New bowling association holds first membership meeting

Middletown — A membership meeting for bowlers in the Tri-County area, to elect a new board of directors for the newly-formed Tri-County New York United States Bowling Congress Association, will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, at the Middletown Elks Club at 48 Prospect St. in Middletown. The new association is replacing the Tri-State Women’s Bowling Association, the Sullivan County Men’s Bowling Association, and the Middletown Men’s Bowling Association. Eight area bowlers representing the transition team met on Sunday, Feb. 5, to name a nominating committee and begin work on establishment of jurisdictional boundaries, governance structures and association bylaws. The transition team includes: Vinnie Collura, Dean Shattuck, Mary Lee Williams, Linda Drew, Vera Green, Rudy Hoke, Michele Benley, and Dave Kinney. Members of the nominating committee include Corena Collura, Frank Muller, Ernie DeJesus, Jamie Willis, and Charlie Bensley. Men and women bowlers from Port Jervis Lanes, Minisink Lanes, Middletown Lanes, Liberty Lanes, Kiamesha Lanes, Callicoon Lanes, Beechwood Lanes, Ellenville Lanes, Frontier Lanes, and Hoe-Bowl Lanes in Walden are invited to this membership meeting. The first step in the formation of this new association took place on Sunday, Feb. 12, and subsequently all three local associations voted in favor of joining the new United States Bowling Congress. The new association will include 1,315 men from the Middletown Men’s Association, 533 men from the Sullivan County Men’s Association, 1,554 women from the Tri-State Women’s Bowling Association, and 565 youth from the Mid-Area Young American Bowling Alliance. The United States Bowling Congress was created in May 2004 when the American Bowling Congress, the Women’s International Bowling Congress, and the Young American Bowling Alliance voted to merge into a single membership organization for the sport of bowling. The congress’ major goal is to become the central brand for bowling in the United States. They intend to work to get bowling into the Olympics. For more information, call 794-1172.