LEADERSHIP
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ Board of Directors ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Nancy Schenk
Chair, BVL Board of Directors
BPAA REPRESENTATIVE
Schenk, who joined the BVL Board in 2022 and was named Board Chair beginning in 2024, is the owner and GM of B&B Bowling Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C. and previously served as president of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America from 2016-18. Schenk joined her father Howard Baum in the BPAA Hall of Fame in 2022 when she also received the Victor Lerner Memorial Medal from BPAA.
In addition to BVL, Scheck currently serves on the USBC and PWBA Hall of Fame boards. Schenk, who earned her Chemical Engineering degree from North Carolina State University and previously worked as a management consultant, lives in Fayetteville with her husband, Gary who she met on the NCSU bowling team.
Amy Arcuri
Arlington, Texas
BPAA REPRESENTATIVE
Arcuri is the current Director of Member Benefits for the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America. She is the recipient of the 2023 BPAA President’s Award for her work helping proprietors navigate supply-chain issues during the pandemic through the organization’s Smart Buy program.
Darlene Baker
Mahomet, Illinois
USBC REPRESENTATIVE
Darlene Baker of Mahomet, Ill., rejoined the BVL Board in 2023 after previously serving as Chair from 2007 through 2014. Baker, a passionate advocate for veterans, has also served as a BVL Ambassador since 2014.
She has served as President of the United States Bowling Congress and previously served as a national Director for multiple bowling organizations (WIBC, YABA and USA Bowling). She currently serves as President of the Illinois State USBC Association.
Baker is the Chief Financial Officer at the Piatt County Mental Health Center.
Jay Buhl
Henrico, Virginia
AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Buhl was named to the BVL Board of Directors in 2022. He has worked in the bowling industry for more than 30 years and currently serves as Executive Vice President and General Manager for QubicaAMF Worldwide. Buhl leads QubicaAMF teams in North and South America, Australia & New Zealand.
Buhl received his graduate degree in business administration and management from the Virginia Commonwealth University – School of Business.
Lisa Ciniello
Bonita Springs, Florida
BPAA REPRESENTATIVE
Ciniello is the VP of Bowling Management Associates, the Bonita Springs, Fla.-based bowling entertainment company. She oversees day-to-day operations for the three-center chain. The BMA centers are traditionally in the Top 3 fundraisers for BVL, highlighting the long history of commitment to BVL from Lisa and her husband Patrick.
Ciniello, a life-long bowler who joined the BVL Board in 2020, also serves on the BPAA Food & Beverage Committee, and has been involved with MUBIG (Multi-Unit Bowling Information Group) and the FEC20 Group.
Anthony Colangelo
Meridian, Idaho
USBC REPRESENTATIVE
Colangelo served on the BVL Board of Directors from 2014-16 and rejoined the Board in 2020 as an USBC representative. He is an Army veteran who served from 1984 to 1988. Military service runs in the Colangelo family with his grandfather serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Colangelo has been involved in the bowling industry for more than 35 years and is currently a member of the USBC Board of Directors (through 7/31/25). He leads a technical services team at the IT Manager for the Boise Centre, Idaho’s premier event venue.
Corey Dykstra
Comstock Park, Michigan
AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Dykstra serves as Chief Executive Officer of Brunswick Bowling Products LLC, a position he has held since 2017. Dykstra, who has been with Brunswick since 2004, was previously the company’s VP of Consumer and Aftermarket Products as well as Chief Financial Officer. Dykstra is also currently a member of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
There’s a long military lineage in the Dykstra family as Corey’s father served in the Army in Vietnam, his grandfather served in the Navy and his son Zeke is currently serving in the military as a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy.
Dennis Hacker
Longtown, MIssouri
USBC REPRESENTATIVE
Hacker, a former Navy serviceman, was appointed to the BVL Board in 2018 as an USBC representative. Hacker is the current USBC Vice Presidentand is also an USBC Silver-certified coach. He has coached the Jackson (Mo.)High School bowling team since 2016. He has been actively involved with the Missouri State USBC in a number of leadership roles and is a member of theMissouri State and Cape Girardeau USBC Halls of Fame.
During his service in the Navy (1981-1993), Hacker worked as a nuclear electrician on submarines.Currently, he is the director of research for Pinnacle Research Group, an independent full-service market research firm.
Keith Hamilton
Park Ridge, Illinois
AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Hamilton, who joined the BVL Board in 2021, is a longtime bowling industry leader with more than 30 years in publishing. He is the President and Co-Owner of Luby Publishing Inc., has served as President and Chairman of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame and was previously a four-term President of the International Bowling Media Association (IBMA).
Hamilton previously oversaw Bowlers Journal before selling the magazine to the USBC in 2020. He is a graduate of Western Illinois University and received his MBA from University of Notre Dame – Mendoza College of Business.
John LaSpina
Long Beach, NY
BPAA REPRESENTATIVE
John LaSpina served as BVL Board Chair from August 2014 through December 2023. He is president of Maple Family Centers, a chain of five bowling centers in the New York City area and Florida. Maple is a family-owned business that is distinguished for its commitment to charity, raising more than $500,000 for charities. For the past five years (2018-2023), Maple Family Centers has raised more funds for BVL than any other company in the industry.
LaSpina, who has held numerous local, regional and national leadership roles, is a former president of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) and has been recognized as the International Bowling Industry Person of the Year (1994). He currently serves on the board of directors for Fight for Sight and BVL.
LaSpina and his wife Anita have two grown children, Joseph and Teresa, who help run their bowling business.
Chrissy Lee
Tampa, Florida
USBC REPRESENTATIVE
Lee was named to the BVL Board in 2022 to serve as an USBC representative. She has been active with her state and local association boards for two decades. Lee previously served on both the New Jersey State USBC WBA and the New Jersey State USBC Boards of Directors. She is a current board member of the Greater Tampa USBC.
Since 2021, Lee has volunteered as an ambassador for BVL, representing the organization at local and regional events. Lee, who was inducted into the Monmouth County USBC Hall of Fame in 2020, has worked as a preschool teacher for over 25 years.
Wally Hall
Pasadena, Maryland
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
Walter J. Hall of Pasadena, Md., has been the longest serving BVL Board Member – appointed as a representative of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA). He transitioned to Director Emeritus status on the BVL Board in 2020. Hall’s support of BVL and veterans has been unwavering for decades. His grandson Marine Cpl. Jason David Mileo was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 at age 20.
Hall’s extensive bowling industry resume includes serving as President and CEO of Fair Lanes. He has also held a variety of voluntary leadership positions, including President of BPAA, President of MUBIG and Trustee of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. Hall, who owns two bowling centers in Maryland, is also a member of the BPAA Hall of Fame.
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ LEADERSHIP ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Mary Harrar
BVL Executive Director
A leader with more than three decades in the bowling industry, Mary Harrar joined as BVL Executive Director in June 2016. It’s a role that she calls a “dream opportunity – to work in an industry that I love and serve America’s veterans.”
Over the past several years, BVL has reached record fundraising marks and expanded the organization’s support of recreation therapy, including a partnership with an innovative virtual reality therapeutics program.
Harrar was previously the Executive Administrator for Thunderbird Lanes, which had several centers in the Philadelphia area. In addition to her extensive knowledge of the bowling industry, she has long been an avid BVL supporter, coordinating successful fundraising campaigns throughout her career.
Johnny Petraglia
BVL Spokesperson
One of professional bowling’s biggest names, Johnny Petraglia, is the Bowlers to Veterans Link (BVL) spokesperson. Petraglia lays claim to 14 National, eight Senior, and 13 Regional professional bowling titles, including bowling’s coveted triple crown — the PBA National Championship, the U.S. Open, and the Tournament of Champions. He is the owner of a staggering 56,300 games. Petraglia is the only bowler in history to win a national PBA Tour title in six different decades. He is a member of both the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame. Petraglia, a touring pro since 1965, was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in 1982, and has served three terms as that organization’s president (1979-1980, 1989-1990, 1997-1998).
After launching his bowling career, Petraglia was called to duty in Vietnam in 1967 -1968, during the Tet Offensive. There he served as an Army Spec. 5 in Long Binh and Bien Hoa. Like many veterans, Petraglia lost many friends in Vietnam, and a couple of close friends suffered leg amputations. “After coming home, to see the way they live their lives and what they’ve done with themselves, it’s really inspirational,” continues Petraglia, “In terms of my career, it’s helped me put things in perspective, if I throw a clutch strike on TV to win, I tell myself that this isn’t tough. Tough is going through the war experience.”
“As BVL spokesperson, I am honored to get the opportunity to meet more of my fellow veterans. BVL does many great things for our veterans, and I’m happy to be a part of that.” Petraglia visits VA Hospitals throughout the country while travelling to compete on the PBA Senior Tour.
Libbi Fletcher
BVL USBC Consultant
Libbi Fletcher currently serves as BVL’s USBC consultant, bringing her extensive association experience and advocacy for veterans to the organization. Fletcher works with local and station associations to help building their BVL fundraising efforts. She was a long-time local fundraiser in the Detroit area for BVL before joining the BVL Board from 2012-19. Fletcher also served nationally with WIBC and USBC, and is the President of Metro Detroit USBC (MDUSBC).
Fred Kaplowitz
Consultant, Bowling Centers
Kaplowitz is the President of The Kaploe Group, a national marketing and management consulting firm that provides strategic marketing and management services to recreational, leisure and entertainment complexes, bowling proprietors, manufacturers and distributors in the bowling industry. The longtime bowling industry marketing executive is also a founding partner in the hugely successful Kids Bowl Free marketing movement which has registered over 8 million kids in the last 7 years.
BVL Ambassadors
BVL’s ambassadors are our voices in the field, representing BVL at meetings, jamborees, conventions, and other special events. BVL Ambassadors help tell the veterans’ stories while promoting the good works that BVL does to fund recreation therapy.