Any time people talk about bowling promotions or centers, Jim Madden's name is sure to be mentioned. About his only claim to fame as a bowler was winning the State Championship in the 55 & Better Tournament.

Jim has been a proprietor for 27 years, owning centers in various areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul. During that time there were virtually no innovations or promotions that he did not have a leadership roll.

He and Don Hathaway were the prime movers in uniting St. Paul and Minneapolis and the suburbs in the BPA Metro District. Prior to that action, there was little or no cooperation among those proprietors.

Jim was always concerned with the advertising and promotion of the sport. That was reflected with his involvement with Bowlerama and Tic-Tac-Toe Bowl TV shows. Both were very successful in reaching a statewide audience.

The Bowling Trailer was one of Jim's pet projects. He donated the stub lane and was responsible for 2/3 of the total cost in putting it together. This unit served us well as a way to reach bowlers at the State Fair.

He has served 15 years on the Minnesota Bowling Council and 18 years as a director of the Minnesota BPA and 2 years as its President.

Jim has been a National BPA director for 15 years served 12 years on various committees and 4 years on the Executive Committee.

During all this time, if there was a job to be done, you could bet that one of the people doing it was Jim Madden.