
Region 8 Director
12
Regional Spotlight:
Greetings from the Southwest Pacific/Nations
Hopefully with some fine-tuning
Welcome back to all the league
and maybe a date change they will
and tournament reps and, for
be able to pull it off this coming
those brave souls who are taking
season.
on the IGBO rep position for the
first time, THANK YOU. The IGBO
Probably the biggest upset was
rep position is an
Australia withdrawing
integral part of our
their bid for Midorganization. Without
Year 2016. After
you, our bowlers would
crunching numbers,
not have a voice, and
Kim Shepard and his
there’s no way I could
committee felt it was
disburse information
in the best interest
to each and every one
of IGBO and Sydney
of our members.
that they withdraw
now in order to allow
This year I would
another city to have
like to have a closer
time to host mid-year.
relationship with each
Judy Thompson
representative. This, in
Vince Wood of
turn, will strengthen my
San Francisco had
relationships with your league and approached me last year, asking
tournament members.
about hosting a mid-year or
annual, and when they heard that
This past year brought ups and
Sydney had withdrawn, they were
downs to our region. Our one and
more than eager to step in. As of
only women’s tournament folded
now, San Francisco is working with
after many years of successful
the bid committee to host Mid-Year
tournaments. There have been
2016. Due to the situation, they
whispers of a new women’s
tournament possibly starting up this will have less time than usual to
bring this all together, especially
coming year.
their fundraising efforts. So any
We also lost a couple of leagues;
fundraising help that any league
the Classic League folded and
or tournament can offer would be
recently reformed and submitted
appreciated.
their application for membership.
As our fall season starts up, let’s all
Sacramento not only came in with
a new league but also a tournament have FUN. Veteran bowlers go out
committee. They attempted to host of your comfort zone and welcome
their first tournament but withdrew the new bowler. Invite them to a
local tournament so that they can
due to extremely low interest.
experience IGBO as you have.
I am looking forward to seeing old
friends and making new friends this
year at the numerous tournaments.
So when you see that old, grayhaired woman, stop and say “Hey.”
Judy Thompson
Region 9 Director
Region 9 News:
LASSI is almost here!
The Lassi 2014 Tournament takes
place Nov 21-23, 2014, at PINZ in
studio city.
Alan, Eric and the entire committee have been hard at work to make
Please see “Region 9” on page 14
13
In focus:
Game On Bowling Organization (GO-BO) of Sacramento
The GO-BO League was formed
by five bowling enthusiasts in late
2013. We had no experience with
running a bowling league but we
knew we weren’t creating something new. So we reached out to
other established leagues in cities
like San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton, Palm Springs, and Portland.
With their mentorship we eventually
created our official rules and bylaws
(8 pages long!). We were also lucky
in finding a bowling venue that best
suited us and all that was left was to
find bowlers.
To recruit bowlers we focused in
two areas: past bowlers that stopped
bowling and new bowlers that never
bowled on a league before. Past
bowlers were from our old league
and who had quit after one or two
seasons. We believe there were at
least 100 past bowlers and we began
surveying them. It wasn’t long
before we heard three main complaints:
1) The season was too long.
2) The fees were too high.
3) And it wasn’t fun.
Our old league was a traditional
league that bowled 33-weeks in one
season, they bowled five to a team,
weekly dues were $15.00, and it was
this traditional format that the past
bowlers were complaining about.
33-weeks is 2/3 of a year and bowlers would pay about $500 to play
in this one season. To cater to them
we created an aggressive format
with two seasons (Fall and Winter),
shorter seasons (14 weeks each)
brought down the total cost for each
season, bowlers can quit between
seasons, four bowlers to a team, and
a $14.00 weekly fee.
For recruiting new bowlers we
focused on the social activity groups
in our community. Sacramento has
a thriving LGBT sports community
with over 200 playing softball every
season and others participating in
volleyball, tennis, basketball, and
bowling. By forging an alignment
with these groups we were able to
come to their league events to promote our new league.
We came with our “Bowling Snack
Bar,” which was just a decorated
table and containers with tons of
snacks and water to handout. This
approach brought the athletes closer to us and made it easy to speak
to them directly. After five months
of marketing we began open registration in May for our Summer
League in June. Within the first four
days of registration we were 2/3 full,
eventually selling out and having
a waitlist. We had over 80 bowlers
by the end of the season and most
of them were what we expected: the
past bowlers that wanted a shorter
format and the new bowlers from
the other sport leagues.
To keep our league fun and to
retain our bowlers we thought the
standard bowling format was not
enough. First we were inspired by
the energy of Bowling Tournaments
and their side games so we added
the Last Man Standing and Strike
Pot games to our League. Then we
added theme nights which included
Crazy Socks night and Crazy Team
Pictures. But best thing we did that
was very little effort was play music
and had bite size candy and chocolate every night. The music kept
the energy level up and possibly the
sugar did too.
September 7th will be the beginning of our second season and our
creative juices are flowing with new
ideas to further the sport and to
entertain our members. Our Tournament Board has come up with a
new and low cost side game called
the B.O.W.L. Cup that will allow
IGBO Leagues in the West to compete with each other. The winning
league will have bragging rights as
the best league and a trophy, which
will be passed around annually to
the winning league. And for $3.00,
Please see “GO-BO” on page 15
14
“Region 9” ... from page 9
LASSI 2014 the best ever. This year
we have changed the start time to
7:30 p.m. to allow our out of town
locals more time to get to the alley.
We have a lot of other exciting
things planned for the tournament.
Checkout LASSIBOWL.COM or
LASSI.ORG for more info.
Registration for LASSI 2014 IS
OPEN! If you missed our mini
tournaments, don’t fret, the next
one is New Year’s Day 2015 at PINZ!
Time for TavernGuild
Winter Season
San Diego Invitational
Tournament August 2014
SDIT took on a new format this
year: from the usual three-day,
nine-game tournament to a very
successful one-day, six-game
tournament with everyone bowling
the same shift.
The highest three
games bowled
during doubles
and team made
up the singles
scores.
All games were bowled on
Saturday with the awards and
banquet immediately following. By
having the awards banquet at the
bowling center we were able to cut
the banquet cost by $20 per bowler
and in turn put that money towards
our bowler “gift bag.”
quite humbling. He has the love
and respect of so many.
Region 9 Member
Highlight: David Regul
David started bowling with
C.A.U.L. in late 1996 or early 1997.
He became league vice president
in the summer
of 2006 and he
Summer is over and it’s time
remained in
for Winter Season with the
this position for
TavernGuild. If you didn’t bowl
10 seasons. Fall
summer with us, you missed our
of 2009 David
own Tony Annibale roll 11 in a row
became the
Ronnie
Sperry:
2014
during the second week of summer
league president and has been
Fellowship
Award
Winner
league.
president ever since – 16 seasons
Ronnie is so deserving of this
now.
Winter season is shaping up
award – he is the poster child for
to be another standout season,
In the summer of 1996, David
fellowship.
Ron
has
been
very
active
and if you’re not bowling with
started volunteering at the Aids
within
the
bowling
community
the TavernGuild on Monday
Food Store. They distribute food to
for over 30 years and also a
Nights at PINZ ... well, you’re
people with HIV and AIDS on the
strong
leader
within
his
church
NOT having the most fun you
second and fourth Saturday of every
community.
If
Ronnie
can’t
give
can have on a Monday night!
month. In 2010 David started doing
of
his
time
physically,
he
is
always
Visit us at Tavernguild.us or at
a canned-food drive for the Aids
available
to
bounce
ideas
off
of.
Tavernguildleague.com.
Come join us as a regular member Working with him on the SDIT
committee these past years has been
or as a sub!
Please see “Regul” on page 16
15
“GO-BO” ... from page 10
individual bowlers will have a chance to compete with the bowlers from other leagues for cash
prizes.
For more information about us, please search
Facebook for: GO-BO League and Tournament, or
on the Internet at www.GO-BO.org.
16
“Regul” ... from page 14
Food Store through C.A.U.L. For six
seasons the league would pick a
two-week span to collect donations.
In 2010 C.A.U.L. combined with the
Hugs Tournament and did Cosmic
Bowl Fundraiser for The Aids Food
Store and The Hugs Tournament.
In 2012 David started a No-Tap
fundraiser to get donations for the
Aids Food Store, non-perishable
items and money, and has
continued this fundraiser for the
past three years. Through David’s
direction they have raised over
$5,000 and collected thousands of
non-perishable items.
Last year David combined with
The California Spring Classic
Tournament for a fundraiser and
collected $1,100 for The Aids Food
Store.
David joined the Scratch This
League in 2003 and became vice
president in that league in the fall
of 2011. He is still vice president
and still bowling in that league.
During this time David became
the IGBO rep for both C.A.U.L. and
Scratch This.
Region 9 Tournaments
San Jose, CA
September 26, 2014
Palm Springs, CA
October 17, 2014
Psdic.org
Los Angeles, CA
November 11, 2014
Lassibowl.com
Sacramento, CA
March 20, 2015
Svitbowl.com
San Francisco, CA
February 2015
Bowlsfggc.org
Fountain Valley, CA
April 2015
Californiaspringclassic.org
Tustin, CA
June 2015
Hugsbowling.com
San Diego, CA
August 2015
Bowlsdit.org
18
welcome
to our newest regional directors
Hello IGBO Family! I am very
excited about serving as the
Northeast Regional Director this year,
and continuing in the fine tradition
of Mark MacBain, Rob Silliman,
Donny Tang, Bill Roman and Rob
McDaniel, among the many NE
Regional Directors over the years. I
have mighty big shoes to fill.
I have bowled in an IGBO league
for the past 27 years. I was one of the
original Tournament Directors for
GREAT, as well as the Tournament
Director for Mid-Year 2011. I have
served as a League Rep since 2006. I
Hello to all my IGBO Family and
Friends. I am very excited and look
forward to being a part of the great
tradition of Gay Bowling via IGBO. As
I begin my role as Regional Director
of the Northwest Region, I cannot
help but to thank Tim Tkacik for the
excellent leadership he has provided
to the Northwest Region on behalf
of IGBO. He will be a very difficult
act to follow, but I do hope I can
achieve just a part of what he has
accomplished while he had been in
office.
I have been bowling since the age
of eight. I was actively involved in
youth leagues then adult leagues
later in life. After coming out I soon
discovered Gay Bowling and have
enjoyed it ever since. I first bowled
my husband, Dave Emlen, and our
dog, Scooter.
When I am not bowling, I can
usually be found on stage performing
in Community Theater.
Paul Scheib
a gay league in Denver at Monaco
Lanes. These were the lanes that I
grew up in so it was a great match. I
soon moved to Seattle where I bowled
with the Pride League back in 1995
and 1996. I attended my first IGBO
Steve Martinez
Annual Tournament in Vancouver,
BC in 1995. It was a memorable
experience and stayed fresh in my
I had the privilege of attending
Liberty Bell Invitational tournament
right after officially stepping into my
role as Regional Director, and was
able to approve a 300 award 5 days
into my new job! I look forward
to approving many more 300/800
awards this year for the Northeast
Region.
mind all these year. I then took several
years away from bowling. I joined
back with the Pride League in 2010.
Since then I have served as Secretary
of the league for 4 years, I have been
an IGBO Alternate Representative for
1 year, and IGBO Representative for
1 year. I have served as Treasurer for
Seattle Unified Bowlers Organization,
the group who brings you the annual
Seattle Espresso Cup Tournament.
Now that I have gotten involved
with IGBO as Regional Director, I look
forward to my continued involvement
in Gay Bowling and hopefully a long
tenure with IGBO. Thank you all for
this great opportunity.
FEDERATION OF GAY GAMES UPDATE:
By Mike Ferguson –IGBO FGG Committee Chair
Gay Games 9 Update:
During August 9th to 16th, 220 bowlers from Australia, Canada, England, Russia, Sweden and the
USA travelled to Cleveland, Ohio to participate in the bowling events of Gay Games 9. Bowlers
competed in Singles, Doubles and Team events over 5 days at Game of Wickcliffe lanes.
The top 6 in each Division advanced to the medal rounds and the medal winners in each event can
be found by clicking here:
The full list of results for the bowling events at Gay Games 9 are available on the GG9 web-site:
http://www.gg9cle.com/sports/sports-list/bowling
A special thank you goes out to Joey LeBlanc from San Antonio, Texas and Mark MacBain from
Syracuse, New York and Kim Shephard from Sydney, Australia for all of their dedication and effort to
organizing the bowling events at Gay Games 9 and to the many volunteers who helped to run the
bowling events.
Gay Games 10 will take place in Paris France August 2nd to 12th, 2018.
More details will be available at www.paris2018.org
We hope to see you in Paris in 2018 !!
For more information regarding the Federation of Gay Games can you visit the FGG web-site at:
www.gaygames.org
In Unity, Fellowship and Communication,
Mike Ferguson
IGBO FGG Committee Chair & IGBO FGG Delegate
Toby Pinneau
IGBO FGG Committee & IGBO FGG Delegate
Kim Shephard
IGBO FGG Committee
To view all results and photos
click here
22
Atlanta remembers three of their own
We in Atlanta lost three bowlers
very close together this spring/
summer.
First was Vince Kanalos who had
suffered a stroke last fall and had
been in and out of the hospital,
rehabilitation, and finally a nursing
home before he finally passed
away on May 22nd. He had been a
veteran, bowler, and friend to his
country and his community. He
bowled on several of the leagues
here including, Boys and Girls of
Fall and Friends Friday!
people for Dixie and IGBO. He was
one of the first Regional Directors
for the Southern region, had served
as co-director for Dixie, as well as
on many of the committees for the
tournament. In 1992 he won the
Fellowship Award and in 1995 the
Tom Hack award. For that knew
him he was a great listener, friend,
and always a supportive source
to all he knew and met. For the
the last 20 plus years Mark also
was involved with the Miss Atlanta
Scholarship Pageant including
doing a annual fundraiser for them
Next was Mark Castleberry on June and PALS called Pumps for Pets.
2nd. Mark had been an integral
Mark had lost his longtime partner
part of the bowling community
of 30 years Greg at the same time.
here in Atlanta, and finding out
from his sister Ginger this had been
Lastly was Ron Taylor on June
a lifetime love for him. He had
6th. Ron had been bowling in the
been part of the founding group of Atlanta leagues for the last several
years. Originally from Savannah
GA., he made Atlanta his home for
the last part of his life journey. He
had a wicked sense of humor, and
always a hello, hug, a “hey hun”
for those he was close to. He was
very involved with the Basset hound
rescue of Georgia, and local AIDS
charities.
They all will be missed by so many
for many different reasons, and a
huge hole is there where they once
occupied in our hearts, minds, and
memories. With that I would like to
dedicate this poem to them and all
we have lost so far this year.
23
If Tomorrow Starts Without Me
“If tomorrow starts without me, And I’m not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things, We didn’t get to say.
I know how much you love me, As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me, I know you’ll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name, And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready, In heaven far above,
And that I’d have to leave behind all those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away, A tear fell from my eye, For all my life,
I’d always thought, I didn’t want to die.
I had so much to live for, So much left yet to do, It seemed almost impossible, That I was leaving you.
I thought of all the yesterdays, The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all that we shared, And all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday, Just even for a while, I’d say good-bye and kiss you and maybe see you smile.
But then I finally realized, That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories, would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things, I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did, My heart was filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through heavens gates, I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me, From His great golden throne, He said, “This is eternity, And
all I’ve promised you.”
Today your life on earth is past, but here life starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow, But today will always last, and since each days the same way, There’s no longing
for the past.
You have been so faithful, So trusting and so true. Though there were times you did some things, You
knew you shouldn’t do.
But you have been forgiven, and now at last you’re free.
So won’t you come and take my hand, and share my life with me?
So when tomorrow starts without me, don’t think we’re far apart,
For every time you think of me, I’m right here in your heart”
May God watch over you and your family now and always. There is no wrong time to do the right
thing…there is no wrong time to tell someone you care.
24
Greetings from the South Plains Region
Howdy From the South Plains!
Well the summer heat is just
about over and the fall bowling
leagues have begun. I would like
to welcome
everyone
back for the
2014-2015
bowling season.
Hopefully
everyone had
a safe and fun
summer. Many
bowlers from
the region
continued
to bowl in
their summer leagues as well as
tournaments around our region
and visiting regions of IGBO.
Gay Games 9 was held in
Cleveland Ohio in the month of
August, and our region was very
well represented in many sports.
IGBO members from our region
who attended in
bowling all came
home with medals.
Congratulations to
Jimmy Hoagland
from Houston
Texas, Jerry
Ankenbrandt and
Randall Buda
from Dallas Texas,
and myself, Joey
LeBlanc, from San
Antonio.
This past May while many of us
bowlers where in Tucson Arizona
for the IGBO annual meeting, we
welcomed a new league to our
region. The Sunset Combo League
is based out of Forth Worth TexaS.
Welcome to the organization.
As we move towards ending
the year 2014, just remember the
Capital Area Holiday Classic will be
holding their annual tournament in
Austin Texas, December 5th-7th,
2014.To begin 2015, The Alamo
City Tournament will once again be
in San Antonio and, will welcome
bowlers from far and wide to spend
The Martin Luther King weekend
with us. The dates are January 16th18th 2015.
This will be all for now until the
South Plains Region is featured in
an upcoming newsletter.
Joey J LeBlanc
South Plains, Regional Director
Come see what everyone’s talking about!
Join a league near you....
Click here to find one in a city near you!
25
26
Happenings around the North American Heartland
To see more pictures click here:
27
What’s your next tournament?
Come see what all the fun is about. Here is a look at some of the member
tournaments over the next four months. To find more tournaments, click here
October ~ November ~ December ~ January
Capital Halloween
Invitational Tournament
(CHIT)
Washington, DC
10/24/2014
Los Angeles Silver Screen
Invitational Tournament
(LASSI)
Los Angeles, CA
11/21/2014
Cincinnati Tri-State
Invitational Tournament
(CINTIT)
Cincinnati, OH
10/31/2014
Holiday Invitational
Tournament
(HIT)
Milwaukee, WI
11/27/2014
IGBO Mid-Year 2014
(IGBOMY2014)
Jacksonville, FL
11/4/2014
Alamo City Tournament
(ACT)
San Antonio, TX
1/16/2015
Chuzapalooza
(CHUZA)
Tucson, AZ
1/16/2015
Fort Lauderdale Invitational
Regional Tournament
(FLIRT)
Capital Area Holiday Classic Ft. Lauderdale, FL
(CAHC)
1/17/2015
Austin, TX
Seattle Espresso Cup
12/5/2014
(ESPRESSO)
Seattle, WA
1/23/2015
28
Continued from page 1:
control. She knew she had to leave
them in God’s hands and, whatever
the outcome, she and her partner
were going to make the best of it.
Sharon grew up an only child in
a small, rural town just south of
Cleveland, Ohio, between Akron
and Kent. Her parents’ lived on
an acre of land adjacent to her
grandparents’ 7 acres,
which included a lot
of woods, where young
Sharon spent her
childhood days swinging,
climbing and jumping.
She lived with her
parents and her mother’s
sister, who was 10 years
older than she was. Her
grandparents died young
and, after Sharon’s
parents married, they
took in Sharon’s aunt to
live with them. In many
ways, her aunt became
her older sister, and
Sharon fondly recalls becoming the
“annoying little sister who adored
her.”
During Sharon’s younger years,
her mother had many health issues,
and Sharon spent more time with
her aunt as a result. Then, when
Sharon was 11, her mother passed
suddenly. While many knew she
was ill, her mother’s death came
as a complete shock to Sharon. It
was the end of one childhood and
beginning of another, which began
two months later when her father
remarried.
A working girl right out of high
school, Sharon started working for
a doctor’s office and continued on
that career path until her recent
retirement. She ended her career as
a business administrator for several
clinics where she had worked for 32
years.
was so busy during the summer
months playing golf and softball,
she needed something to do in the
winter months, and decided to join
a bowling league. She was lousy
right from the start. But with sheer
determination, she progressed as
each year went by.
Bowling enters the picture After several years, Sharon joined
In 1977, Sharon drove to Colorado a women’s golf group that traveled
to a different course each
month. As luck would
have it, she was paired
two years in a row with a
woman who grew up in
Alaska. They fell in love.
“The ugly part was
I had been with my
partner for 10 years and
Kathie with her partner
for 27 years when we
both left our homes to be
together,” Sharon said.
“That was 18 years ago,
and it has been the best
18 years of my life.”
The split caused tension with
to spend a week with a close friend
mutual friends, so Kathie and
who had moved there. It was love
Sharon decided to join a gay
at first sight! Colorado’s blue skies
were nothing like Sharon had ever bowling league they had heard
seen before, and she knew that this about, to meet new people,
especially men. Both had lost many
was where she needed to be. She
of their male friends in the ’80s.
moved there two weeks later.
And that is where it all started.
Colorado was the place for an
Sharon attended one IGBO
outdoor girl like Sharon. She
general membership meeting and
has climbed more than 20 of the
decided the group needed a woman
14,000-foot peaks, camped in
many of the wilderness areas, biked on its board. She decided to run for
vice president and was elected to
many MS 150 rides, and fell in
two terms from 2000 to 2003.
love with the beautiful Colorado
golf courses. In fact, it was golf that For the rest of Sharon’s story,
helped get her into bowling. She
click here.