onefrombills
01-19-2009, 06:24 PM
The fifth annual United States Bowling Congress Holiday eBay Auction raised $12,654 to benefit USBC's Earl Anthony Memorial Scholarship Fund, boosting the five-year total to more than $120,000.
The annual event filled with unique gift items that can't be found anywhere else was highlighted by a $2,926 bid for a three-day, expenses-paid trip for two to the Kegel Training Center in Lakes Wales, Fla. Ted Weller of suburban Milwaukee was the winning bidder.
"I figured what the heck - it's cold in Wisconsin and this is a trip to Florida I can write off," Weller laughed. "Plus it seems pretty cheap to me."
Weller, a 38-year-old machine shop owner and 225-average bowler, said he bought the package for himself. "It's very, very difficult to get better on your own. You have to have someone who knows what they're doing watch you and figure out what you can try to improve."
Ebonite's travel and lodging for two, including a tour of the company's manufacturing facility, an in-depth diagnostic coaching session and bowling equipment, went for $2,751 to 67-year-old Bonnie McKinley of Clintonville, Pa.
"I'm an avid bowler," McKinley said. "I noticed all of the money goes to the Earl Anthony Scholarship Fund, which seemed like a worthwhile endeavor. I hope to help the scholarship program while helping myself at the same time."
McKinley, who averages 173 and bowls in two leagues, said she'll take her husband Bill on the trip. "He doesn't know about it now, but he will," she chuckled.
A day of his-and-hers travel and personalized coaching with Team USA coaching stars Fred Borden and Jeri Edwards in Daytona Beach, Fla., was acquired by Ana Koff of Miami for $1,225. She gave the package to her 17-year-old son Andrew, a member of Junior Team USA 2009, and her 15-year-old daughter Ana.
"Andrew is dying to take a private lesson from Miss Edwards," Koff said. "I've been trying to arrange this for seven years, but it never worked out. Andrew is going to be thrilled. This is really his present, but his sister is going along. She's a really good bowler, too."
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bowl doubles in the 2009 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas with retired PBA superstar Mike Aulby actually became a third-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mike Todisco of West Chester, Pa., who invested $2,501 to bowl with Aulby for the third time in four years.
"Mike and I have struck up a friendship. He's a fantastic bowler and an even greater person," Todisco said. "I love the sport, and I want to support the Earl Anthony Scholarship Fund. I hope my small contribution helps a young person fulfill his or her dream of a higher education. That said, I also did this as a present to myself. I'm really going to enjoy it."
Speaking of Aulby, as an Indiana bowling center owner, he treated himself to a Holiday eBay Auction gift by paying $1,275 for an expenses-paid trip for two to attend International Bowl Expo 2009 in Las Vegas, courtesy of the Bowling Proprietors Association of America.
Carolyn Mosley of Commerce, Ga., bid $821 to win Storm Bowling Products' his-and-hers bowling package; comic art collector Steve Donnelly of Los Altos, Calif., paid $745 for a matching set of original Garfield bowling strips by Jim Davis; and Nancy Gray of Bainbridge, Ga., donated $435 for the "almost" Presidential bowling ball intended for President George H.W. Bush in 1988.
The Anthony Scholarship Fund, administered by The Bowling Foundation in cooperation with USBC's SMART scholarship management program, has awarded $125,000 in scholarships to deserving student-athletes over the past five years. For more information on The Bowling Foundation, visit www.bowlingfoundation.com.
The annual event filled with unique gift items that can't be found anywhere else was highlighted by a $2,926 bid for a three-day, expenses-paid trip for two to the Kegel Training Center in Lakes Wales, Fla. Ted Weller of suburban Milwaukee was the winning bidder.
"I figured what the heck - it's cold in Wisconsin and this is a trip to Florida I can write off," Weller laughed. "Plus it seems pretty cheap to me."
Weller, a 38-year-old machine shop owner and 225-average bowler, said he bought the package for himself. "It's very, very difficult to get better on your own. You have to have someone who knows what they're doing watch you and figure out what you can try to improve."
Ebonite's travel and lodging for two, including a tour of the company's manufacturing facility, an in-depth diagnostic coaching session and bowling equipment, went for $2,751 to 67-year-old Bonnie McKinley of Clintonville, Pa.
"I'm an avid bowler," McKinley said. "I noticed all of the money goes to the Earl Anthony Scholarship Fund, which seemed like a worthwhile endeavor. I hope to help the scholarship program while helping myself at the same time."
McKinley, who averages 173 and bowls in two leagues, said she'll take her husband Bill on the trip. "He doesn't know about it now, but he will," she chuckled.
A day of his-and-hers travel and personalized coaching with Team USA coaching stars Fred Borden and Jeri Edwards in Daytona Beach, Fla., was acquired by Ana Koff of Miami for $1,225. She gave the package to her 17-year-old son Andrew, a member of Junior Team USA 2009, and her 15-year-old daughter Ana.
"Andrew is dying to take a private lesson from Miss Edwards," Koff said. "I've been trying to arrange this for seven years, but it never worked out. Andrew is going to be thrilled. This is really his present, but his sister is going along. She's a really good bowler, too."
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bowl doubles in the 2009 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas with retired PBA superstar Mike Aulby actually became a third-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mike Todisco of West Chester, Pa., who invested $2,501 to bowl with Aulby for the third time in four years.
"Mike and I have struck up a friendship. He's a fantastic bowler and an even greater person," Todisco said. "I love the sport, and I want to support the Earl Anthony Scholarship Fund. I hope my small contribution helps a young person fulfill his or her dream of a higher education. That said, I also did this as a present to myself. I'm really going to enjoy it."
Speaking of Aulby, as an Indiana bowling center owner, he treated himself to a Holiday eBay Auction gift by paying $1,275 for an expenses-paid trip for two to attend International Bowl Expo 2009 in Las Vegas, courtesy of the Bowling Proprietors Association of America.
Carolyn Mosley of Commerce, Ga., bid $821 to win Storm Bowling Products' his-and-hers bowling package; comic art collector Steve Donnelly of Los Altos, Calif., paid $745 for a matching set of original Garfield bowling strips by Jim Davis; and Nancy Gray of Bainbridge, Ga., donated $435 for the "almost" Presidential bowling ball intended for President George H.W. Bush in 1988.
The Anthony Scholarship Fund, administered by The Bowling Foundation in cooperation with USBC's SMART scholarship management program, has awarded $125,000 in scholarships to deserving student-athletes over the past five years. For more information on The Bowling Foundation, visit www.bowlingfoundation.com.