Association Officers
People often wonder how to become more involved in bowling. One thing they can do is become involved in their local association. Here are the local association members, what position they hold and how they got involved in bowling.
Pete Kirn is the President of the local Association (West Plains USBC Bowling Association). His bowling career started in 1985 when a friend of his invited him to join a league. From there, he became an Association Secretary and held the position for 15 years and League Secretary two nights a week for 17 years. In his bowling career, he has received two 300 game awards, one 299 award, one 298 award, one 297 award, one 290 award, and a high series (total number of pins in three games) award for a 798.
James Morack is the Vice President of the local Association. His parents contributed to the start of his bowling career at 11 years old. He first joined a league, a junior league, in 1969. He has held both the League President and Sargent at Arms positions. He was part of a team in 2007 that placed 11th out of 472 teams at the USBC Open Association Handicap Tournament at Cape Girardeau. A 299 high game and high league average are some of the awards he carries.
Glen Earls is the Association Manager of the Association. His bowling career started in the mid 1970s when his parents gave him a bowling ball for Christmas. He joined his first league in 1981 at the age of 19. During his military career, he bowled in several European countries and many different states. He has served in many different officer positions including League Secretary, League President and team captain. He has two 300 games and numerous 700+ series under his belt.
Jim Jackson is one of the Board Members of the Association. His bowling career started in 1986 when his father's bowling team needed a fifth member. He was 20 years old at the time and had never really bowled much. This was also the first time he had been on a league. Jim has held the Thursday Night League President position other than the board member position. His awards include a 300 game, a 299 game, 11 in a row and has placed first in a state doubles tournament as well as second place two different years.
Pat Caplinger is one of the Board Members of the Association. She started bowling in 1962 and joined her first league in 1963. Other than being an Association board member, Pat has held an Association Secretary and League Secretary position many times. She has bowled at least 33 state tournaments in her career.
Keith Brown is one of the Board Members of the Association. His bowling career started in 1968 when he joined a youth league at Cassville Bowl in Cassville Missouri. He has not held any other league positions at this time. Some of the awards he carries include High Average for the youth league, picking up "the Big Four" (a split consisting of the 4-6-7-10 pins), and an award for an all spare game. Keith was also one of the members of the team that placed 11th out of 472 teams in the USBC Open Association Handicap Tournament in Cape Girardeau.
Sonda Brown is one of the Board Members of the Association. Her bowling career started in 1975 when her grandmother needed a substitute. She was League Secretary for a Mixed League other than the position she currently holds. Some of the awards she carries include a 550 series, 75 pins over average, several League Championships, and has won money in a few National Championships.
Brad Mills is one of the Board Members of the Association and Proprietor of Lightning Bowl. He started his bowling career in 1978 when he went to work at Cave Springs Lanes in St. Charles county Missouri. Because he worked there, he was recruited to bowl in a league that same year. He has been very active in the leagues and associations where he's bowled, holding several different League and Association positions. His awards include a few 300 games as well as both 700 and 800 series awards; he's finished in 1st and 2nd place at state tournaments in singles and doubles categories. Brad was also one of the team members that placed 11th out of 472 teams in the USBC Open Association Handicap Tournament in Cape Girardeau. He says "I've been able to make life long friends because of bowling," which he considers the best awards of all.
Jennifer Rasko is one of the Board Members of the Association. She started bowling at a very young age and was involved in a Junior League at 10 years of age. She started League bowling at 15 because she wanted to bowl with her parents. This is the first League position she has held. She has been to several state tournaments as well as a nationals. She has several 200 game pins, several 500 series pins and a "most improved average" pin.