The selection process is based on the recipient being a Foundation Member who has done a tremendous amount in the way of promoting the Sport of Bowling.

The announcement is always a surprise because it is done through a secret ballot.  Unfortunatly, this years selection suddenly passed away while preparing to attend all of the festivities at Bowl Expo.

We posthumously made the presentation to his good friend Jim Goodwin, who will deliver the Award to his wife Jane.

Below is the prepared announcement that we had previously written to pass out to the Media.

God Bless Walt Steinsiek.

WALT STEINSIEK HONORED

Receives the 10^th Annual “John Davis Award”

World renowned cartoonist, Walt Steinsiek, has been named as the 2010 recipient of the “John Davis Award”.  The surprise presentation was made at Bowl Expo in Las Vegas.  Previous winners of the Award were: Joyce Deitch, John Weber, Ted Hoffman, Jr., Jim Dressel, Mark Gerberich, Carmen Salvino, Linda Davis, Gary Parsons and Len Nicholson. Walt is 84.

Steinsiek has been involved in bowling for over 70-years, starting as a pin boy in New Jersey.  In World War II, he proudly served in the U.S. Merchant Marine, sailing in convoys to Europe on tankers and Liberty ships. A gifted artist with a wonderful sense-of-humor, he was an active member of the Artists and Writers Club in New York and earned a scholarship to the laceName w:st="on">New YorklaceName> laceType w:st="on">UniversitylaceType>’s laceType w:st="on">SchoollaceType> of laceName w:st="on">ArtlaceName> in 1946.

Over the years, his genius has won him numerous Awards, including the Joe Richards Meritorious Service Award from the NY Bowling Writers Association and the Rip Van Winkle Award from the BPAA.  He recently was inducted into the NCABA Hall of Fame, and in 1984 he was also inducted into the greater Baltimore Bowling Association Hall of Fame.  Walt and his wife Jane have been married for well over 40-years and have one daughter, Denise.

Walt was a dedicated league bowler and a fierce tournament competitor.  In 1971, he won the Kegler Bowling Club championship, beating out over 650 entrants.  In 1984, he was awarded the American Bowling Congress Sponsor’s Award, for sponsoring the year’s highest scoring team.

Walt became involved with The Foundation at its inception, by becoming a Founding Member.  He has also been a “Continuing Contributor” by designing several bowling related cartoons to Kegel that were (and are) used for advertising purposes.

John Davis, the man who started The Kegel Company, and founding ‘father’ of The Foundation, has been totally involved in bowling for nearly his entire life. At an early age, John's dad taught all of his children how to bowl. That "love affair" with this great Sport, has been going on for over a half a century. In his 50-plus years of involvement with bowling, it is safe to say that no one has done more for the Sport of bowling than John Davis. Even though The Kegel Company is a relatively small one, his personal investment in bowling has been unselfish and unmatched.

His innovations, inventions, contributions, etc., have all been well documented in the past. His leadership in both technology and humanities, both in this Country and Worldwide, make him perhaps the most sought out figure in the game today. His behind-the-scenes committee "work" is globally welcomed. Because of his vast accomplishments and devotion to the Sport, the Award (aptly called: "The John Davis Award"), was established by The Foundation in his name.

This prestigious honor is presented annually to a deserving Foundation Member. A beautiful, “one –of-a-kind”, perpetual plaque, bearing each recipients name, is permanently displayed at the "home" of The Foundation, in The Kegel Training Center, in Lake Wales, Florida.