On Sunday, July 20th, a troop of seasoned bowlers filed into the Strikes@Boca Bowling Alley thinking that the tournament would be like any other bowling tournament. Yet, as the participants soon discovered, saving lives and knocking down pins go surprisingly well hand-in-hand.
Beginning at 11am, the tournament was a uniquely structured, eliminator-style, single player competition. After four qualifying games, the field was cut in half and one semi-final game was played to reduce the field to the top four bowlers. The tournament also featured brackets, scratch pots, a “highest score” pot, raffles, a silent auction, and also the opportunity to join the registry.
“It was a whole lot of fun,” said Gregg Francis, CFO/COO of Gift of Life, “especially with such an air of excitement; we had a perfect 300, we had really high scores: 290’s, 275’s, we also had a young man who was competing in his first ever tournament.” The young man went on to qualify for the semifinals and was elated upon hearing his name announced.
“The room was tense,” added Jenna Hernandez, Gift of Life Event Planner, “contestants hovering and watching me in desperation as I compiled the final scores before announcing who moved on to the semi-final round!”
When asked about the fundraising capabilities of a bowling tournament Francis replied, “We were very successful at raising money for testing buccal swab kits. Bowlers understood that they were directly impacting the possibility of someone’s life being saved.” Francis continued,”It was an absolute success: financially and intangibly.”
The tournament was so close, in fact, that two of the last four bowlers ended up in a first place tie, down to the last pin.
Ultimately, there could be only one winner: Brian Moldenhawer. Brian clenched first place through consistency and skill. Valiantly vying for second place was Eric Ross, who tied Moldenhower on the very last game, which led to a two frame bowl-off. Following in a close third and fourth place were Bill Devlin and Joel Dooley, respectively.
“I was really stunned,” stated Francis, “when the winners all gave a portion of their cash prizes to the Foundation. It really proved that they have great hearts and are looking to save lives.” Also worthy of recognition is the fact that multiple scratch pot winners donated a portion of their winnings to the cause, totaling over $2,000.
All in all, the bowling tournament was such a success that another one will be hosted in October. If you’re interested in participating, please contact our event planner Jenna Hernandez at
jhernandez@giftoflife.org. We look forward to seeing you there!
