Planner Q&A
Creating Meaningful Experiences For Participants
BY ALISON MITCHELL
Gary Beck’s love affair with bowling began at the age of 13. Beck Camiseta Club Tijuana started bowling during breaks between mowing lawns in the summer of 1966 and swiftly learned that he had an innate talent for the sport.
After working as a school teacher in Missouri, Beck served as president of Camiseta Tottenham Hotspur his own recruiting firm and the Colorado association of personnel Consultants—during which he uncovered a natural penchant for event planning. So, Beck made a decision to combine his gift for planning with his passion for bowling.
In Denver in 1991, Beck founded killer “B” Promotions, which creates bowling events and runs consumer promotions and professional bowling competitions. Beck’s premier event is the teen Masters bowling competition, which began in 1997 as a single event in Akron, Ohio, and awarded $5,000 college scholarships to both its male and female champions. Today, the teen Masters event has surpassed $700,000 in total scholarship awards and is nationally televised.
SportsEvents recently talked to Beck about making occupation moves, planning successful bowling events and the happiness that comes from working with kids.
Please tell me about yourself and about your position with killer “B” Promotions. have you always been interested in sports and bowling specifically?
I’ve always loved sports and lettered in high school football, basketball and track. But, when I got to college, I found that I was too small for football, had no jump shot for basketball and had no desire to run track.
My occupation plan was to show and coach, and while taking one of the Physical education courses, Golf & Bowling, the instructor suggested I try out for the college bowling team. That basic idea sealed my fate as I earned the 10th and final spot on the college team. four years later, I was the collegiate champion in singles, doubles, team and all events, and then earned a position on the U.S. team that competed in the Camiseta Selección de fútbol de Japón 1975 world championships in London.
I went on to show 9th grade science for five years in St. Louis and was a corporate headhunter for 13 years in Denver before killer “B” Promotions was born. I staged my first bowling event in 1992.
Tell me a lot more about the groups you plan events for through killer “B” Promotions.
I have planned events for all types of bowlers and in all sorts of locations, including professionals and amateurs, adults and kids, individual and corporate, local and national, domestic and international. I’ve successfully merged my two passions—kids and bowling—and now am completely devoted to my youth event, the teen Masters. Its mission is “preparing teens for the game of life through the sport of bowling.”
I have always strived to make my events inspiring and memorable for all participants, not just those who emerge victorious. It is guaranteed that a lot more than 99 percent of participants in my events will leave as “losers,” so I work hard to redefine [the difference in winning and losing] as preparation for other aspects of life where challenges are faced—be it school, work or relationships. I intentionally make the scoring environment tough while preaching, “The opposite of winning isn’t losing; it’s quitting.”
As for the organization, up until now I’ve done just about everything. The teen Masters has grown so that it’s now really beyond my capabilities, and I am in the process of building an infrastructure of employees and volunteers to take over operations so that I can be complimentary to focus on marketing and establishing corporate partnerships.
How did you make the step from teacher to headhunter to sports events promoter/manager? What does it indicate to you to work with children and plan events for the sport you and they love?
I had no idea what I was getting into when I left teaching to become a headhunter. The step happened when I responded to a blind ad in the St. Louis post dispatch that asked, “Would You like To Make $50,000 Per Year? No experience necessary. good communication skills, an outgoing personality, and a sense of humor required.” The $50,000 was mind-boggling compared to my $13,500 teaching salary, and I figured my sense of humor would compensate any shortcomings in the other requirements.
A dozen years later as president of the Colorado association of personnel Consultants, I formally staged my first event, called “Fair Hiring Practices.” I conceived, planned, and carried out the project and received a national award. The creative process of taking an idea and enjoying it materialize ignited a fire that hasn’t gone out since.
Bowling is simply a automobile through which I can engage kids in a meaningful way. It has allowed me to merge two passions, kids and education, while making a positive impact on the participants.
What, in your opinion, makes bowling so appealing?
Bowling’s appeal is that nearly any individual can participate, anull