By: Todd Denmark and Jeff Weinberg
IGBO Fellowship Award Committee Co-Chairs
fellowship@igbo.org
The IGBO Fellowship Award is IGBO’s highest recognition honor. It celebrates the people in our cities who make a positive impact on our leagues, tournaments, and the broader local community. This year at the 2025 IGBO Annual Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, Alan Plattoff from Jersey City, NJ was honored with the Fellowship Award. Congratulations Alan!
The Fellowship Award honors those in our bowling communities who volunteer for pride events, charities, and fundraising efforts; who help people in need and support their neighbors. It’s about people who give their time and energy to make others’ lives better.
The IGBO Fellowship Award is all-encompassing and truly about Fellowship.
While many of our recipients are visible in our local leagues, tournaments, and IGBO itself, many others are the people behind the scenes—the “unsung heroes” who show up year after year. These are people who often don’t seek recognition beyond a simple “thank you.”
A few examples of recent recipients include:
- A bowler from New Jersey who has served as his league’s treasurer for over 20 years and sits on the boards of several national and local charities. On any given weekend, he’s working a fundraiser to help those in need.
- A bowler from upstate New York who has held most offices in his league and supported his local tournament behind the scenes for over 30 years. His volunteer work includes helping young people who have just come out, taking seniors to doctors’ appointments they can’t manage alone, and serving meals to homeless families at his church.
- A bowler from Florida who has directed two different tournaments in her area, volunteers for several organizations—including the annual Florida Joy Ride, which benefits HIV organizations—and most notably, donated one of her kidneys to a fellow bowler in dire need.
There are many people in our IGBO bowling communities who have made a positive impact—not only on bowlers in their cities but on their communities at large. Most of us know someone who deserves to be nominated.
Last year, we received zero new nominations, despite the many worthy individuals in our local communities.
Do you have someone in mind? Please nominate them. You can let them know you’re nominating them—they’ll be your best source for information about contributions you may not be aware of. It is unfair to them to not at least recognize them with being nominated. Nominations stand for 3 years. The forms are easily accessible HERE. Nominations are due 12/31/25.
Thank you.
