This is the first in a series of “what’s right with bowling” features that originally appeared in the “Karma” section of the November issue of BCM. Additional stories will go live on December 11, 18, 25 and 31.
BY KARI WILLIAMS
When Charles Smith moved to Beeville to help run his family’s bowling center, Beeville Family Fun Center, he’d already had a varied career. His sports entertainment jobs have included front-office work for the Cleveland Cavaliers, writing stories as a secondary reporter for an ABC-TV affiliate in St. Louis, and running the ticket department for the San Antonio Missions baseball team, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
But he also has experience as a Texas probation officer, having worked for five years at a juvenile correctional facility near San Antonio and another five years at a correctional facility near Corpus Christi. One might think he would have disparaging things to say about that decade of his life. But on the contrary, Smith says he felt that the time he spent in corrections, especially working with juveniles, was a meaningful experience.
“A lot of them were looking for stability and leadership that they weren’t offered at home or in their community,” he explains. “It provided me an opportunity to be a leader and help with the stress that they were under.”
Now, as a bowling proprietor, Smith says he sees his role as a community leader no differently.
Beeville Family Fun Center is a place of business, but it also is a vehicle of community support. The center provides a variety of sponsorships for local youth sports leagues and teacher appreciation activities for nearby school systems. It also supports summer reading programs at local libraries and offers free bowling to seniors each Tuesday throughout the year.
But Smith’s work with a state-funded employment program is especially impactful. Over the past year and a half, he has been working with the Texas Workforce Commission to offer jobs to inexperienced youth and those with significant barriers to employment.
Though the funds funnel through state workforce programs, the initiative was born nationally with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Signed into law in 2014, this act established a range of programs and services that help people who need jobs and assist employers in hiring and retaining skilled workers.
For Smith, the TWC selects candidates to interview with the center. They are hired on a short-term basis, between six and 18 weeks. Wages, uniforms, related certifications, training and gas money for work travel all are covered by the program for the allotted period.
“We haven’t rejected a candidate yet,” Smith says. “Because of our setup, we have four or five different job duties, so we try to find work for all of them.”
Of the seven people he has contracted with TWC, he ultimately offered jobs to six.
Although this is an active program utilized by the TWC, the WIOA is a national program in which the governor of each state must submit a multi-year plan that’s made available to the public. Each state has a different plan setup for what is covered. Smith suggests that proprietors reach out to their state workforce solution office to learn more.
When asked what challenges he has encountered during the process, Smith quickly shared that high schoolers are the individuals that need the most guidance — but he sees their growth as equally compelling.
“We encourage them to take ownership of what they do — their work habits and accountability — (things) that I don’t think anyone has ever held them to before.”
Smith says it’s fulfilling to see their personal growth and be a part of their journey to become adults.
“The understanding that they have the power to control their own future — it’s a hard lesson to teach, but I’ve seen the benefits,” Smith says. “I just want to continue to be a part of it.”
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