New York Supports BVL

Bill Palumbo, Assn. Mgr.
Buffalo, NY

One opportunity for bowlers to support BVL is through the USBC Honor Score Awards. That is, if a bowler wishes to forgo his or her award for a 300 game recognition, for instance, the cost of that award can be forwarded to BVL as a personal contribution. Since the inception of this program, tens of thousands of dollars have been sent to BVL, proving the opportunity to brighten the days and boost the spirits of recuperating veterans nationwide.

Greater Buffalo USBC Association Manager Bill Palumbo took this idea and brought it one step further, creating a world of good for veterans while at the same time recognizing those honor scores which were never applied for by his bowlers. Bill explains, “I was actually looking for a way for the bowler's honor scores to appear on bowl.com even though they never turned in an application.  I felt their scores should be in their records even though they chose not to apply for an award.

“We had a pile of Honor Score Awards which, for one reason or another, our bowlers never decided to act on,” Bill says. “Our association is a supporter of BVL and we believe in what they do for our veterans, so it just seemed to make sense to take care of these aging awards and support BVL.”

It’s a great idea with great results…. Pssst! Pass it on!!! Thanks, Bill, for your creative thinking.

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Joe Martuscelli and Bill Collins
Rockland County, NY

It was an easy decision, really, explains Joe Martuscelli… he sat down with friend and fellow bowler Bill Collins and talked about the fact that their area hadn’t been supporting the BVL effort. “BVL was big in our association, but it just seemed to die off,” said Bill. “Joe said to me, ‘Let’s get it going again. We know everyone wants to support our troops and our veterans.’ ”

Joe was passionate about the BVL cause. “It’s not about if you’re for the war or against the war; it’s about the troops. It’s an opportunity for us to give something back,” says Joe.

Bill didn’t need any convincing. He is the BVL State Chair in New York, and knows first hand about the good things done with BVL funding. Bill, too, had just lost a nephew in the Iraq war.

So, together, they came up with a simple plan: tell the bowlers about BVL and ask for their support. They put the program together in a week’s time. It worked. At the end of their three week campaign, they’d raised almost $3,400 – exceeding their goal by $400.

They went to the three bowling centers in their area and asked for permission to run the program. Each of the proprietors enthusiastically agreed. They asked each of the three pro shops to provide a gift certificate or a ball. They agreed. Then, they set up a BVL table for a week at each of their bowling centers. They showed the BVL DVD of “Re-Creation” singing the National Anthem. Before each league, they talked to the bowlers about BVL and then went lane to lane to sell tickets for the pro shop raffle and ask for donations.

Thanks to the bowlers at Pearl River Lanes, Hi-Tor Lanes and New City Bowl, along with Bill’s wife Joyce and friend Pat Knight, their first crack at the BVL bat was a home run.

“It was a lot easier than we thought,” remarked Bill. “People were very supportive. With just a little bit of effort, we exceeded our expectations. Now, we’re already planning to make this campaign even bigger and better!”

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