USBC, Kegel work together to benefit Folds of Honor

ARLINGTON, Texas - Each time the United States Bowling Congress and Kegel team up to dress the lanes at USBC's championship events in 2015, bowlers and bowling fans surely will take notice of the custom lane machines being used to get the job done.

As the official lane maintenance provider for all USBC tournaments, Kegel has created a limited-edition Patriot FLEX lane machine that will be used at the 2015 USBC Masters, USBC Open Championships and USBC Women's Championships.

At the conclusion of those events, the machines will be sold, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Folds of Honor, a military organization that provides scholarships and assistance to the families of soldiers killed or disabled while serving the United States.

"It means a lot for us to be able to join Kegel in this partnership that will benefit a great cause," USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. "We are grateful for all of the servicemen and women who serve to protect us, and we look forward to being a part of giving something back."

KegelPatriotFLEX250x140The 13 lane machines were hand-painted by James Strickland, an airbrush artist from Sebring, Florida, located close to Kegel's Lake Wales, Florida, headquarters. Each machine features a patriotic red, white and blue stars and stripes motif.

"We are proud to have the opportunity to produce these special-edition lane machines and bring awareness to Folds of Honor," Kegel President Chris Chartrand said. "We are excited that all the bowlers at the USBC Open and Women's Championships will be able to see these special lane machines conditioning the lanes for them and this great cause."

A similar initiative through the Open and Women's Championships in 2011 helped raise nearly $5,000 for Bowl for the Cure®, a year-round fundraising initiative sponsored by USBC in partnership with Susan G. Komen®.

That year, each tournament featured a pink lane machine, as the color pink is synonymous with breast cancer awareness. There were a variety of contests and opportunities for tournament competitors and guests to check out the custom machines and donate to the cause.

The Patriot FLEX lane machines will make their debut at the upcoming Masters, which will be held at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley in Green Bay, Wisconsin, from Feb. 3-8.

The 2015 Open Championships will be held at the El Paso Convention Center in El Paso, Texas, from March 7-July 12, while the Women's Championships visits the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, from April 10 until June 30.

Kegel was founded in 1981 with the primary goal of helping bowling centers operate with fewer problems. For more than three decades, the company has studied all the variables surrounding lane conditioning and expanded to several product divisions with more than 120 employees.

The company's home base is a 74,000-square-foot facility in Lake Wales, where it does all of its manufacturing, quality control, software development, chemical production and packaging.