Bowlers Journal International - January 2008 - (Page 41) PERSON OF THE YEAR for President herself — twice). Within days, another 11 department heads and assistants were terminated. Bojé says it was all part of the continuing consolidation process, but he readily admits that significant streamlining remains as USBC develops a workforce he insists must be more in tune with 21st Century bowling. “It will probably mean eliminating — and adding — even more positions,” he says. Bojé has been in office only five months, but that doesn’t soothe the disappointment he feels when noting that some things he set out to change haven’t been changed. Yet. “I start each week thinking, ‘Gosh darn, I thought I’d have done that by now.’ It’s been a bit frustrating, because I want to get things done quicker than circumstances allow,” he admits. One of those circumstances is a USBC bureaucracy that, in the past, moved with glacial slowness. He says he doesn’t like to criticize, but laments that “some of the staff are removed from the game and sport [and] from the everyday life of leagues and what is going on in bowling.” He believes the slow pace of decision-making has meant that some youth programs are still short of a point where “the rubber meets the road.” Also, a Congress-wide job performance review has taken months longer than planned. Bojé commissioned a feasibility study on the move of Bowling Headquarters to a more southern (less expensive) location. That, too, has gone over schedule. “The Milwaukee area has very high taxes,” he says. "Half our dues are spent on personnel. Salaries, wages, and benefits are maybe 20% higher than in a more economicallybeneficial part of the country.” Then there’s the related matter of getting USBC and BPAA in the same building to improve communication, efficiency and effectiveness. He cites joint projects that drag on and on while officials play telephone tag. “It’s like a long-distance marriage between husband and wife,” he says. “It usually doesn’t work out.” The Tampa resident has had to settle on a long-distance relationship of sorts with his 24-lane St. Louis center, although day-to-day operations are handled by his cousin, Dave Seckel, manager for nearly 20 years (Jeff’s father, Bill, also keeps his hand in). Now comes a third center, 30 miles from the company office, with the trendy name, “The Alley at Southshore.” The 32-laner is a state-of-the-art FEC, with a private suite, huge game room and even an ice cream parlor, but Bojé says leagues will be a major component. “Both of our existing centers have among the highest number of league bowlers per lane in their respective markets,” he says, and he doesn’t want “The Alley” to be the exception, at least in the Monday-Thursday period (increasingly a center’s league week). Bojé says the fact that he and his family are investing nearly $8 million in the new center is “an indication of our faith and confidence in bowling. It’s a great industry and a great sport.” The Alley will have leagues, but it won’t host weekend tournaments; he can’t afford to give up open play linage of more than four bucks a pop, despite his commitment to the sport. And he doesn’t deny the apparent conflict. “We can’t make nearly as much money [from tournaments] as we can from other activities,” he explains. “But as USBC President and a bowling enthusiast, I want to see [competition] promoted. Do I have an answer to this? No. There is no easy answer.” Bojé is encouraged by the thawing of relations between the industry and the PBA. There were fundamental misunderstandings, he says, especially regarding sponsor revenue generated by Strike Ten, but he says those misunderstandings are being rectified. Having worn two hats, Bojé believes the PBA is more valuable to the USBC than to the proprietors because of its role in growing the sport. “I think it validates bowling as a sport with the general population,” he says, adding that it’s especially important in legitimizing bowling in the eyes of youth. Heading the list for 2008? Doing whatever it takes to make the USBC more responsive to its members and future members, along with making the game more profitable for those who earn their living in bowling. Not to mention another dozen things he wants to accomplish now. To borrow the slogan from the late James Brown, tackling those projects will keep Jeff Bojé the “hardest working man in the bowling business.” ALSO EARNING STRONG CONSIDERATION CAREFUL PERSON OF THE YEAR consideration also was given to several other folks. Under Steve Wunderlich’s guidance, Sport Bowling exploded, jumping from just over 10,000 certified members to more than 40,000 in one season. Wunderlich may not have developed the PBA Experience concept himself, but he was in charge. Coach John Williamson created the women’s bowling program at Vanderbilt University in 2004, and three years later had his studentathletes at the White House, where President Bush honored them as NCAA national champions. As head of Strike Ten Entertainment, Frank DeSocio helped plug a gaping hole in bowling’s sponsorship umbrella, inking Budweiser as a Bowl Expo sponsor, a major step forward. Steven Foster’s Lucky Strike Lanes continued to set the standard for the bowling lounge format — and raise the bar for what proprietors could be charging for premium time slots. Missy Bellinder wasn’t the only woman to claim a PBA Regional title, but she did win two of them. The Brunswick staffer and former Team USA member proved to be a formidable foe in several international events as well. Finally, USBC's Tom Clark was considered for his second such honor by engineering the PBA Women’s Series and helping the PBA launch its Shootout at Six Flags. — D.B. bowlers journal international 41 JANUARY 2008
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