ABOUT US - 2009
After 53 Years, Bowling News Changes Hands
It's Continuation of Joe's Legacy
How to begin a 53-year-old story and how to end it? This is a small account of my life's work. Publishing a bowling newspaper is no easy task. For 53 years, however, I
can not recall a moment when I regretted entering the business. It was never my purpose to propagate myself. Rather, it was to recognize the accomplishments of others who dearly loved the game as owners or bowlers. It made their lives happier or sadder according to how they bowled that morning, afternoon or night. Let alone the making of a vast number of new friends.
The principles and accompanying awards which guided me as a publisher were four fold. They were firmly implanted in my mind during my elementary school days. These were: The 4 "I"s given through the 5th and 8th grades. They were given to deserving students. Each "I" stood for a manner to think and live by. The first "I" stood for Industry. The second "I" represented Initiative, the third "I" stood for Integrity and the fourth "I" represented intelligence. I received 3 of the 4 "I"s. I missed out on the fourth-so who is perfect? If you get the first three under your belt, you can't go wrong.
My best wishes go to Tony and Genie Franklin, the new publishers and to Bill and Carol Hazlett. And to those great writers like Jim Woodruff, Chuck Pezzano, Dick Evans, Don Wright, John Jowdy and Jim Goodwin. There is no small thank-you for helping to make The Bowling News the informative piece of literature it is. God bless you all for allowing me to have my niche in life, such a happy one, and to all those coworkers who made it happen.
Be seeing you,
Joe Gennaro
Tony and Genie Franklin Plan for Future
Tony and Genie Franklin are extremely pleased and excited to be the new owners of The Bowling News. “It has been an integral part of all of our bowling lives for the last 29 years,” Tony said. “Joe Gennaro has built something that is so unique and outstanding that one of our main goals is just to carry on the legacy that he has created.” said Tony.
Bill and Carol Hazlett have worked with Joe for over 15 years as the graphic arts editors, and, along with Tony and his wife Genie, are looking forward to carrying on the tradition that Joe started some 53 years ago with The Texas Tribune’s edition of The Bowling News. “The words in the masthead, ‘The Southwest bowler’s weekly source of communication and recognition’ are not just words. They are the credo that the paper has followed since its inception in 1956. We intend to continue this tradition and grow it for another 53 years,” Tony said. Tony and Genie are the owners and publishers, while Bill and Carol will be the managing editors and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the paper. The paper will now be located in Grapevine instead of Dallas.
“Our bowling background is long,” said Hazlett. “When we moved to the area almost 30 years ago, Tony was a junior bowler. We all started bowling at Don Carter’s West. We got involved in junior bowling, helping Billie Thompson with the Junior Masters & Junior Queens tournaments. Carol worked at Showplace Euless in the league office with Randy Little, while Tony worked in the pro shop with Bruce Rowe, and eventually bowled professionally on the PBA Tour.”
Genie started her bowling career at Alpine Lanes in the early 80’s and has been involved with all aspects of bowling including the collegiate bowling program as well as the PWBA southwest regional program. As competitive bowlers, Tony and Genie have bowled around the country and are well-known in most bowling circles.
Said Tony, “Our goal is to build renewed excitement about The Bowling News, where everyone is excited to get to the bowling center on league night and read the paper, not only to see if their name made the paper, but to read about other big happenings in the bowling world. One thing we plan to do is personally get out and visit all of the centers. We will also be updating the look of the paper, with more local and regional stories about bowlers and bowling centers. Tournament coverage is another goal. We hope to be able to attend the tournaments, get pictures and publish stories.”
The times are changing. And with the transfer of ownership, there will be some changes, but in the words of one of our proprietors, “Don’t change too much. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “We do, however, want to put our own unique touch on the paper; we are very interested in increasing the local bowling content of the paper. As I was looking through previous editions of the paper I noticed how many stories were there about local bowlers and their great performances, I feel that these stories can be the core of The Bowling News, and we want to get back to that,” Tony said. “We will have a Bowling News web page up and running soon which will have archived papers. However, the weekly edition will still be on the counter at your bowling centers for you to pick up.” “Some things will remain the same. All of the current columnists have agreed to continue with us as well as, Bubba Flint our cartoonist.”
After 53 Years, Bowling News Changes Hands
It's Continuation of Joe's Legacy
How to begin a 53-year-old story and how to end it? This is a small account of my life's work. Publishing a bowling newspaper is no easy task. For 53 years, however, I
can not recall a moment when I regretted entering the business. It was never my purpose to propagate myself. Rather, it was to recognize the accomplishments of others who dearly loved the game as owners or bowlers. It made their lives happier or sadder according to how they bowled that morning, afternoon or night. Let alone the making of a vast number of new friends.
The principles and accompanying awards which guided me as a publisher were four fold. They were firmly implanted in my mind during my elementary school days. These were: The 4 "I"s given through the 5th and 8th grades. They were given to deserving students. Each "I" stood for a manner to think and live by. The first "I" stood for Industry. The second "I" represented Initiative, the third "I" stood for Integrity and the fourth "I" represented intelligence. I received 3 of the 4 "I"s. I missed out on the fourth-so who is perfect? If you get the first three under your belt, you can't go wrong.
My best wishes go to Tony and Genie Franklin, the new publishers and to Bill and Carol Hazlett. And to those great writers like Jim Woodruff, Chuck Pezzano, Dick Evans, Don Wright, John Jowdy and Jim Goodwin. There is no small thank-you for helping to make The Bowling News the informative piece of literature it is. God bless you all for allowing me to have my niche in life, such a happy one, and to all those coworkers who made it happen.
Be seeing you,
Joe Gennaro
Tony and Genie Franklin Plan for Future
Tony and Genie Franklin are extremely pleased and excited to be the new owners of The Bowling News. “It has been an integral part of all of our bowling lives for the last 29 years,” Tony said. “Joe Gennaro has built something that is so unique and outstanding that one of our main goals is just to carry on the legacy that he has created.” said Tony.
Bill and Carol Hazlett have worked with Joe for over 15 years as the graphic arts editors, and, along with Tony and his wife Genie, are looking forward to carrying on the tradition that Joe started some 53 years ago with The Texas Tribune’s edition of The Bowling News. “The words in the masthead, ‘The Southwest bowler’s weekly source of communication and recognition’ are not just words. They are the credo that the paper has followed since its inception in 1956. We intend to continue this tradition and grow it for another 53 years,” Tony said. Tony and Genie are the owners and publishers, while Bill and Carol will be the managing editors and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the paper. The paper will now be located in Grapevine instead of Dallas.
“Our bowling background is long,” said Hazlett. “When we moved to the area almost 30 years ago, Tony was a junior bowler. We all started bowling at Don Carter’s West. We got involved in junior bowling, helping Billie Thompson with the Junior Masters & Junior Queens tournaments. Carol worked at Showplace Euless in the league office with Randy Little, while Tony worked in the pro shop with Bruce Rowe, and eventually bowled professionally on the PBA Tour.”
Genie started her bowling career at Alpine Lanes in the early 80’s and has been involved with all aspects of bowling including the collegiate bowling program as well as the PWBA southwest regional program. As competitive bowlers, Tony and Genie have bowled around the country and are well-known in most bowling circles.
Said Tony, “Our goal is to build renewed excitement about The Bowling News, where everyone is excited to get to the bowling center on league night and read the paper, not only to see if their name made the paper, but to read about other big happenings in the bowling world. One thing we plan to do is personally get out and visit all of the centers. We will also be updating the look of the paper, with more local and regional stories about bowlers and bowling centers. Tournament coverage is another goal. We hope to be able to attend the tournaments, get pictures and publish stories.”
The times are changing. And with the transfer of ownership, there will be some changes, but in the words of one of our proprietors, “Don’t change too much. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “We do, however, want to put our own unique touch on the paper; we are very interested in increasing the local bowling content of the paper. As I was looking through previous editions of the paper I noticed how many stories were there about local bowlers and their great performances, I feel that these stories can be the core of The Bowling News, and we want to get back to that,” Tony said. “We will have a Bowling News web page up and running soon which will have archived papers. However, the weekly edition will still be on the counter at your bowling centers for you to pick up.” “Some things will remain the same. All of the current columnists have agreed to continue with us as well as, Bubba Flint our cartoonist.”