ALBERTA E. CROWE MERITORIOUS SERVICE - INTERNATIONAL BOWLING MUSEUM and HALL OF FAME
The IBMA Alberta E. Crowe Meritorious Service Award is presented to an individual or organization for outstanding long-term accomplishments in and for the sport of bowling.
Since its inception, the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame (IBMHOF) has served as the sport’s premier historical archive and home to bowling’s major halls of fame. Through its extensive collection of artifacts, documents, and interactive exhibits, the Museum provides a vital link to the past, inspiring the bowling community and ensuring that the stories of bowling and bowling’s legends are recorded and shared for future generations.
The IBMHOF has been celebrating bowling’s rich heritage since it first opened its doors in St. Louis in 1984. In 2010, the Museum moved to the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas, and soon after a satellite location opened in Reno, Nevada.
IBMHOF offerings include:
- Educational tours of the Museum’s 18,000 square feet of exhibition space
- Research assistance for budding and professional historians
- Special exhibitions at the Arlington and Reno locations, the USBC Open Championships, the USBC Women’s Championships, and more
- An online resource called the Virtual Vault that shares images and information on hundreds of the Museum’s bowling artifacts
- An online print shop where one can purchase a variety of historical reproductions of items in the Museum’s collection
- Hometown Heroics (a database displayed in Arlington and Reno celebrating local bowling legends)
- Signature Series Pin Program where autographed pins of select Hall of Famers are designed and produced in limited batches for interested collectors
- IBMHOF Striking Contribution Award is given in recognition of an individual, institution, or organization who has recently made a significant contribution to the hall of fame
- IBMHOF Legacy of Excellence Award is given in recognition of an individual, institution, or organization who has demonstrated a lifetime of dedication to the hall of fame
Beyond preservation, the IBMHOF actively engages with the public through programs, exhibitions, and digital resources to serve the bowling community locally, nationally, and internationally.
“The mission of the Museum is to serve the bowling community and beyond," said Mike Aulby. "This service award is especially meaningful to us. It shows things are working.”
“The award’s namesake holds a special historical connection to the Museum; Alberta E. Crowe is a USBC Hall of Famer that spent a period of her career leading the Museum in the 1970s," said museum curator Kari Smith Williams. "A portion of her papers and physical legacy reside at the Museum and have been utilized for research and exhibited over the years. Most recently, the Museum’s temporary exhibition Alberta Crowe: A Moving Force for Women Bowlers was on display at the 2023 Women’s Championships and highlighted her service and dedication to the community. The Museum is honored to be recognized with Crowe’s enduring legacy.”
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About the International Bowling Media Association
The International Bowling Media Association (IBMA) is the world's leading bowling media and communications organization. Since 1934, when it began as the Bowling Writers Association of America, IBMA has evolved into a source of industry news and information for the global sport and business of bowling. IBMA provides awards and recognition to professional and amateur bowlers, industry volunteers and bowling writers, and promotes bowling media as a career path to interested young people. For more information, visit: www.bowlingmedia.org.