2014 USBC Convention comes to a close

Elected to the USBC board on Friday were (from left): Karl Kielich of El Paso, Texas; Marci Williams of Wichita, Kan.; Jo Dimond of Columbus, Ohio; and Robert Spigner of Chicago.
 
RENO, Nev. –
Delegates elected four board members and decided eight legislative proposals on Friday, the final day of the 2014 United States Bowling Congress Convention and Annual Meeting.

Delegates took part in seminars, heard from industry leaders and saw the presentation of national awards during the USBC Convention that started Tuesday.
    
On Friday, the delegates heard from USBC President Andrew Cain and USBC Interim Executive Director Chad Murphy before voting on four open spots on the USBC board.

Current board members Jo Dimond of Columbus, Ohio, Marci Williams of Wichita, Kan., and Robert Spigner of Chicago were elected to the USBC Board of Directors and will be joined by Karl Kielich of El Paso, Texas, who served a two-year term on the board from 2011-2013. The board members will begin their three-year terms Aug. 1.

Each of the four board members elected Friday were selected on the first ballot. Six candidates, each slated by the USBC Nominating Committee, were on the ballot and a candidate needed a majority of the 825 eligible voting delegates for election.

Spigner led the voting with 564 votes followed by Williams (528), Dimond (506), Kielich (460), Jay Daryman (378) of York, Pa., and Brian Bulko (309) of El Paso, Texas.

Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., recently was re-elected to a second term to the USBC Board by the Athletes Advisory Council. The athletes also elected Rhino Page of Dade City, Fla., to replace Tony Manna Jr., who is completing his third and final term. Board members are limited to three terms. Athletes who have been Team USA members in the past 10 years were eligible to vote to determine the athlete representatives to the board.

The 825 voting delegates (794 association delegates, eight athletes and 23 board members) voted on six proposals relating to USBC bylaws (two were withdrawn), one proposal relating to league rules, and one proposal related to tournament rules during the legislative session. USBC bylaws proposals required a two-thirds vote to pass while league rules and tournament rules required a majority vote.

Five proposals (one league rule, one tournament league rule and three USBC bylaws) were accepted and three proposals (USBC bylaws) were rejected. Please see below for the proposed amendments and the voting results.

USBC also showcased its significant financial support of charitable causes during Convention week.

USBC Bowl for the Cure received a late donation of $25,000 from Barb Chrisman and Storm Products to reach its Your Roll to a Million goal set last year. The late contribution pushed the total donation to Susan G. Komen For The Cure over the $1 million mark to $1,000,427.09.

In 2014, USBC Bowl for the Cure eclipsed the $10 million mark in total donations to Susan G. Komen For The Cure. Go to BOWL.com/BFTC for more information on Bowl for the Cure.

The Bowlers to Veterans Link, which raised more than $823,000 for America’s active-duty and veteran service men and women, recognized the top state and local associations for their contributions during the 2012-2013 season.

The top BVL state contributors for the season were California ($129,766.33), Virginia ($45,276.90) and Texas ($39,928.71). For local associations, Citrus Belt USBC was the top contributor with $23,026.57 followed by Minneapolis USBC with $15,466.87 and Nation’s Capital Area USBC with $15,319. Go to BOWL.com/Convention and click on the Committee reports for the 2014 BVL Report that has the top 50 state and local association contributors. Go to BowlForVeterans.org for more information on BVL.

RESULTS OF 2014 USBC ANNUAL MEETING LEGISLATIVE SESSION
League Rules (majority needed)

Amendment No. LR 1 – Accepted (700 accept, 62 reject)
Rule 115a. Dismissal of a League Officer or Player, Item 2
Allows notice and a copy of the complaint to be sent via email.

Tournament Rules (majority needed)
Amendment No. TR 1 – Accepted (501 accept, 265 reject)
Rule 313. Free or Reduced Entries
Allows option for tournament managers to change the amount of prize money when offering reduced entries.

Bylaws (two-third votes needed)
Amendment No. B 1 (amended) – Accepted (590 accept, 161 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article VI, Meetings
Section A, Annual Meeting. Item 4b
Removes the maximum restriction on local dues and allows for the local Board of Directors to determine the dues.
Amendment to B1: Requires the local membership to approve the change in dues – Accepted (463 accept, 297 reject)

Amendment No. B 2 –Rejected (266 accept, 491 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article III, Membership and Dues
Section B, Dues
Changes local dues maximum from $10 to $15.

Amendment No. B 3 – Withdrawn by proposer
USBC National Bylaws
Article III, Membership and Dues
Section B, Dues
Removes the current local dues maximum. If the local dues are at or above $10, dues cannot be raised more than $2 per fiscal year.
 
Amendment No. B 4 – Accepted (522 accept, 240 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article III, Membership and Dues
Section B, Dues
Changes state dues maximum from $1 to $5.

Amendment No. B 5 – Withdrawn by proposer
USBC National Bylaws
Article III, Membership and Dues
Section B, Dues
Removes the current state dues maximum. If the state dues are at or above $1, dues cannot be raised more than $2 per fiscal year.

Amendment No. B 6 – Rejected (114 accept, 644 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article III, Membership and Dues
Section B, Dues
Changes national dues maximum from $10 to $7 and increases local maximum dues from $10 to $13.

Amendment No. B 7 – Rejected (158 accept, 598 reject)
USBC Merged Local Bylaws
Article IV, Membership and Dues
When membership is purchased after March 15th, it includes the balance of the current season and the next.

Amendment No. B 8 – Accepted (662 accept, 92 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article IV, Board of Directors
Section A, Eligibility
Reduces the number of delegate directors to nine.