The American Blind Bowling
Association
70th National Tournament
Anniversary
The Blind Bowler
January 2017
Theresa Metcalfe, Editor
PO Box 19516
Chicago, IL 60619
773-860-4490
Join the fun in the
Valley of the Sun
at the
70th ANNUAL ABBA
TOURNAMENT
Phoenix, Arizona
May 25-29, 2017
AMERICAN BLIND BOWLING ASSOCIATION, INC.
2016 - 2017 Officers
President
Robert McDonald
7232 South Ridgeland
Chicago, IL 60649
773-255-3121
ridgeland72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
1st Vice President
Joyce Spencer
2809 Herndon Village Way
Raleigh, NC 27610
919-796-5090
miss_joyful_joyce@xxxxxxxxx
2nd Vice President
Charles Glaser
6124 Windsong Way
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
678-521-2976
cglaser2@xxxxxxxxx
SecretaryTreasurer
Rozella Campbell
2829 Tall Oaks Ct., Apt. 11
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
248-410-2411
Abbasec.trea@xxxxxxxxx
Tournament Director
Sandy McDaniel
115 Powell Blvd., Apt. 14102
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
386-576-6413
sandymcdan01@xxxxxxxxx
EDITORS WELCOME
May each day of the New Year be filled with contentment, opportunities, peace,
and abundance. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
~ Theresa Metcalfe, editor~
FROM THE DESK OF THE SECRETARY/TREASURER
Hello members, those who have now had a taste of winter, those who continue to
enjoy the warmth of the sun, and those who are in between.
We are still waiting on some leagues who were a part of ABBA last year but have
not returned as of yet this year: Where are You? Whats Going ON? Do you need
some help?
At the Presidents Membership Meeting on December 6, 2016 @ 8pm a lot of useful
information was obtained from various members across the US. The information
and input shared from our members was invaluable including a website for the
Challenged Athletes Application. Although it is too late to submit this
application this year, some wanted to have this information to apply next year.
So listed is the link, which will bring up the application -
http://www.challengedathletes.org/. Thank you Ginger Rush of the Raleigh ;
Outlaws for sharing this information. Please note: the grant applications are
available beginning in September and are accepted through December 1st. If you
do not apply during this time span, your application will not be considered.
Also, The Wayne Keeney Fund has finances available for new bowlers to apply for
a one time grant to assist them with attendance for one of the tournaments. The
Gar Giddings Fund is also available if your league needs help purchasing rails.
Additionally, if you feel your Secretary has done an impressive job and would
like to honor him/her, The James Merrill Fund is available. All of these
applications were listed in the August packet mailed to all secretaries and
Life Members. If you would like to receive a copy of the Funds and
Qualifications, please send me a text, call, or email, stating what information
is needed.
Corrections /Additions/News of Interest
? 1st Vice Presidents address has changed to 2809 Herndon Village Way, zip
code -27610
? Secretary/Treasurers address has changed to 2829 Tall Oaks Ct. Apt. 11
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
? Maryland Blind Bowlers are no longer a league.
May 2017 Tournament/Convention updates
Date: May 24 May 30, 2017
Place: Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport for reservations call 602- 273-7778 or
toll free, 1-855-586-8475. The cut-off date is Wednesday, May 3, 2017. You must
identify yourself as a member of ABBA to receive the group rate of $99 + 12.57%
tax for single/double rooms. Reservations need to be guaranteed with a credit
card for the first night of the reservation. If you need to cancel a
reservation, notify the hotel by 3pm the day prior to arrival to avoid being
billed for the first nights stay. Check in is 3pm, and check out is 12pm
(noon). The hotel is located near the airport and has a shuttle service. DO NOT
CATCH A CAB! If you have never stayed in a hotel with keycard entry for the
elevator as well as the room, be prepared, at the Crowne Plaza you will be
asked to place your keycard on a pad in the elevator to gain access to your
floor, and at the entrance to your room. We are working on having someone to
assist you in the workings of the keycard upon your arrival.
Outside the hotel is a rail system which will take you downtown and to various
other sights along the way.
Currently, I do not have a schedule for the various committee meetings;
hopefully, a list will be published in the next edition of The Blind Bowler.
? Reminder: when you send in your registration for the tournament, please list
the names of your leagues delegates (people who can vote at the Convention
blue dots, number depended upon your membership, one vote for every 4 members)
and your representative that will vote at the Board meeting (red dot, 1
person).
? Also, please pass on the procedure for acquiring guiderails:
* Send request to Rozella Campbell at abbasec.trea@xxxxxxxxx.
State number of rails needed, location, receiver, address & telephone number
* You will receive a reply with total cost inclusive of shipping
* You must send a check or money order made out to ABBA to: Rozella Campbell
2829 Tall Oaks Ct. Apt. 11, Auburn Hills, MI 48326 (we do not accept credit
cards or PayPal)
* Upon receipt of money, the rail manager will be contacted to ship your
purchase. The turnover time is approximately seven (7) days.
Attention Please
If You Are Not Bowling, These People Are Rolling and Receiving
Awards. Awards have either been sent by the Assistant Secretary, Belinda
Steele, or are being held until May. Missing information was not provided.
Bowler Average Bowled League/City/State
75 Pins Over
Lisa Travers-T 137 213 Colorado BBA- Aurora, CO
Mario Diming-SM 167 219 Chicago Tappers, Chicago, IL
Sharon Williams-SF 106 181 Chicago Tappers, Chicago, IL
Bronze
A J Inglesby-TM 103 167 Gate City,
Greensboro, NC
Ron Neer-SM 199 257 Colorado BBA- Aurora, CO
Silver
Whatina Sanders-PF 123 202 Forsyth BB,
Winston-Salem, NC
Split Conversion
Chevron
Ester Crawley Bey-NA NA 6-7-10 Greater Cleveland- Cleveland, OH
Jeana Angelini-P 122 4-6-10 Brew City BB West Allis, WI
Sharon Williams-SF 110 7-9 Chicago Tappers, Chicago, IL
Tiressa Woodson-NA NA 4/6/7/10 Greater Cleveland- Cleveland, OH
Wayne Morgan-SM 114 4/6/10 Chicago Tappers, Chicago, IL
Triplicate Chevron
Monica Seidl-SF 94 101 Milwaukee Beer Barrels,
Milwaukee, WI
Phyllis Johnson-PF 114 131 St. Louis Rail Roolers,
St. Louis, MO
Stanley Ingram-TM 104 105 Delaware Valley BBL, Clifton Heights, PA
All awards earned after December 13, 2016 will be listed in the next issue of
The Blind Bowler. Once again, when inserting the information on the Award
application, please supply all information: visual status, male or female,
average, etc. It does not matter if it is a Triplicate or Split, all
information is needed along with the league name and average.
Humbly submitted
~Rozella Amerson Campbell, ABBA Secretary Treasurer~
NATIONAL TOURNAMENT NEWS
Hi everyone, this is AJ Inglesby! I just wanted to keep everyone updated about
Phoenix, Arizona; thats right our 70th Anniversary. You can contact the Crown
Plaza Phoenix airport right now and make your reservations (see contact
information in the secretary/treasurer article above). Room rates are $99 per
night plus tax. The bowling alley is very excited to host a tournament. The
tournament committee is working on some great things for people to do in
Phoenix. You can go to Scottsdale to shop or go to the local casino. You can
visit the International Museum of Musical Instruments or the National Native
American Museum, which you can get to by riding the light rail from the hotel.
If you do not feel comfortable taking the light rail you can contact the
paratransit system in Phoenix and get your paratransit transferred to Phoenix,
so you can use their paratransit system. Do not take a taxi from the airport to
the hotel. The hotel offers a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel or you
can take the light rail from the airport to the hotel. Again, do not take a
taxi from the airport to the hotel. Lastly, a tour company called AZ Brew Tour
is offering public tours for our members. You can contact them directly to
choose what to wear and the time you want to participate. You also can go to
their websitewww.azbrew.com to get more information about this company or to
book your tour. A personal public tour is $99 per person, which includes a
roundtrip ride to and from the hotel, stops at three different breweries in the
greater Phoenix area, where you will sample anywhere from 4 to 6 beers plus a
meal at the second brewery. This tour is approximately 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
I hope to see everyone in Phoenix in May. Have a great holiday and a Happy New
Year!
~AJ Inglesby, National Tournament Chairperson~
GETTING THINGS DONE
In early October of 2016, the Past Presidents Committee received a request for
rails from The Garth Giddings Fund. The request came from Fred Baker of the
Tacoma Tide Bowling Group. Ms. Rozella Campbell, Secretary/Treasurer sent out
an email from Mr. Donald Franklin, Past President of ABBA, stating he had a set
of rails to donate, he asked for ABBAs help in locating some who could use
them.
After several phone calls and emails, I got Mr. Franklin and Mr. Baker together
and the rails were donated to the Tacoma Tide Bowling Group. I understand they
started bowling at the end of October. This just goes to show what can be done
when we all work together. Again, my thanks to Mr. Donald Franklin, Past
president of ABBA, for making this happen.
At the Midyear meeting the committee received two applications for grants from
The Wayne Keeney Fund to attend the 2017 tournament. The selected individual
was granted $600.00; however, as of the writing of this article the grantee has
not yet been notified, so their name is being withheld from this article.
Thanks again to the committee for all their hard work in getting things done!
~Submitted by Thomas Lester,
Chairman Past Presidents Committee~
MY LEAGUE SECRETARY HAT
By Kathy Brockman
I wear many hats on several boards, committees, etc. At a recent ABBA
conference call it was suggested I write this article as the Milwaukee Beer
Barrels secretary. Its a number of reminders that we need occasionally.
Rozella does a great job putting out some of these too. Here are a few:
* Read the annual secretary packet, mailings during the season and tournament
entry forms carefully. Make notes if necessary and deadline reminders. Ask
questions if necessary.
* A number of years ago Judy Jeter and I developed a League Secretary Handbook;
Rozella has that calendar as well.
* Lack of communication has been a problem for years and mentioned at ABBA
meetings for over 25 years (as far as I remember). Its important to get info
to bowlers. I make weekly announcements for our league (which Ive written
down). Many bowlers are on Rozellas e-mail list which is also used to spread
information.
* Keep track of ABBA awards and send them in within 30 days. I keep a pending
list of awards and make reminders close to the deadline. I wait in case there
are others to submit. Bowlers worked for their awards.
* Then track awards to make sure they are received. Yes, Ive bugged Rozella
when they do not arrive!
* Heard of ABBA Gold Medals? These are special medals given at the end of the
season for the highest ABBA gross/net score in each visual category. Send in
your highest ones; they may win an award! I noticed last year that our league
and a couple others won most of them. Be sure to recognize your bowlers and
submit them when your season ends. And dont forget the annual average report!
* Back-up your files periodically in case something happens and data gets lost.
I use files from previous years and change info as needed. Why reinvent the
wheel?. Computers can melt down!
* Policy Statement F-3 requires leagues to submit a brief statement on how fund
raising money will be used. This should be sent to Rozella if your league is
under the 501c3 ABBA umbrella. I have a sample form.
You can contact me if you have questions or want sample files. As the Rules
Committee Chairperson (another hat!), I occasionally get questions from Rozella
or other leagues and am willing to help. My phone # is 414-545-4052 and e-mail,
kathybrock1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please call me before 8:30 PM central time. Happy
bowling!
ITS AWARD TIME
By Kathy Brockman, Past President
ABE COHEN AWARD: This award was established by the Past Presidents' Committee
many years ago to honor Abe Cohen, who was ABBA'S first Secretary-Treasurer and
served without compensation. It is given in recognition of outstanding
leadership and service to ABBA; other community service should also be
mentioned. Usually the award is presented at the annual May convention, but it
is not given every year.
A committee of previous Past President winners will review the nominations
which must be submitted by March 1st. You can send any nominations to me at:
2735 S. 61st St. Milwaukee WI 53219-3002, phone # is 414-545-4052 and e-mail,
kathybrock1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please call me before 8:30 PM central time. Other
committee members are Walter Burmeister and Ruth Christmas.
JAMES M. MURRELL SECRETARY AWARD: This award was established in 2008 to honor
Jim Murrell who was an ABBA Secretary-Treasurer for many years. He also handled
the awards program, edited The Blind Bowler, handled new and rental guide
rails and the engraving ABBA high score medals. If you know of a league
secretary who has performed exceptionally well, please send these nominations
to ABBA Secretary-Treasurer, Rozella Campbell by March 1st. Again, please
include a description of the individuals work. This award can be presented at
the annual convention in May.
MBBA NEWS
Hello all league secretaries and members,
I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years Day. Below are the winners
for this years Prize Week. Congratulations to the winners! Again, this is a
small number of our members. League secretaries please put this contest on your
calendars for 2017, Nov 1st thru 7th as a reminder.
The 2017 forms for the tournament have been emailed. Due to a computer
malfunction, Jayne will send the printed versions hopefully by Jan 9th. If you
have an email address and have not received the forms, send me an email
annotated MBBA Tournament and I will send the email version to you.
The host league for the 2017 tournament here in Detroit is planning a banquet
before the party on Saturday night, the cost is $40.00 per person. The form you
need to complete is with the tournament entry forms. Hope to see you all there.
Div
Bowler
Total
Pins over
Prize
League
AF
Sandra Anderson
464
53
$50
Greater Cleveland
AM
Rich Zwolinski
626
101
$50
Chicago Alba
AM
Bob Carlson
534
84
$30
Minneapolis Blind Bowlers
AM
Mario Diming
593
83
$20
Chicago Tappers
AM
Chad Wolf
535
82
$15
Rock County Railers
BM
John Moore Jr
466
109
$50
Chicago Alba
BM
Tim Kase
413
86
$30
Milwaukee Beer Barrels
EM
Michael Powell
382
70
$50
Chicago Spare Chasers
~Thomas Lester, MBBA Secretary/Treasurer~
NEWS FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE
The Nominating Committee consists of myself, Ginger Rush, and Fred Nickl. We
would like to remind everyone that it is time to elect officers. The offices up
for election are President, 1st Vice President, and 2nd Vice President.
Letters of intent to run for office may be sent to me, Thomas Lester, 19146
Ardmore, Detroit, MI 48235, email tlester52@xxxxxxx or the other committee
members. The election will take place in Phoenix during the 2017 tournament and
convention. Below are the letters I have received so far. Remember ABBA is only
as strong as its leaders guiding us in the right direction.
To The Nominating Committee,
After much consideration to what is entailed being the President of ABBA, I am
asking for your support in the election of 2017. I have been a member of the
ABBA organization for twenty plus years. I have seen the ups and downs but we
have managed to still stand hanging by a thread but managing to overcome as I
am sure we will do again. I attended the school for the blind in Kalamazoo,
Michigan and begin bowling with the Kalamazoo Blind Bowlers, where I bowled for
11 years. I am a member of the Midwest Blind Bowlers Association and The
Federation for the Blind. I also work as a laborer and quality control
supervisor at Mid West Enterprises for the Blind. I am currently a member of
the Raleigh Outlaws, where I have been bowling for 11 years and counting. I was
a member of the Raleigh Council for the Blind, President of the CBA, served
two terms on the ABBA Public Relations committee, and currently I am the 1st
Vice President/ Chairperson of the Finance Committee.
I believe we do not have to reinvent the wheel, but we can move forward to
continue building our membership and strengthening our organization with our
talented committees and members to restore integrity enthusiasm, economic
stability, and FUN back to the organization and the sport of blind bowling.
In conclusion, I will welcome the opportunity to continue serving this
organization as President of ABBA .
Joyce Yvonne Spencer
1st Vice President of ABBA
miss_joyful_joyce@xxxxxxxxx
919-796-5090
To: The Nominations Committee
From: Rozella Amerson Campbell
Re: Office of Secretary Treasurer
I, Rozella Amerson Campbell would like to be elected/remain Secretary/Treasurer
of the American Blind Bowling Association, Inc. My past performance speaks to
my qualifications.
I have the time to devote to all of the duties of a Secretary/ Treasurer. I
have the personality to communicate with members and I have the skills to
conduct the business of ABBA.
I would greatly appreciate you putting my name up for nomination.
Rozella Amerson Campbell
ABBA Secretary Treasurer
**Grammatical changes have been made to the Intent Letters
by The Blind Bowler editor.**
Article submitted by
~Chairperson Thomas Lester Past President~
70 YEARS AGO
Jackie Robinson took to the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers becoming the first
African-American to play in Major League Baseball.
CIA was established.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30th in Thal, Styria, Austria.
Walter Morrison invents the Frisbee.
The classic holiday film "Miracle on 34th Street" premieres.
A gallon of Gas cost 15 cents.
CLOSING WORDS
I hope you have found the information included in this issue informative. Your
comments and ideas are always welcomed, so contact me if you have thoughts to
share. Please submit articles for the April edition by March 15, 2017 via email
to mrs.metcalfe625@xxxxxxxxx. The Blind Bowler request can be sent via email
or mail: PO Box 19516, Chicago, IL 60619. If you need to speak with me, I can
be reached at 773-860-4490. Please inform me of email and/or address changes as
soon as possible. I look forward to hearing from you!
~ Theresa Metcalfe, editor~
12
***
Colorado Blind Bowling Association
http://www.coblindbowling.org
We cand really use your help!
Go Fund me:
https://www.gofundme.com/2dfzb98s
