Goins adds more to his legacy
ZANESVILLE - Dale Goins has dedicated much of life to bettering bowling.
He served on the local chapter of the United States Bowling Congress for more than 34 years, including 12 as president. He still serves as a board adviser.
Now, he can call himself a Hall of Famer.
Goins, 71, received a rare honor recently, when he was inducted into the Ohio State Bowling Council Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Dublin. He is one of three Zanesville residents to be inducted; former PBA touring professionals Allie Clarke and Ted Hannahs are the others.
Goins was inducted for Meritorious Service.
"It was quite a shock," Goins said. "I got the call on April 1, and I thought someone was playing an April Fools Joke on me and hung up. ... Two days later, I got the letter in the mail."
In some ways, 2015 was a trying one for the former star football player at Zanesville High and decorated Vietnam War veteran, who finally retired after a lengthy career as an engineer for the U.S. government. He feared he wouldn't make the induction ceremony after having back surgery.
He admitted that had the ceremony been a few weeks earlier, he wouldn't have made it, but he was able attend in a wheelchair and accept his award.
"It was a nice," Goins said. "Of course you're inducted with people who have 30 300 (games), and I haven't done that, but I'd like to say I've made things better."
Goins might not have a long list of perfect games, but he could more than hold his own with some of the best during his prime. He still bowls on the Goins Photo Seniors league at Sunrise — the league named after his photography studio — but the back problem has hindered his scoring ability.
Nontheless, he still enjoys giving back to the game in his volunteer role, which has included plenty of travel to bowling houses statewide.
He is a certified lane inspector and taught several classes to local board members for lane certification. He is also a Certified Level 1 bowling coach. Recently, he took on added responsibility of serving on the Ohio State Youth Board of Directors.
He is the president of the Ohio State USBC BA, where he has been on the board since 2000 and previously served as vice president.
His role requires travel to bowing houses statewide, acting what he considers to be a "problem solver" role when maladies arise. His duties also include updating the procedure manuals at each local USBC organization to ensure they meet national standards.
As vice president, he chaired the Promotion and Publicity Committee, which completely upgraded the bidding process for the state tournaments and Jamboree. He has been president since 2012.
"I've got one year left on my term as state president, but I probably won't run again," Goins said.
He admitted there are big changes coming to the USBC, many of which are confidential until they become public. When asked what changes he would like to see in the future, he mentioned reintroducing awards for bowlers and making it more cost effective.
That starts with not raising sanction fees.
"We need to try not to raise the price right now because what we are paying, to me, doesn't justify asking for a raise," Goins said. "We're losing bowlers (because of the cost)."
sblackburn@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com
740-450-6723
Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR