Page 54 - BCM June 2024

COVER STORY

The Making of a BPAA

Proprietor of the Year

Being a bowler informed his business, but striving

to do the right thing has defined Steve Wiemer’s life.

STORY BY BOB JOHNSON • PHOTOS BY MICHELLE JOHNSON

here is no point system for BPAA’s
T Proprietor of the Year award. The
honoree is selected based on several
factors, both tangible and intangible, that
add up to a bowling center operator all
would do well to emulate.
It’s a “non-formula” that has produced
eight undeniably worthy honorees to
date: Jim Chambers of Cloverleaf Family
Bowl in Fremont, California, in 2016;
John Losito of Sun Valley Lanes in Lin-
coln, Nebraska, in 2017; brothers Johnny,
Ricky and Billy Buffaloe of the Buffaloe
Lanes centers in Raleigh, North Carolina,
in 2018; Mike Logan of Grand Station
Entertainment in College Station, Texas,
in 2020; Don MacBrayne of The Summit
locations in Colorado, in 2022; and Doug
Bohannon of Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun
Centers in upstate New York, in 2023.
Now, to that list, you may add the
name of Steve Wiemer, owner of Enter-
prise Park Lanes and Sunshine Lanes
in Springfield, Missouri. Wiemer will
be honored during the industry awards
brunch on July 2 at International Bowl
Expo in suburban Denver.

Wiemer’s Roots
Who you are is determined, in some
cases more than others, by where you’re
from. You may be born with a silver
spoon in your mouth, as the old saw goes, The previous owners of the Greater Ozarks Open told Steve Wiemer —
growing up with the presumption that BPAA’s 2024 Proprietor of the Year — to “not mess it up” when they sold the
privilege is normal. Or you may be born tournament to him. The event remains largely unchanged except for the
into poverty, wondering why there’s no addition of brackets, which the bowlers requested.

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