Bowlers Journal International - January 2008 - (Page 40) PERSON OF THE YEAR BY DENNIS BERGENDORF HE'S REINVENTING USBC AND HE'S NOT DONE YET Jeff Bojé is committed to getting things done, but patience isn't one of his virtues. A FEW DAYS AFTER JEFF BOJÉ WAS selected Person of the Year by Bowlers Journal International, the USBC president had to slip away from his re-certification training as a certified public accountant to honor an interview request. Bojé’s professional life began as an accountant, and to keep his license, the state of Florida demands 40 hours of continuing education every two years. That alone would be about a week’s worth of work for most mortals. But "mortal" is not one of the adjectives often used to describe Jeff Bojé. Look up the word “busy” in your Funk & Wagnall’s and don’t be surprised to see a photo of the CPA/USBC President/ BPAA Board member/bowler/bowling proprietor/husband and father-of-five. How does he do it? “I don’t know myself,” he says with a laugh, tinged with a hint of resignation. In the past five months, Bojé has taken the reins of USBC, the sport’s governing body, has continued to shape BPAA’s direction while maintaining a spot on its Board, has done some work for the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, The Foundation, the National Bowling Forum and the Bowling Centers Association of Florida (yes, he’s on those boards, too), and has overseen operations at his two bowling centers: Sunset Lanes in St. Louis and Brandon Crossroads Bowl in Tampa. Oh, and he was also in the middle of building a third establishment, a mega family entertainment complex with a price tag upwards of $8 million. Yes, Jeff Bojé’s plate sloppeth over. So it’s no wonder that one of his longterm projects is putting USBC and BPAA under the same roof, where the two most important organizations in the game can reduce the teeth-grinding delays in communication and action. But while Bojé may be a firm 40 bowlers journal international believer in strategic planning, there’s something about the concept of long-term that seems to rankle this go-go executive. He wants things done now. (And his admitted impatience has led to at least a small degree of friction with the man with whom he works most closely, USBC’s Interim Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Dornberger.) It’s been said that if you want something done, give the project to a busy person. Dozens of industry insiders apparently buy into that, having chosen the 44-year-old as bowling's most powerful man (BJI’s Power Poll, October). The overriding sentiment was that he deserved the award because his track record shows results, not mere talk. Ditto BJI’s Person of the Year honor. Make no mistake: Jeff Bojé is no USBC figurehead. With the organization searching for a permanent CEO, he put most decisions in the hands of his three-person Executive Committee (Vice President Darlene Baker and former President Mike Carroll round out the team). They meet via conference call once a week. Interestingly, he wants to continue the Executive Committee approach to decision-making even after a CEO is in place, saying, “A non-profit like ours can benefit from this kind of oversight.” Publicly, Dornberger is satisfied with the structure, but does say that Bojé has been “a bit unpredictable,” and that the two are “learning” to work together: “Jeff has the ability to come up with off-the-wall stuff that leads to productivity, or confusion.” But he says Bojé is an asset: “He understands that we must be run as a business.” Dornberger assumed the Interim COO position when then-CEO Roger Dalkin abruptly resigned in late July. When asked if he’d requested the resignation, Bojé declines to answer, instead referring the questioner to USBC's brief news release, which was long on praise for Dalkin’s 30 years of service, but short on specifics. (Bojé also says emphatically that Dalkin should be in the USBC Hall of Fame.) But Bojé’s arrival undoubtedly played a role in the big shake-up at HQ, coinciding with Dalkin’s resignation and the announced retirements of Chief Tournaments/Events Officer Roseann Kuhn and Board member Sylvia Broyles (who had been a candidate JANUARY 2008
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