onefrombills
06-24-2009, 11:03 PM
LAS VEGAS - When Dawn Smith of Mason, Ohio, found out she had breast cancer earlier this year, her husband's friends wanted to do something to help the family since they currently are without health insurance.
After word spread around Princeton Bowl, where Dawn and Joe Smith bowl league, there were discussions about fundraising ideas. Longtime friend and teammate Don Daniels Jr. of Mason, Ohio, decided to form a team that could raise awareness while competing at the 2009 USBC Open Championships.
"We are all bowlers, so we wanted to help while incorporating bowling," said Daniels, a 46-year-old right-hander. "Bowling is where we all became friends. You really don't think of this type of stuff until it affects someone close to you."
Daniels and his Paralysis by Analysis teammates walked into Cashman Center on Friday and took everyone by surprise with their bright pink shirts showing their support of the fight against breast cancer. Each bowler represented a different person they knew who has been affected by the disease.
"We wanted to wear the shirts to be symbolic," said Daniels, who made his seventh Open Championships appearance. "It was Chris's idea to get the pink shirts. After that, everything snowballed, and eventually, we were getting permission from The Bowling Foundation to use its name and logo."
Daniels was joined on the lanes by Doug Barker, Andrew Warner, Christopher Hall and Paul Gerard. Barker donned the name of his sister-in-law Jettie Burnett, Daniels represented Dawn Smith, Warner chose Audra Rogala, Hall bowled for Alice Sheldon and Gerard competed for Beatty Wendt.
Whether it was picking out the pink shirts or going through the steps to make everything official, all five guys worked as a team to get it done.
"Every guy has a person who is special to him, and we wanted to honor them this way," Daniels said. "This is so much bigger than what we wanted to do. Everyone is affected by cancer. The people making our shirts were even getting emotional."
The crusade to the Open Championships started in March of 2009 when Smith was diagnosed with type 3 breast cancer.
Daniels contacted Barker, one of his close friends, to generate some ideas. Barker thought it would be fun to bring a team to the Open Championships and ask for donations for every pin they knocked down during the tournament. The Smiths are without health insurance since Joe took a buyout from General Motors a couple of years ago.
"Bowling is very involved with breast cancer," said Barker, who is the head coach of the women's bowling team at Bellarmine University and a regular contributor to Bowling This Month. "We came up with the idea to receive donations for every pin we knock down or a flat donation. We were getting anywhere from 1 to 3 cents per pin. We also decided to donate 10 percent of our total winnings from the tournament to Dawn."
What also sparked some emotions was that when the team took the lanes Friday, it also was Dawn's first day of chemotherapy treatment. When it came to bowling, the guys were ready to make everyone proud.
"It gives me a little more motivation when I do something like this," said Barker, who also is involved with high school bowling in Kentucky. "We all want to win an eagle out here, but it's more about friendship."
Paralysis by Analysis posted a 2,732 team total and was led by Daniels with a 586 series. He was followed by Barker (559), Gerard (550), Hall (544) and Warner (493).
With their first fundraising and awareness effort in the books, the group plans to continue the supporting the cause in the future.
"Hopefully, we can all bowl together again next year and wear the same shirts and bowl for the same cause," said Barker, a 49-year-old right-hander who made his 12th Open Championships appearance. "We are hoping we can raise some awareness and inspire someone to do something similar."
Susan G. Komen for the Cure(r) is the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982.
Bowl for the Cure(r) is one of the many charitable causes administered by The Bowling Foundation, the charitable arm of bowling.
The Foundation is fully supported by the leading entities for the sport including the USBC, The Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA), the Bowling Proprietors Association International (BPAI), Strike Ten Entertainment (STE), the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the International Bowling Pro Shop & Instructors Association (IBPSIA), the Bowling Writers Association of America (BWAA) and many others including manufacturers, media and local bowling entities.
The Bowling Foundation is a member of the Komen Million Dollar Council, a special group of corporate partners. In addition to a financial contribution of at least one million dollars, each of the organizations in the Million Dollar Council has found new and innovative ways to spread two important messages: early detection saves lives and only through research can we find a cure.
Presenting sponsors for the 2009 USBC Open Championships are the Coast Casinos in Las Vegas and the Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel and Four Queens Hotel and Casino, the official brackets sponsors; Sapphire Gentleman's Club; Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; MGM Mirage; Jerry's Nugget Casino and Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel.
After word spread around Princeton Bowl, where Dawn and Joe Smith bowl league, there were discussions about fundraising ideas. Longtime friend and teammate Don Daniels Jr. of Mason, Ohio, decided to form a team that could raise awareness while competing at the 2009 USBC Open Championships.
"We are all bowlers, so we wanted to help while incorporating bowling," said Daniels, a 46-year-old right-hander. "Bowling is where we all became friends. You really don't think of this type of stuff until it affects someone close to you."
Daniels and his Paralysis by Analysis teammates walked into Cashman Center on Friday and took everyone by surprise with their bright pink shirts showing their support of the fight against breast cancer. Each bowler represented a different person they knew who has been affected by the disease.
"We wanted to wear the shirts to be symbolic," said Daniels, who made his seventh Open Championships appearance. "It was Chris's idea to get the pink shirts. After that, everything snowballed, and eventually, we were getting permission from The Bowling Foundation to use its name and logo."
Daniels was joined on the lanes by Doug Barker, Andrew Warner, Christopher Hall and Paul Gerard. Barker donned the name of his sister-in-law Jettie Burnett, Daniels represented Dawn Smith, Warner chose Audra Rogala, Hall bowled for Alice Sheldon and Gerard competed for Beatty Wendt.
Whether it was picking out the pink shirts or going through the steps to make everything official, all five guys worked as a team to get it done.
"Every guy has a person who is special to him, and we wanted to honor them this way," Daniels said. "This is so much bigger than what we wanted to do. Everyone is affected by cancer. The people making our shirts were even getting emotional."
The crusade to the Open Championships started in March of 2009 when Smith was diagnosed with type 3 breast cancer.
Daniels contacted Barker, one of his close friends, to generate some ideas. Barker thought it would be fun to bring a team to the Open Championships and ask for donations for every pin they knocked down during the tournament. The Smiths are without health insurance since Joe took a buyout from General Motors a couple of years ago.
"Bowling is very involved with breast cancer," said Barker, who is the head coach of the women's bowling team at Bellarmine University and a regular contributor to Bowling This Month. "We came up with the idea to receive donations for every pin we knock down or a flat donation. We were getting anywhere from 1 to 3 cents per pin. We also decided to donate 10 percent of our total winnings from the tournament to Dawn."
What also sparked some emotions was that when the team took the lanes Friday, it also was Dawn's first day of chemotherapy treatment. When it came to bowling, the guys were ready to make everyone proud.
"It gives me a little more motivation when I do something like this," said Barker, who also is involved with high school bowling in Kentucky. "We all want to win an eagle out here, but it's more about friendship."
Paralysis by Analysis posted a 2,732 team total and was led by Daniels with a 586 series. He was followed by Barker (559), Gerard (550), Hall (544) and Warner (493).
With their first fundraising and awareness effort in the books, the group plans to continue the supporting the cause in the future.
"Hopefully, we can all bowl together again next year and wear the same shirts and bowl for the same cause," said Barker, a 49-year-old right-hander who made his 12th Open Championships appearance. "We are hoping we can raise some awareness and inspire someone to do something similar."
Susan G. Komen for the Cure(r) is the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982.
Bowl for the Cure(r) is one of the many charitable causes administered by The Bowling Foundation, the charitable arm of bowling.
The Foundation is fully supported by the leading entities for the sport including the USBC, The Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA), the Bowling Proprietors Association International (BPAI), Strike Ten Entertainment (STE), the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the International Bowling Pro Shop & Instructors Association (IBPSIA), the Bowling Writers Association of America (BWAA) and many others including manufacturers, media and local bowling entities.
The Bowling Foundation is a member of the Komen Million Dollar Council, a special group of corporate partners. In addition to a financial contribution of at least one million dollars, each of the organizations in the Million Dollar Council has found new and innovative ways to spread two important messages: early detection saves lives and only through research can we find a cure.
Presenting sponsors for the 2009 USBC Open Championships are the Coast Casinos in Las Vegas and the Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel and Four Queens Hotel and Casino, the official brackets sponsors; Sapphire Gentleman's Club; Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino; MGM Mirage; Jerry's Nugget Casino and Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel.