Hello Merry,

Youth Banquet and Schildroth Invitational

July 29, 2023

Royal Scot Bowl, Golf & Banquet Center

Lansing

Michigan State USBC Fall Workshop

August 12, 2023 - 9:00 am

Great Hall Banquet and Convention Center

5121 Bay City Road

Midland

On-Line Registration opens

September 5

Open and Women's Tournaments

Reservation books open for the Youth Tournament.

Pepsi Qualifying for ALL youth leagues in Michigan

October 14-27

Michigan State Senior Tournament

Royal Scot - Lansing

October 19-22 and 26-29

Michigan State Queens Tournament

Five Star Lanes - Sterling Heights

November 4 & 5

Youth Masters

Monitor Lanes - Bay City

November 11 & 12

The Annual Meeting/Awards Banquet was held at the Holiday Inn/Midland on June 24th. What a great day and great venue.

Starting with the annual meeting in the morning...memorial service, reports from committees, elections, a report by David Kowalski from the Michigan State High School Bowling Coaches Association and a special presentation from Jacob Darnell, a 2023 USBC Young Delegate to the National USBC meeting. Special thanks to both David and Jacob for sharing their knowledge with the delegation.

The Annual Awards Banquet this year included the Michigan State USBC Hall of Fame Inductions. Three people were inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Class of 2023, Toary Taylor, Chris Slagter, and Brian Waliczek. All three inductees thanked their family and friends for the special support they had received through the years with their bowling careers.

We also honored our Tournament Champions and honor score bowlers in attendance ... it was a wonderful banquet and we do thank those who took the time to come on out a rather HOT June Saturday afternoon. The venue was nice and cool and the food was amazing.



Toary Taylor was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. She attended college at Southern University in Baton Rouge on both music and basketball scholarships. Her degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in math and physics would lead her to a job in Dearborn with the Ford Motor Company. In 1990, Toary and a couple of friends would join a league at Cherry Hill Lanes in Dearborn Heights and her amazing bowling career would start and would lead to her induction today into the Michigan State USBC Hall of Fame.

Toary first averaged around 130 in that league at Cherry Hill. Her game would change when she was introduced to Mickey (Altramese) Webb.  The two ladies practiced together and Mickey in essence became Toary’s first coach. As Toary practiced and attended tournaments with Mickey, her game got stronger and her average got higher. Toary has maintained a 200+ average for 20 years, she is extremely proud of that fact. The other thing that happened to Toary is she developed a strong love for the sport. Through that love she started to bowl more and learn from people like Gerald Johnson, Cheryl Daniels, Novella (White) Daniels and countless others. Like all great passions Toary had to learn to balance life. She is so grateful for her family always supporting her even when it meant she missed some of their activities. Toary is also grateful for the opportunities she has because of the Metro Detroit and Michigan State USBC. She moved briefly for her job to Kentucky and Missouri; these moves made her appreciate the many opportunities the bowling community in Detroit and Michigan had to offer even more. Early in her bowling career Toary met a group of people called “The Fantastics”. This bowling club would introduce her to all kinds of tournament opportunities. She is very grateful for their presence in her life. Later in her career she would become one of the famous “Brunswick Bunnies” and would capture her two state titles bowling with them.

Toary wants to be remembered as a bowler who is even keeled whether she bowled 140 or 240. She is about the experiences, learning the game, and chasing titles. On her bucket list is that elusive 800 series. We wish Toary well on her recent retirement, congratulations on her induction, and good luck on the lanes for many years to come.

Highlights of Toary’s career include:

12 – 300 games – one in the Michigan State USBC Women’s Championship Tournament &

5 - 300 games in 2017 – special thanks to Paul Hutchins

Singles Championship in MSUSBC Women’s Tournament

Doubles Championship in the Senior Singles Open – In the over 50 /under 50 tournament with Stacey Timmer beating a field of mostly male bowlers.



Induction into the Metro Detroit Hall of Fame

Induction into the Detroit Black Bowlers Hall of Fame

Captain of both the Women’s & Senior Women’s All City Teams in Metro Detroit 2 years in a row

Chris Slagter of Jenison started bowling at age six because his friends joined a league. If he wanted to remain part of the gang, he had to join too. Little did Chris know then but bowling would play a big part in his life story. His first league would be three games a week at Fairlanes in Grandville. A few years later you could find Chris bowling all day Saturday in three different leagues. At 9:00 am he bowled at Michigan Lanes, then at 11 am at Miracle, then to cap the afternoon off he bowled in a Grand Rapids youth travel league. Once he acquired his license, Chris began to really get serious about his game. He joined the Michigan Junior Masters Association and started practicing more. He also met a fellow competitor, who would become a friend then a teammate and finally his wife. Meeting Jennifer according to Chris is the best gift bowling ever gave him.

When Chris and Jennifer married they stayed very involved in bowling. During those early days, Jennifer would win the 2004 Michigan State WBA Queens Tournament. Chris would win the all-events title in the Michigan State BA Tournament. As a bonus to that title the BA paid the entry for the bowler to the USBC Masters. Chris took a chance and went to Milwaukee to compete. Chris would make it to the top 64 and would draw Norm Duke in the first round. Chris put up a great fight, he was ahead in the beginning but he would come up around 20 pins short. He did have a great time and was complimented by Del Ballard who told Chris he watched him and used his line in competition. After this period of time, the Slagters would become parents and like all good parents their kids became their world. Life revolved around their four kids and their activities. The couple would continue to bowl together on Thursday nights. Bowling in tournaments with the extended family especially at the state and local level. Family means everything to Chris and if bowling just happens to be involved it is a bonus.

Chris keeps bowling in the forefront as the coach of not one but two teams. He is the coach of the Jenison High School boys and girls bowling teams. Chris also coaches at the collegiate level. He is the bowling coach for his alma mater, Cornerstone University. On the high school, Chris has been able to coach three of his children and looks forward to welcoming his youngest son to the team next season. At Jenison, he was named co-coach of the year for the girl’s team in 2019. He shared the honor with his sister-in-law Kim. In 2023, Chris would receive the same named award for his Division 1 boys’ team at Jenison. At Cornerstone, a NAIA school, Chris has had the opportunity to coach his eldest two children, Nick and Lauren. Coaching the college team, Chris has found it helps his game too. As he uses his coach’s eye to analyze his players, he picks up little adjustments here and there he can make to his game too. Chris loves giving back to youth bowling by coaching, he has been at his position at Jenison for 11 years and in this capacity at Cornerstone for 8 years. Coaching is a labor of love for Chris.

This family man who just rolled a 878 series this season, has one more bucket list entry about bowling. The Michigan State USBC and Greater Grand Rapids tournaments have always been a family event. This 5 time state titlists would love for the tradition to continue with the next generation. Chris cannot wait to bowl with all of his kids, nieces, nephews, and the rest of family in these tournaments. This is what is important to him, family and spending time together. If it is on the lanes, it is a bonus.

Brian Waliczek of Frankenmuth was born into a bowling family in Wichita, Kansas. His grandfather and father both owned bowling centers. His father was the person responsible for Wichita State establishing the Shockers collegiate bowling program. Brian, his siblings and cousins would all become bowlers who excelled at the game. Brian’s brother Lonnie would become the first to show his prowess on the lanes. His sister, Mishca would prove herself in the sport as well by winning in the old Coca-Cola Championships for a couple of years in the state and national levels. In her senior year in high school, she went all the way to the finals where she finished second and won a berth to the Western Hemisphere Championships. Mishca would win the Western Hemisphere Championships where her bowling career would end. In the fall, she went to college on a soccer scholarship. What about the cousins? Billy Murphy has bowled on the pro tour and his brother, Chad works in the bowling industry. Yes, that Chad Murphy.

The family would move from their native Kansas in pursuit of the bowling business first to Syracuse, New York and then to Saginaw, MI. Brian would chose to stay in Michigan to go to college at Saginaw Valley State University. His freshman year, the team would win the National Championship and Brian would be named Rookie of the Year and make First Team All-American. Brian would continue to make the First Team All-American list his sophomore and junior years as well. Brian’s senior year at SVSU he would be named an Academic All-American.

Brian met his wife Jill, at SVSU through student government and other clubs. She pursued degree in education and the couple decided to settle in the picturesque city of Frankenmuth. Jill taught at the elementary school for 13 years, later becoming the principal of the school.

The Waliczeks have three children who are involved in a lot of activities. Presently, Brian works for a commercial insurance firm that services bowling centers in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

After college, Brian did try his luck on the tour and had moderate success. He would decide to stay closer to home to pursue his bowling career. This decision would produce a phenomenal bowling career. Brian’s state bowling career includes 3 team titles, 1 doubles titles, 1 singles title, and 2 all-event crowns. Brian’s has bowled in all but one Michigan State Masters Championships and was the champion in 2012 and the runner-up in 2017.



 In local competition in Saginaw, he has eight city championship titles. In USBC national competition, Brian’s star has shown bright. Brian and his team own 2 team titles and 1 team all-events title. Just last year Brian claimed the Individual all-events title. He is currently 11^th in average on the USBC lifetime leader board at the USBC Open Nationals. Brian’s favorite titles are team titles. He likes the idea of sharing the joy of the win with his teammates.

Greater Kalamazoo USBC Hall of Fame

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