BCM SCORES CLEAN SWEEP IN BUSINESS DIVISION OF NATIONAL WRITING COMPETITION

Bowling Center Management (BCM) magazine writers scored a clean sweep in the Business Division of the 2021 International Bowling Media Association Writing Competition.

Dennis Bergendorf garnered the first-place prize for his “One of Us” feature on the Huikko family of Buffalo, Minn., which has transformed an eight-lane bowling center into a multi-attraction special-event destination. Les and Marlene Huikko bought the establishment, then known as Newt’s Buffalo Bowl, in 1997, and 10 years later began the expansion work as second-generation family members came on board. Included is a special-events center that has hosted everything from weddings to funerals. (Yes, you read that correctly.) The story appeared in the October 2021 issue of BCM.

Barry Sparks earned both the second-place and honorable mention awards in the Business Division for his in-depth stories on cashless technology and the masking revolution.

In the competition’s News Division, BCM Editor Bob Johnson claimed the first-place prize for his report on the 2021 edition of International Bowl Expo, which returned following a one-year “bye” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proprietor Andy Bartholomy summed up the importance of the gathering when he said, “We needed this.”

It was Johnson’s 81st national writing award, a record in the bowling industry.