Delegates elected, from left, Anthony Colangelo, Bo Goergen and Lowell Lovgren to the USBC Board of Directors. Each starts a three-year term on Aug. 1.

LAS VEGAS – Delegates elected three board members and voted on eight legislative proposals as the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Convention and Annual Meeting came to a close Thursday at The Orleans.

The ballot for the USBC Board election had four candidates slated by the USBC Nominating Committee – Anthony Colangelo of Meridian, Idaho; Rich Foran of Billings, Montana; Bo Goergen of Sanford, Michigan; and Lowell Lovgren of Kelso, Washington – with candidate Richard Ramsey of Byers, Texas, running from the floor.

On the first ballot, Colangelo (637 votes), Goergen (629) and Lovgren (582) were elected, with Foran receiving 396 votes and Ramsey receiving 263. A candidate had to receive a majority of votes from the 972 eligible voters to be elected. The newly elected board members begin their three-year terms on Aug. 1, 2019.

Also joining the USBC Board starting with the 2019-2020 season will be new USBC Hall of Fame member Chris Barnes, who was elected by Team USA athletes earlier this year. He replaces Bill O’Neill, who did not seek another term.

Chris Floyd and Aaron Yuratovich are joining the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee, which also returns current members Melissa McDaniel and Chrissie Kent.

In addition to the board elections, delegates voted on eight proposed amendments, with three related to league rules, one for tournament rules and four proposals for bylaws.

Delegates approved a league rules amendment that will require a league secretary to furnish a list of individual averages to the local association manager within 15 days of a league’s completion, and then rejected two additional league rules proposals and a tournaments rule proposal. Two amendments to bylaws were approved, including allowing state delegates to determine if hall of fame members should have voting rights at the state annual meeting.

The 2019 USBC Convention also celebrated a special milestone, as it was the first convention in which every association was fully merged, and USBC announced a new award to recognize and celebrate an outstanding local association. Skagit Valley USBC of Burlington, Washington, was selected for the inaugural USBC Association Excellence Award, which was presented to association president Lonny Olson.

The presentation of national awards, including the Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award to Mabel Cummins of Elburn, Illinois, and the Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow Award to Trace Nuss of Tampa, Florida, also took place Thursday.

USBC President Karl Kielich and USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy presented their annual reports, and delegates heard reports from the USBC Strategic Planning Committee and from International Bowling Campus Youth Development.

During Convention week, delegates attended numerous seminars, including a presentation about the Registered Volunteer Program and SafeSport, featuring United States Olympic Committee Vice President of Athlete Safety Wendy Guthrie and Katie Hanna, Director of Education and Outreach for the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

The Bowlers to Veterans Link (BVL), which provides recreational and therapeutic programs and services to America’s active duty and veteran service men and women, made its annual presentation and announced it had raised just over $1.1 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs through contributions during the 2017-2018 season.

California was the top state association contributor to BVL with $106,488 while Metro Phoenix USBC again was the top local association contributor with $30,177. Visit BowlForVeterans.org to learn more about BVL.

Bowl for the Cure®, the year-round fundraising initiative sponsored by USBC in partnership with Susan G. Komen®, had its annual Meet for the Cure celebration and special luncheon for breast cancer survivors.

In 2020, the USBC Convention returns to The Orleans with the event scheduled to run from April 27-30.

Visit BOWL.com/Convention to learn more about the USBC Convention and Annual Meeting.

RESULTS OF 2019 USBC ANNUAL MEETING LEGISLATIVE SESSION
League Rules (majority needed)
Amendment No. LR 1 – Accepted (836 accept, 20 reject)
Rule 102e, Duties of the Secretary, Item 9
Furnish a list of individual averages to local association manager within 15 days of league’s completion.

Amendment No. LR 2 – Rejected (148 accept, 697 reject)
Rule 108b, Without Cause
If a player leaves a game without cause, player will receive a zero for frames missed and remaining games.

Amendment No. LR 3 – Rejected (112 accept, 729 reject)
Rule 122, Meetings
Requires every team captain to vote on rule changes, with approval of a majority.

Tournament Rules (majority needed)
Amendment No. TR 1 – Rejected (114 accept, 731 reject)
Rule 319a, Conditions that Apply
Allows bowlers with averages for both hands to choose which hand to use with the corresponding average.

Bylaws (two-third votes needed)
Amendment No. B 1 – Rejected (125 accept, 726 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article VI, Meetings
Section A., Annual Meeting
Allows for proxy and absentee ballots at the USBC Annual Meeting.

Amendment No. B 2 – Accepted (652 accept, 194 reject)
USBC National Bylaws
Article VIII, Amendments
Puts limits on the submission of an amendment from previous year.

Amendment No. B 3 – Accepted (767 accept, 84 reject)
USBC State Bylaws
Article VII, Meetings
Section A., Annual Meeting, Item 3
Allows state delegates to determine if Hall of Fame members should have voting rights at the state annual meeting.

Amendment No. B 4 – Rejected (336 accept, 510 reject)
USBC Local Bylaws
Article IV, Membership and Dues
Allows membership bought in a summer league to extend through July 31 of the following year.