Full House
he Detroit unit of the Leadership Network of B'nai B'rith
has gone straight into the gutter, but nobody is complain-
ing.
Well, to say it has gone into the gutter would be somewhat
misleading. It also has gone on strike. It has split. And with
little time to spare.
Again, nobody is complaining. That's because, in its first full
year of operation, the Leadership Network bowling league is
a complete sellout.
Every other Sunday night at Drakeshire Lanes on Grand
River in Farmington Hills, 14 teams of four bowlers each get
together for a little competition, a lot of laughs and some se-
rious socializing.
Bowlers are
flocking to
Farmington Hills
every other Sunday
night to compete in
the B'nai B'rith
Leadership Network
league.
The last element is important because most of the bowlers
are in their 20s and 30s and single.
"Last January, we started a trial league which ran through
early May," said Leadership Network bowling coordinator Nan-
cie Rakotz. "We had eight teams and probably around 25
bowlers."
Those numbers were fairly encouraging. At least encour-
aging enough for Rakotz, 26, and Leadership Network sports
coordinator Jeff Cymerint, 27, to spend many hours during the
summer getting the word out about the league.
They sent letters and talked about the league at Leadership
Network functions. Rakotz wrote a press release which was
incorporated into a pre-season B'nai B'rith bowling story in
The Jewish News.
"I thought if we got about 40
people for the league, that
would be great," Rakotz said. "I
never dreamed we'd have 14
full teams of four bowlers each
and a few substitutes."
The bowling league's growth
— Nancie Rakotz mirrors that of the Leadership
Network unit itself There were
just 12 people at the unit's first
organizational meeting at Drakeshire Lanes in early 1993.
The unit was chartered by B'nai B'rith in October 1993.
Today, the unit's roster of young Jewish pfofessionals liv-
ing in the Detroit metropolitan area includes nearly 200 men
and women with many backgrounds and interests but one com-
mon goal — serving the Jewish community. It is the largest
Leadership Network unit in B'nai B'rith.
Rakotz and Cymerint believe the growth of the league and
the unit are feeding each other.
"The league provides a nice place to spend some time so-
cializing and meeting new people," Rakotz said. "About 10 or
12 people joined the unit because of the league. If bowling in
a league is what attracts people to the Leadership Network,
that's fine."
"Another of the big pluses for our league is the fact that we
meet every other week instead of weekly," Cymerint said.
`There's no weekly grind."
To kick off the new season, a party was held at Drakeshire
Lanes in late August which offered free bowling and food.
Rakotz says that evening helped get everything rolling in the
right direction.
"A lot of our bowlers are bowling in a league for the first time,
and they got a taste of what it's like at the party," said Rakotz,
who bowls in two other B'nai B'rith leagues.
Joining first-time league bowlers in the Leadership Net-
work league are some who have been bowling for a while and
a few top-notch bowlers.
"The averages in our league range from the 50s to close to
200," Rakotz said. "Drakeshire Lanes is a high-scoring house,
so I'm looking for the averages to pick up before we finish the
season in early May."
That's good news for bowlers who are looking to make
a name for themselves on teams named everything from
Gutter Drunks to Shpilkis to 3 Men And A Lady to Shoes
`13,' Us. ❑
"I never dreamed
we'd have
14 full teams."
STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER
Above: Engaged
couples Steve Sable
and Lisa Stein, left,
and Lawrence Levy
and Michelle Cooper
make up the Quik
Trips team.
Left: David Little is on
a roll.
Right: League
organizers Jeff
Cymerint and Nancie
Rakotz.
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