International Bowl Expo 2007 - a smashing success

By Joe Lyou (Tenpin Slants)

By all accounts, International Bowl Expo 2007 was a smashing success. Staged annually by the BPAA (Bowling Proprietors' Assn. of America), which is celebrating its 75th (diamond) anniversary this year, Bowl Expo was held June 23-28 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, Casino & Convention Center.

Hall of Fame writer Dick Evans reports that 5,538 individuals attended the '07 Bowl Expo. That's a remarkable 6% increase over last year and included proprietors, bowlers and writers from several foreign countries. Evans' best comment, I thought, was his suggestion that "the giant Mandalay Bay complex could use walking sidewalks." It must've been a quarter of a mile—at least—from the hotel lobby to the Convention Center. It was a very busy week for more than 80 members of the BWAA (Bowling Writers' Assn. of America), which was staging its annual convention in conjunction with Bowl Expo. What made the BWAA Convention and Bowl Expo so successful, to me, were the people there. It started with the Columbia 300 dinner, hosted by Hall of Famer Jowdy. For decades, this dinner has been the highlight of BWAA Convention week…and this year was no exception. The reason was the presentation of the BWAA's three most prestigious awards. First, the Rip Van Winkle Award, honoring an individual whose bowling accomplishment has gone unrecognized for 20 years, went to Reg Pearson, the man most responsible for the creation of the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. This award is being discontinued by the BWAA, causing Pearson to remark that he was happy he was selected "even though I'm the last person to receive it." The BWAA Remo Picchietti Humanitarian Award was presented to Joan Romeo, who owns a successful public relations and advertising firm, The Marketing Team, of Van Nuys, Calif. Joan, the mother of USBC Hall of Famer Robin Romeo, was so surprised that all she could say was an emotional "thank you" as she accepted the award, which was well deserved. The Mort Luby Sr. BWAA Hall of Fame Award went to Hazel McLeary. It was also announced that McLeary had been reelected president of the BWAA and Dick Evans was reelected vice president. Should Evans succeed McLeary as BWAA president at next year's convention in Orlando, Fla., it will mark his third term as head of the bowling writers, a record. Evans, by the way, was honored at Bowl Expo when he was presented the BWAA's V.A. (Chief) Wapensky Award for his journalistic skills. Not only is Evans the most prolific bowling writer in the country (world?), but he is the ultimate investigative reporter. The guy's a bulldog when on the scent of a story. Another Bowl Expo highlight was when John Sommer, the very modest proprietor from Rockford, Ill., was presented the Vic Lerner Award, qualifying him as the newest member of the BPAA Hall of Fame. Sommer gave a heartfelt acceptance speech, which he ended by imploring the bowling industry to back a new women's pro tour. Sommer, who founded the PWBA (Professional Women's Bowling Assn.) Tour, spent $3 million of his own money to finance the tour for two decades before pulling the plug in 2003. I was delighted when I saw Kim Terrell at Bowl Expo. Terrell was recently appointed head coach of the women's bowling program at Delaware State University, located in the city of Dover. Terrell is a perfect fit for the job. The native of San Francisco was a two-time All-American at San Jose State, a Team USA member for two years, and won nine PWBA titles, including two majors, the 2001 Women's U.S. Open and 2002 WIBC (now USBC) Queens. Terrell is also a USBC collegiate spokesperson and served as a junior Team USA assistant coach for the past four years. She plans to continue her USBC duties while coaching at Delaware State. "Will you have to move to Delaware?" I asked Terrell. "Yes," she replied, "but I won't mind because my husband works in Washington, D.C., which isn't too far (from Delaware)." Terrell will do a great job at Delaware State, and I'm predicting that she'll produce an NCAA title contending team within three years. I had another wonderful experience at Bowl Expo. I happened to be sitting by myself when a beautiful woman asked if it was okay for her to sit down next to me. "Sure," I said…then I did a double-take. It was Cheryl (Kominsky) Robinson, whom I hadn't seen in more than 20 years. I knew Cheryl when she was about 13 and one of Southern California's top junior bowlers. As a member of the Greater L.A. Junior All-Star Travel League, Cheryl would write about the weekly high scores. She would bring the stories to me for publication in the California Bowling News, as I was the CBN's editor at the time. As a vivacious young adult, Cheryl met and married Jay Robinson, a fine bowler who was a member of the SoCal Hall of Fame (as was Cheryl). For a couple of years, the happy couple owned and operated Hemet Bowl, a venture that was doomed to failure because of an absurd (much too expensive) lease. Jay went to work for the Don Carter chain, first in Texas and then in Florida. Some time later, Jay was appointed as a regional bowling manager by AMF. But when AMF changed hands, Jay found himself without a job. Jay wasn't jobless for long. He was hired by BPAA President Joe Schumacker to run two of his centers, one of which is Jay's current headquarter near Memphis, Tenn. Cheryl had some physical problems a few years ago, but I'm pleased to report that she looks radiant. She looks much too young to be a grandmother, which she is. Cheryl beamed as she showed me pictures of her 11-week-old granddaughter. Of course, both Cheryl and Jay think they have "the cutest baby in the world."