Carson Country Bowlers Association raise funds for veterans
Local bowlers in the Carson Country Bowling Association of the U.S. Bowling Congress presented a check to the Veteran’s Guest House on Saturday at the Bowling for Veterans Link (BVL) local tournament held at Carson Lanes.
A check for $5,970 was presented to Monk Mann, Past Board President of the Reno area Veteran’s Guest House, which was raised during the fundraising events held in November 2021.
Prior to the presentation of the check, the Douglas County High School Junior ROTC Color Guard presented the colors while the Youth Theater Carson City Showstoppers led the bowlers and friends in the Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem.
On Saturday, the local association sponsored the Chris Beard Memorial BVL Tournament with more than 100 bowlers, including 14 youth. Some of the bowlers were veterans of conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq and were applauded for their service prior to the tournament. In 2021, the annual tournament was renamed for Chris Beard, who had chaired the committee that organized this successful tournament for many years.
In an unusual occurrence, the top score for the no-tap, handicap tournament was a youth bowler. Nolan Pedersen, 17, of Carson City rolled 1,047 in three games for first place of all bowlers, adult and youth. Hunter Mueller, 14, of Carson City rolled 947 for youth second place. Bill Forsyth of Carson City took first place for the adults with 982 total and Pawn Hyman of Silver Springs had 968 for second place in the adults.
The fundraising effort each November includes donations solicited from bowling leagues, raffles sales at the tournament, and the tournament. The raffle on Saturday brought in $1,795; donations are still coming in from leagues so the final amount raised this year is not yet known.
Carson Country Board President Jolly Ramsey noted that it “was an amazing day, everybody had a lot of fun.”
BVL was founded in 1942 (known then as the Bowlers Victory Legion) as a campaign from the entire bowling industry to support the U.S. troops. Those first projects during World War II focused on improving morale for troops overseas and insuring that wounded service men receive appropriate and timely healthcare. That mission continues today as the Bowlers to Veterans Link is bowling’s oldest charity, raising more than $1 million annually and more than $52 million since BVL was founded.
BVL is supported by fundraising events and donations from thousands of bowling associations, bowling centers, industry partners and bowlers throughout the U.S.
President Ramsey added that the efforts of the team at Carson Lanes helped make Saturday a big success. “I want to thank all that came out today! Special thanks to Carson Country USBC board members, without you, today would not have been a success.”