As we work on wrapping up the Desert Open, we reach the bittersweet time of the end of the JBT season. While were excited about the start of a new season just two weeks away, we also are sad to say goodbye to some of our bowlers. Some are aging out, some are off to college, and a brave few are off to serve our country in the military. We will miss all of them- Im not mentioning anyone by name because I dont want to miss anyone who I might not know about- we all know about the big names who are leaving, but whether you bowled 5 JBT events or 300, we thank you, consider you family, and will miss you. But dont forget, youre never done with JBT, you always have Doubles, Team, Alumni, and TOC events to look forward to! Putting on a 104-tournament schedule is a pretty exhausting endeavor, and it sure doesnt get less exhausting as I start to get older. So Id like to again thank all of our assistants and helpers- Steve, Evan, Jerod, Kevin, Bruce, Bruce, Jessica, all our raffle salespeople, and everyone else I may have missed. Plus, ALL of our sponsors headed by the incredible Dave Wodka and Ebonite, Gene and Alice for the plaques, K&K for the shirts, banners, and more, and all our bowling center owners, GMs, and employees, all of who are essential to great events. That said, when you get down to it, JBT is still at its heart a one-man show, paradoxically. Im just an overgrown kid who wasnt ready to leave JBT when I aged out. It has grown through your support into what it is now, far beyond any original goals and infrastructure. Just look through our website- everything on there is one small indication of everything that has to get done and updated every week. It can be overwhelming and sometimes impossible to fully keep up with. Nobody else can do it, and there are no days off, let alone weeks. So, I thank you for your patience if something took (or is taking) longer than you wanted. I apologize if you caught me in a moment of stress when I wasnt at my best after a long day. Im sorry if I ever had to make a rules decision that wasnt in your favor- it was never done in malice or prejudice- only in the best interest of the Tour with the info I had at the time. Im a flawed individual, capable of making mistakes, and trying for 100% perfection and correctness even though I know that isnt possible. If you love, or even like, JBT and what it is trying to do for all ages and all averages, please take a moment to plan on getting at least one new person to bowl a JBT event this coming season. If everyone does only that, a lot of our internal issues go away. This is a very achievable goal. Even if you enjoy the other very good Tour-type groups in areas we run, wont you tell them about JBT (and Main Event) too? If you go away for college, wont you do the same? If you dont, JBT will never go away, but it wont exist in the form you know it and love it as, its that simple. Were fine now, but we have to think near-term and long-term: not thinking that way is what caused many of our sports problems, so lets learn from that mistake. Just one new bowler, everyone. Please. All this is what I wanted to say at TPC if a) we had time and b) I was any good at emotional speeches without getting emotional myself. Please share this and pass it on to non-facebook addicts. Thank you for your support of JBT, and well see you again very soon.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:40:25 +0000
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