By BILL SNIER
CANTON — It’s something College Bowl Tournaments series director Jeff DiMarzio learned early when he was researching how to operate events in the modern age seven years ago.
“Brackets, jackpots and eliminators sometimes are as important if not the most important to some guys in events,” said DiMarzio, who begins his seventh season Sept. 20 at Park Centre Lanes in North Canton.
And, as several current and former tournament directors agree, no one handles that aspect of bowling tournament play better than Canton resident Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode.
“Dawn is the most organized person I’ve ever met in my life … inside and outside bowling,” said Paul Brown, Capital University assistant bowling coach and a member of the Ohio Masters organizing committee along with Altimore-Eckenrode, Dan Higgins, Charles Easton, Jeff Fehr and Todd McGill.
“From changing colors of paper for each squad, to having everything printed off and ready to go on time … she is just amazing.”
Lexington’s Jody Boyd, an Ohio tournament promoter who brought back the Akron Open to Station 300 several years ago, knew Altimore-Eckenrode even before he started organizing events.
“She’s just very good at what she does. I had used other people when I first started this, but she is able to handle bigger events with the bracket side of things better than anyone else,” Boyd said. “She just doesn’t get rattled.
“We’ve butt heads a ton over the years, but I couldn’t run these events without her and Kim (Hogue-Ellis). My wife (Makenna) Boyd and her have become friends and she helps out. They get along so well.”
Altimore-Eckenrode, a Perry High School graduate who attended the University of Akron, first got involved in bowling tournament behind the scenes work in her early 20s.
“Blake Noble and (ex-husband) Eric (Emerson) wanted to start looking into running brackets for tournaments,” Altimore-Eckenrode said. “But they also wanted to bowl of course, so it kind of fell to me.”
But her responsibilities expanded in the early 2000s when she not only ran the side action, but took care of tournament standings and overall operations for this writer when I organized the 77 Colonial Doubles in 2002 with the help of the late Ed Deskin at 77 Colonial Lanes.
It began a 13-year relationship.
My responsibilities expanded to organizing the Seven Hills Junior-Senior trio, with Dick Gran’s sponsorship, and the Stark County Scratch tournament for Stark County bowlers only. There was no way, I could do that with my limited tournament knowledge — and Altimore-Eckenrode was invaluable.
As our fields grew to include bowlers from outside the area, Altimore-Eckenroce was responsible for developing the contacts from all over Ohio to compete in two events — the doubles and trio — where we did not use a house oil pattern.
When I decided to step away in 2013, she decided to take over full operation of the events — and maintained them for the two remaining years until 77 Colonial closed in 2016.
“They were good events and I didn’t want to see them go away,” Altimore-Eckenrode said. “Good events are what keeps bringing people back to a center.
“I just want to represent and promote bowling to the best that I can and run things fairly for the bowlers.”
In addition to those events, she also has assisted in running side action for former Stark major events — the Copeco Scratch and Shelley Green Memorial at the former College Bowl; the Glen Hannum Memorial at Park Centre; and the Hall of Fame Masters at AMF Hall of Fame. She also handles the John Klonowski Memorial at Eastbury Bowling Center and the Furbay Electric Open at Hall of Fame, where her brother Joe serves as tournament director.
How has her world expanded since her start in the 2000s?
“I think its due to people really not knowing what running those things entails. When they finally put things together and it comes to fruition to create the event, that’s when they make contact,” she added. “They say, ‘We would rather have you come in a do it.’ ”
Altimore-Eckenrode, 50, is the business development director for The Travel Corporation which conducts tours all over the world with an international brand. She also previously worked for seven years as Ohio district sales manager for AMF Corp., based first out of AMF Riviera Lanes and then Twin Star Lanes (now Spins Bowl Kent).
To say she is busy during the bowling season would be an understatement. Plenty of prep work must be done before tournaments, which can last one, two or even three days on weekends.
She added the College Bowl Tournament series to her schedule — which has one event per month from September through May — when contacted by DiMarzio seven years ago.
“Would I rather have those weekends to myself? Sure, but I care about Jeff and bowling in Canton, which is big for me,” Altimore-Eckenrode said. “I’m doing this more for him. I think he has a good thing going here and it’s really starting to click.”
Meanwhile, she continues to bowl at least one league per week. This season, it is Wednesday at Eastbury. She has carried an average of at least 200 since the 1994-95 season.
“It’s a benefit to me that I can work from home a lot more now. People joke with me that since I’m 50 more, would I compete in some senior stuff,” said Altimore-Eckenrode,, who now is married to Robert Eckenrode, a retired firefighter who bowls almost all of her tournaments. “I would like to compete more, but I also need to put in the practice time and effort.
“With working and events on the weekends, it becomes more difficult.”
But her reputation off the lanes is known throughout the state.
“She knew what we were trying to do and the prestige we were trying to build with the Ohio Masters,” said Brown, who learned of Altimore-Eckenrode’s skills through Boyd. “She is just amazing.”
DiMarzio said he was just following what legendary former Hall of Fame Lanes owner Janet Buehler told him.
“We looked at what other people were doing. It’s what we learned from (former Hall of Fame Lanes owner) Janet (Buehler). See what other people are doing and you need to do it better,” DiMarzio said. “Well, we got the best in Dawn.”
She might not be out front for most events, but you will always see her hard at work in the tournament office of her events.
“I don’t know how much longer I will do this. I want to be able to help the sport and do things right,” Altimore-Eckenrode said. “As far as being a tournament director, I could see myself doing this for awhile more, but you never know.”
Northeast Ohio tournament bowling is better for it.