Recently I got to work the Storm booth at the Military Team Classic. The tournament is one of the largest in the United States with over 1500 teams comprised of active and retired military personnel and their guests. The tournament ran Brad Edelman’s High Roller team, which, is second to none when it comes to tournament operators. I’ve known Brad for almost 20 years as he was running the High Roller back at Sam’s Town when I first became an amateur (a few moons ago lol) The relationship between Storm and the High Roller goes back decades, and it has been one of the most important relationships for Storm in company history. So, being able to work an event with Brad and his team is always an extreme honor.

A cool story about Storm and the High Roller. The High Roller was a HUGE part of Storms’ growth in the mid 90’s. As the stories go, it is where Bob Hart was hired by Bill Chrisman on a handshake deal on the concourse of the Showboat during the 1995 High Roller. Bob was Storms’ first national salesman, and he has been with the company ever since. Bob is the ultimate brand ambassador and has done so much all over the world for Storm and for bowling. Shortly after that, Corbet Austin gave Tim Mack his first Storm ball (an Electrical Storm) at the High Roller and Tim ended up winning one of the 10k sweepers with it, and well, the rest is history with Tim. He went on to become one of the greatest international players ever, all while representing Storm. Tim and Storm are synonymous with each other, especially in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Well back to my time in the booth. I really enjoy working this event every year because it’s a way to say thank you to the men and women that defend our freedoms. At our booth the bowlers have an opportunity to interact with our team, purchase bowling balls, have us look at their arsenals and get tips on lane play, or ask questions. Often, I will help bowlers with their layouts and fit. Nothing better than having the same bowlers return year after year and tell me how much the changes or ball I mapped out for them helped them. Helping our fans enjoy bowling more is (I think it’s safe to say) the ultimate thing we strive for at Storm. We are the bowlers’ company, and we love to help other bowlers enjoy the sport as much as we do. It’s in our DNA (no pun intended).

The week flew by as it normally does, and I am already looking forward to the next event! Until next time, BOWL UP A STORM!