Batesville Hall of Fame banquet is Saturday

BATESVILLE — The Batesville chapter of the United States Bowling Congress will honor 37 members of its hall of fame during a banquet Saturday at Colton’s Steak House Grill in Batesville. The dinner will start at 6 p.m.

This is the first time the hall-of-famers will be honored with a dinner, said Morgan Isley, Batesville USBC manager.

“This is a pretty big deal,” Isley said, “especially since we’ve never done it before. The last time I counted, I wanted to say that over half the people on the list were deceased. I’ve had to look up family members of people, and the family is going to accept their award. I’ve had a few people that I haven’t been able to find out anything about.”

Isley said the Batesville USBC is under the control of the national USBC, which she equated to the Arkansas Activities Association controlling high school sports in the state.

“If you want to participate, the alley you bowl with in leagues has to be a member of the USBC,” she said. “Each state has a USBC board; then it’s broken down into local affiliations. We’re our local chapter.”

This year’s Batesville USBC inductee is DeeDee Jeffery of Newport.

Previous inductees include the following:

Harry Lewis, 1975; Jim Weston and Mattie Ford, 1978; Beulah Durham, 1981; Burnell Harris, Garnell Anderson, Maxine Harris, Dorothy Anderson and Monty Anderson, 1983; Ed Thompson and Sally Castley, 1986; Herery Wilson, Joyce Vickery and Genevie Magness, 1990; Bea Lovell, 1991; Bill Hardwick, 1992; Glyndene Deaton, 1993; Calvin Gentry, 1996; Donna Dowell, 1997; Al Goss, 2000; Pam Kitsmiller and Gerry Thomas, 2002; Caroline Osburn and Donna Magar, 2003; Wanda Butler and Lori Hayes, 2004; Tom Tylor, Ron Trusty and Deneschia Wilson, 2005; Jan Wilson and Yvonne Satterwhite, 2006; and Gary Davis, Rick Isley and Charles Jeffery Sr., 2018.

Davis, president of the Batesville USBC, said the banquet is a good way to honor past inductees.

“I think it’s pretty good,” he said. “They’ve been here all their lives, bowling here. They deserve the recognition.”

“The event is a dinner,” Morgan Isley said. “I’m making them a bowling pin and certificate in a frame. We’re attempting to put together a slideshow of their pictures. Some of them were inducted in the 1970s. It’s hard to find some that go back that far.”

Currently, the hall-of-famers are honored on marble tiles inside the front of the Hollywood Bowl in Batesville.

“I think we’re going to do away with that,” Isley said. “They are going to renovate the floors, and we’re going to do banners instead.”

Isley said she got the idea for a banquet from other organizations who do hall-of-fame ceremonies.

“When another association would induct someone, they always did a banquet,” she said. “We’ve never done anything like that. This is our first year to do it, so that’s why we’re honoring everyone.

“Next year, it will be just the inductee for 2020.”

Anyone who has contact information about any of the previous hall-of-fame inductees is asked to contact Isley at (870) 612-0563.

Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.

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