IT’S A 4-PEAT FOR BCM IN NATIONAL WRITING COMPETITION

Is there even such a thing as a “4-peat”? There is now, as for the fourth consecutive year, Bowling Center Management magazine has swept the awards in the Business category of the International Bowling Media Association Writing Competition.

BCM Editor Bob Johnson earned the first-place place award and senior correspondent Barry Sparks claimed the second-place and honorable-mention prizes.

Johnson’s winning article focused on the state of the global bowling industry and was the May issue’s cover story. The white paper included the insights of 11 leaders of manufacturing and distributing companies, assessing where the industry has been, where it was at the time, and what the future holds in store.

Sparks, who has been contributing to BCM for much of the magazine’s history, garnered his runner-up prizes in the Business category for his informative “how-to” features on planning a laser tag arena and designing a successful arcade.

BCM also fared well in the competition’s News division, with Johnson taking first place for his report on the re-opening of Just-in-Time Recreation. The story, titled, “Seeking Normalcy in Maine,” detailed how owners Justin and Samantha Juray made the decision to reopen their center in Lewiston after it had been the scene of a mass shooting the previous October, along with the emotion of the big day when customers were welcomed back. The story appeared in the June issue.

Johnson also claimed an honorable mention in the Feature division for his profile of Daroll and Dolores Frewing Scholarship recipient Azia Martin, which was the August issue’s cover story, and another honorable mention in the Editorial division for his piece titled, “The Healing Power of Bowling,” which focused on how a Georgia bowling center offered free bowling to local high school students when their campus was closed following a shooting incident. Those awards brought Johnson’s total for the 2024 competition to four and his career total to 99.

“I won’t deny that winning awards is nice,” Johnson said, “but especially at this point in my career, it’s much more about positioning BCM as the leader in bowling business journalism. Everything we do in BCM is for the benefit of bowling proprietors, and having our writers sweep the Business awards four years in a row — and win two other awards in other categories this year — makes a pretty strong case. I’m grateful for all our writers who share BCM’s commitment to delivering informative and worthwhile stories, month after month, year after year.”