Our association consists of 21 directors, 3 Vice Presidents, a
Sergeant-at-Arms, a President and an Association Manager. Each of our members,
excluding our Manager, is a volunteer and is elected for a two-year term. Each
director is assigned to at least one of our standing committees that may meet
up to 4 times per season. These directors and officers are also assigned a
bowling center to communicate with about programs, tournaments and special
events that are run or administered by our Association. Each director/officer
meets with their respective center proprietor or staff several times per season
in an attempt to help them in any way that we can.
One of the most important duties of the GM-USBC-BA is to help to promote
bowling in the Milwaukee area.
This year we hosted a Level 1 Coaching clinic. We offered a free
registration to each of the 25 schools in the Milwaukee District of High School
Bowling and one free registration to each bowling center in the Milwaukee area.
Directors Jeff Henry and Roger Dalkin taught the clinic that was hosted at AMF
Bowlero. Dwight Albrecht also provided a bowling equipment history presentation
and a very informative overview of today’s bowling balls and the differences
between them. We are also in the process of setting a date for a bronze level
coaching clinic in the spring of 2012.
We have also been involved with the In-School Bowling program along with
the Bowling Proprietors Association of Milwaukee. This program is being taught
in schools to elementary grades in more than 100 Milwaukee area schools to more
than 25,000 students each year. We support the Junior Hall of Fame tournament
each November. This tournament pairs Milwaukee area junior bowlers with area
Hall of Famers and local bowling stars and celebrities. We support the Triple
Crown of Bowling and have our own scholarships for Milwaukee area youth
bowlers, which are given at our Annual Awards banquet. We run a Mixed Doubles
Tournament, a Classic Team Tournament, City Tournament (Team, Doubles and
Singles) and a Senior Mixed Team Tournament. Each year we add additional prize
money to each of these events to ensure a great experience to our members.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our directors for
the time and effort they donate to the bowlers in the Milwaukee area.
This years’ promotion budget was a little over $25,000 and we are always
looking to support the sport we all believe in.
Keep the ball rolling,
Don Hildebrand
President GM-USBC-BA
President’s Message
April 18, 2011
This past Sunday, April
17, 2011, your association held its Annual Meeting. This meeting is where you,
as a member of the GM-USBC-BA, can learn about the workings of our
organization, voice your concerns and vote for officers for the 2011-2012
season. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dan Mettille and Mark Gabrielson for their contributions this year. Both had to
leave the board for personal reasons but hope to return again in the future. We
did replace them on the Executive Board with Jeff Selec as Vice-President ofPublic Relations and Greg Gomez as Vice-President of Events. Jack
Giesfeldt remains Executive VP and Ed
Krug remains as Sgt.-at-Arms. Re-elected
to 2 year terms were Roy Brent, Mike Malison, Prather Momon, Ralph
Schrubbe, Elbert Williams, Mike Pagel and
Tom Sadowski. We also elected 3 new
directors in Shannon Labinski, Morris Laster and Roger Dalkin. This league season is quickly
coming to an end but it is never too early to prepare for bowling next fall.
Now is the time to elect officers for next season that will help to get your
league ready for a good start. I know it seems that summer will never get here
but be sure to set dates for meetings and first nights as schedules do fill up fast.
Be sure to send in your averages as soon as possible so they can all be
included in the 2011-12 average book. Joining a short season summer league is a
great way to stay “bowling ready” for next season.
We will be hosting our Night of Champions Dinner at Klemmer’s Banquet Center, on Oklahoma Avenue, on
Wednesday May 11, 2011. Cash bar begins at 6:00 PM with dinner and awards at
6:30 PM. All of our City Champs will be invited, as will this year’s junior
scholarship winners. The winner of the 2011 Frank Baker $3000 scholarship is Travis
Brellenthin from Menomonee Falls High
School and the winner of the $1500 GM-USBC-BA scholarship is Kevin
Roach from Milwaukee Lutheran High School.
Congratulations to both of our winners!
We have our houses and dates set for our City Tournaments in 2011-2012.
The Team event will be held at New Berlin Bowl and Doubles and Singles will be
held at AMF West Allis. The Mixed Couples Tournament will be at the Elk’s Club
and our 55 and Over Tournament will be at Highland Lanes. The site for the
Classic Team Tournament is undetermined at this time.
We also approved two new programs for next season. In an effort to
promote bowling in the Milwaukee area we will be hosting a Level 1 coaching
seminar in mid-September. We will be offering a free registration to local high
school teams and Milwaukee bowling centers to help improve coaching in the
area. We will also be hosting bowling clinics for juniors during the holiday
break next December.
Have a great summer and keep the ball rolling,
Don Hildebrand, President GM-USBC-BA
President's Message - December 2010
Welcome to the halfway point of the season. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Already this year we have had a busy time with leagues starting, Thanksgiving, turkey shoots, tournaments and the holiday season is now upon us. We have had two board meetings, Hall of Fame dinner and inductions, held committee meetings and also participated in several tournaments.
The Junior/Hall of Fame tournament was held November 14th at Bowlero. This event featured more than 60 teams, comprised of Hall of Famers, local and regional bowling celebrities and more than 100 local junior stars. Congratulations go to Jill Weber, Jacob Schwefel and Tyler Tschetter for their 1st place finish. Thanks to Shannon Labinski and her staff for their hard work in organizing and operating this one of a kind event.
We have also completed the first two legs of the Triple Crown of Bowling. The Milwaukee Open Match Game Championship was held in late October. Dale Traber fought his way to his second championship in the eighth year of this event, started and administered by Bob Greenfield tournament director. The second leg, the 16th Annual Wisconsin Championship Doubles, was held December 5th and featured 88 doubles teams from throughout Milwaukee and the surrounding areas. Congrats go to Rick Hara and Dave Armstrong from Illinois for winning this year’s event. Thanks go out to Doug Schmidt for an excellent job of promoting and running the event. The final event in this series is the Greater Milwaukee USBC BA Classic Open Tournament. This will be the 30th edition of the event and will be held January 31st at AMF West Lanes. Entries close Thursday January 27th so sign up today.
Speaking of the Milwaukee Bowling Hall of Fame we had three new inductees this year. Congratulations to our skilled division inductees Ron Vokes and Tony Roventini and our meritorious inductee Gary Scherbarth. All three were inducted on Sunday October 29th at the Hall of Fame dinner held in their honor. Thank you for your many contributions to the Milwaukee bowling scene.
Although we are very busy it is time to start thinking about your tournament schedule for City, State and Nationals. We have team, doubles, singles, seniors and couples events at all levels. City Couples starts January 8 and will be held at Highland Lanes on weekends during January. Our City Championships, team and doubles and singles, will start January 30th and conclude February 27th. The annual Proprietors squad will be held February 13th. The City Championships will be held at Classic Lanes in the Falls and Olympic Lanes. Our 27th annual 55 and Over Team Tournament will be held during the month of March at Riviera Lanes.
State Tournament is in Waukesha this year and opens on January 8th. Please contact the State Association at 262-253-0623 for open dates and times.
Don’t forget to visit your local pro shops for all your holiday needs and remember your local bowling centers for your holiday fun. Keep the ball rolling! Happy Holidays and a safe holiday season to all!
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all Milwaukee bowlers back for another season of strikes, spares, splits, and misses. I hope everyone has been working on his or her games to increase the first two and cut down on the last ones.
I have been involved on this board since the 2005 season and still have a lot to learn about its purpose and operation. Your association consists of an Association Manager, President, 3 Vice Presidents, Sgt at Arms and 22 directors. You will find a complete listing of names and positions on this website under GMBA - Directors. New board members this year are Jeff Henry, Steve Zimdars and Joe Natoli. Welcome to the team!
The purpose of the association it is defined in our Mission Statement.
“The Greater Milwaukee-USBC-Bowling Association ensures the integrity and protects the future of the sport, provides programs and services, and enhances the bowling experience.”
To accomplish this we help with the organization of leagues, certify the playing surfaces and pins, help interpret the rules, administer our City tournaments, sponsor the Triple Crown in Milwaukee, publish average books, promote bowling through awarding scholarships and supporting programs such as In-School Bowling along with many other programs to help grow our sport.
Last season we awarded two scholarships to deserving youth bowlers in the Milwaukee area. The $2000 Frank Baker Scholarship went to Vincent Yaccarino and the $1000 GMBA Scholarship went to Joshua Sanders.
Please check our website for the dates and times of our City Couples, Open Team Championship, City Team and Doubles and Singles. Watch for announcements for the Senior Mixed team Event.
I look forward to serving Milwaukee area bowlers and hope to meet many of you during my term. Remember, your association is here for you.
