USBC Recognition Awards announced

ARLINGTON, Texas - Vicki Bowman of Gladstone, Mo., Madeline Dotta of Washington, Ill., and Michael Nyitray of Parkland, Fla., have been selected to receive 2013 United States Bowling Congress Recognition Awards.

Bowman was selected as USBC Proprietor of the Year, Dotta was named the Helen Baker Outstanding Association Service Award winner, and Nyitray is the Joyce Deitch Unity Award winner. The selections were made by the USBC Board of Directors and the winners will be formally recognized during the 2013 USBC Convention in Reno, Nev.

Bowman is partner and general manager of Gladstone Bowl and currently is president of the Missouri State Bowling Proprietors Association. Her center has approximately 25 certified youth coaches working with eight youth leagues, and she has been an important leader in the development of high school bowling in the state. She is an In-School bowling specialist and has attended the last three Missouri Athletic Program State conferences for physical education teachers to demonstrate the kits and assist schools with the program.

A Kansas City Chiefs' fan, Bowman is a member of the Red Coaters, a community organization supporting the NFL team's charities. She recently served on the Greater Kansas City USBC Nominating Committee and was elected to the association's hall of fame for meritorious service in 2007. She was named Missouri Proprietor of the Year in 2007 and 2011.

Dotta is completing her final season as president of the Illinois State USBC Women's Bowling Association, a position she has held since 1993. She was a director on the IWBA board for 21 years before becoming president. She was inducted into the Illinois State USBC WBA Hall of Fame for meritorious service in 1987. She served on several committees in the Women's International Bowling Congress, including recruitment coordinator for Illinois.

She was on the Peoria Women's Bowling Association board for 30 years, including 13 as president. Dotta worked to have the Peoria WBA become actively involved with lane certification, along with the local men's association, and initiated the first joint hall of fame ceremony with the Greater Peoria BA. She was instrumental in organizing the Greater Peoria Bowling Council and its promotion of the sport, including the purchase of Learn To Bowl Kits that are still used today by pre-schools and middle schools.

Nyitray, a USBC Gold coach, coached around the world during the 1990s, including serving as national team coach for Saudi Arabia and Thailand, before settling in Florida. He started Bowling Ball Info, Inc., and WorldMike's Pro Shop, and then became a volunteer high school bowling coach in 2006 in Miami. He worked with the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) on the creation of a bowling program and it now is a varsity sport on the state level. He is the founder, director and coach for Broward County High School Bowling.

Nyitray received national recognition as National Developmental Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee in 2010, and he is a three-time USOC Developmental Coach of the Year for Bowling. He was the 2009 USBC Kerm Helmer Horizon Award winner and the 2008 USBC David Dahms Coach of the Year.

The USBC Recognition Awards were developed to honor individuals for contributions to bowling.

The USBC Proprietor of the Year Award recognizes a bowling center proprietor for his/her outstanding support of USBC local, state and/or national association programs. The Helen Baker Outstanding Association Service Award, named for the fifth president of the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC), recognizes an outstanding bowling leader who has made invaluable contributions to local and state associations as an innovator, creator and mentor of adult programs. The Joyce Deitch Unity Award is named for the WIBC's seventh president and recognizes organizations and individuals who have made important contributions to bowling by being motivators, visionaries, leaders and innovators.