President - Mark Miller (2026) Flower Mound, Texas markmywordstexas@gmail.com

Mark Miller is an award-winning freelance writer, editor and public/media relations specialist living in Flower Mound, Texas. He contributes articles to International Bowling Industry, International Bowlers Journal and Pro Shop Operator magazines, and writes for The Cross Timbers Gazette monthly newspaper in Denton County, Texas. He spends much of his time preparing resumes as a contractor for Talent, Inc. He is the author of the 2012 bowling history book Bowling: America’s Greatest Indoor Pastime for which he personally sold all 3,200 available copies. He spent four years as writer/copy editor for Murray Media/Allen Publications in Denton County after nearly 25 years in public relations and publications for the United States Bowling Congress and its predecessor organizations.  Mark has previously 10+ years as IBMA director, six years as IBMA Vice President; and Past President of the Midwest Bowing Writers. He served three years on Executive Committee of the Public Relations Society of America’s Entertainment and Sports section.

1st Vice President - Kevin Hong (2026) Normandy Park, Wash. kevinhong@me.com

Kevin Hong is a lifelong bowler, bowling historian and documentary photographer from Seattle, Washington.  An award-winning former newspaper journalist, he has been working on a photographic body of work, Maple+Pine (www.vintagebowling.net), documenting classic and historic bowling centers.  He has photographed more than 100 bowling centers in 21 U.S. states for the project.  His photographs have appeared in all major bowling industry magazines, and have been exhibited at the National Bowling Stadium.  In 2017, the project received the Media Award from the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America.  He continues to contribute to several bowling publications as a freelance photographer and writer. Kevin is highly active in the Greater Seattle and Puget Sound bowling communities.  Ha has been an active sanctioned bowler (YABA, ABC or USBC) for more than 30 years, is a two-time Greater Seattle Bowler of the Year, 18-year participant in the USBC Open Championships, and holds several local and state scratch tournament titles.  He is a past board member of the Greater Seattle USBC and has served on the board of the International Bowling Media Association (IBMA).  In 2018 he was selected as the Bowling Commissioner for the Special Olympics USA Games held that year in Seattle.  He is an active USBC Silver-level coach of bowlers of all ages, and runs and promotes youth tournaments in the Pacific Northwest.

2nd Vice President - Phil Brylow (2026) Waukesha, Wisc. phil.brylow@tenonthedeck.com

Phil Brylow has been an IBMA member since 2011 when he was a recipient of the Chuck Pezzano Scholarship. For the past two years he has served as a judge for the competition. Phil has been involved with bowling at many levels throughout the last 30 years, from working in a bowling center to coaching collegiately, to starting his own production house to create bowling shows for cable TV in Wisconsin. He has brought many features to Xtra Frame in the four years he has been contracted by the PBA to work with them, and will continuing to help Xtra Frame as the transition to FloBowling begins in mid-2018.

Sergeant-At-Arms - Sam Vasta (2026) Milwaukee, WI Jan.buchen@yahoo.com

Sam Vasta has been a member of BWAA/IBMA for over 60 years.  He is currently on the Hennessey Award Committee and serves as 2^nd Vice President.  Sam has been the owner/publisher/editor of “The Omaha Bowling Journal” and a bowling columnist (“The Bowler’s Corner”) for the largest newspaper in Nebraska, “The Omaha World Herald”.  Sam is also the author of a book on human relations, and has served as President of the Mid-America Bowling Writers. Sam is a Dale Carnegie graduate, winning awards for Communications and Human Relations.  He studied Psychology-Human Behavior and Philosophy at Conception Seminary College. In addition to being an author and columnist, Sam is an excellent public speaker.  He has traveled the nation conducting numerous Jamborees at the request of ABC/USBC.  Sam was ABC/USBC Field Agent, and Manager of the ABC Open Tournament Entries/Registration.  After retiring he was appointed ABC/USBC Director-at-Large.  He is a member of both the Omaha and the Nebraska Halls of Fame.

Operations Manager Mahomet, Illinois operations@bowlingmedia.org

Lawson has an extensive background in the bowling industry. Currently he is Association Manager for the Champaign Area USBC and has worked with USBC (and previous organizations) for over 35 years, handling the scoring for many national tournaments including Intercollegiate Team/Singles Championships, the Queens, TEAM USA Trials, National COKE (now PEPSI), the Kegel/ISBPA Collegiate Tier 1 and Junior Gold from its inception until a couple of years ago.  He has created software as needed to handle the nuances of scoring the various formats of these tournaments as well as well as providing one of the first versions of a ‘scrolling’ score display of which the current version he collaborated on has been in use for over 15 years.  He still runs a collegiate Sectional tournament and works the ITC/ISC and Kegel/ISBPA and helps at a distance with Junior Gold.  He is a charter/life member of the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association holding all offices.  With the BWAA/IBMA he has been the Collegiate Poll committee chair since the untimely passing of Dan Ottman in 2004.  Prior to that he was a pollster and has also been on the Collegiate Bowler of the Year committee for at least two decades.  He recently sold his pro shop (held with a partner) of 42 years and has also been active on State Boards including being the Illinois State PEPSI Director for over 15 years and assisted with the Youth Team Tournament during the same timeframe.  He retired from the University of Illinois as a departmental manager in the Student Union overseeing the bowling/billiards center for a while (1980-85) and later managing all vending on campus which included coin operated copiers, amusement games, all vending machines on campus, and the Union’s convenience Store.  Upon retirement in 2002 he went back to the University part time as a supervisor in the concession operation for Memorial Stadium and other athletic venues.  He was also an ABC Jurisdictional Associate in the late 1990s until USBC was formed and honors/awards include the Kerm Helmer Horizon Award (2011), The Gordon Teigen Service Award (in 1996 from NCBCA) and the ABC Jurisdictional Associate of the Year (2003).  He has been married to Kathy for over 44 years and they have a son and a daughter as well as two dogs.  Steve is a collector of many things including bowling pins, logo golf balls, pinball machines and video games, vintage motorcycles and cars to name a few.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ann Block (2025) Taylor, Mich. detroitbowler@yahoo.com

Ann Block started bowling as a kid. Her mother bowled in a morning ladies league. She was also her Brownie leader. So she took the troop on a field trip to the local bowling alley. She fell in love with the sport and started bowling in a league shortly after that outing. Words have always fascinated Ann. She started writing sentences right after she could write words. Writing short stories, poems, and plots for future books is something that she does in her “spare” time. When the chance came to put both her bowling and writing together she jumped on it. She is very proud of the fact she was awarded the Herta Kessel Writing Award on her first submission to the NWBW contest in 2006. That year she also won the Brunswick Award for 1st Place Feature in the Non-Professional Class. In 2008 Ann won the BWAA 1st Place Event Coverage Story – Non-Professional Class and in 2014 2nd Place IBMA News/Editorial. Ann has been a member of NWBW/BWAA/IBMA for 19 years and has been IBMA USBC Fundraising Committee Co-Chair for 5 years. She is also active on her local and state USBC association boards.

Stephanie Davis (2025) Naples, FL stephanie@bowlingindustry.com

Stephanie Davis is President of Davis Productions, Inc., and publisher of International Bowling Industry magazine (IBI). IBI’s collection of b2b resources includes print and digital resources for bowling and family entertainment center operators.  Stephanie has worked in the bowling industry since 1991; coordinating marketing efforts and revenue enhancement programs for individual and chain operations. Stephanie served for many years as tournament director of the Forty Frame Game Regional and National Tournaments. Additionally, she is the author of numerous books and resources for parents of children with extra needs.

Brian Hirsch (2025) Salem, Wisc. onefrombills@hotmail.com

Hirsch grew up in New York before moving to Phoenix, AZ in 1991. He has been involved in writing for his own bowling publication called “Striking Spotlight.” He has been published in the Desert Bowler Newspaper, Windy City News Newspaper and the Bowlers Journal. Hirsch is a Youth Director in the Kenosha USBC and a former Director for the Metro Phoenix USBC. As a Level 1 and RVP USBC coach, he can be found coaching his wife Amber and their son Masen each Saturday morning. Hirsch currently has (6) 300's and (4) 800's and is a member of the International Gay Bowling Organization where he is a five-time IGBO Champion and a six-time Arizona State Grand Canyon State Games Medalist. The Hirsch’s moved to Wisconsin to be closer to family and assist the Freedom Farm for Vets. Hirsch’s home bowling center is Sheridan Lanes, located in Kenosha, Wisc.

Gary Forman (2025) Fountain Valley, CA gcf@fountainbowl.com

Gary Forman accepted an appointment to the IBMA Board in June 2021.  Former owner of Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif., Forman serves in many capacities in the bowling industry.  He is currently the Executive Director for the Bowling Centers of Southern CA, President of the Orange County USBC Association, Treasurer for the Fountain Valley Rotary Club, President of the Fountain Valley Kiwanis Club, and Secretary/Treasurer of the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce.  Forman served on the BCSC Board of Directors for twenty-six years and is an industry icon.  He is the chairman of the IBMA budget and finance committee and has been a member of IBMA for two decades.

George Wooten (2026) Columbus, Ohio gwoo300@hotmail.com

George Wooten began writing professionally in 1997, when he was names Staff Editor of Bowlers Journal International.  In 2001, he worked as Media Relations Manager for the ABC Championships Tournament in Billings, Mont.  The following year, he took a position as a publicist on the PBA Tour. In 2003, George became Assistant Executive Director for the Illinois State Bowling Proprietors Association.  His duties included the operation of the Chicago Sun-Times/BPA “Beat the Champions” Contest, which has raised more than $1.2 million for Chicagoland charities.  Along with running tournaments and events for Chicagoland BPA and ISBPA, he provided tournament coverage for BJI as a Senior Writer, a role he continues to this day.  A native of Columbus, Ohio, George is a graduate of The Ohio State University.  He has served on the IBMA board as a director for one term.