BERGENDORF LEADS BCM TEAM IN WRITING COMPETITION

Bowling Center Management’s all-star cast of writers claimed seven awards in the 2020 writing competition conducted by the International Bowling Media Association.

In the key Business category, Dennis Bergendorf claimed the first-place prize for his story on a BPAA past president (“Ducat Does It His Way”) that appeared in the November issue of BCM. The story detailed the thinking behind Michael Ducat’s conversion of a conventional bowling center into a family entertainment center. Bergendorf also won one other award in the competition.

BCM Editor Bob Johnson also picked up a pair of awards — the 79th and 80th of his career, a record. He earned a runner-up award in the Editorial division for his column titled, “Bowling Is Not Non-essential,” a commentary on how state governments categorized bowling centers during the pandemic. And his story on how residents of a small town in eastern Washington organized a massive parking lot sale to save their local center garnered an honorable mention in the Feature category.

Johnny Campos collected the Feature division’s runner-up prize and the Business division’s honorable mention, while Lyle Zikes won the Editorial division for his commentary on the sport side of string machines.

Others winning awards in the competition were Jef Goodger (two), Gianmarc Manzione (two) and J.R. Schmidt.