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In This Issue:
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Vol. II, Issue 2 - January 13, 2003
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The Joy of Bocce Weekly
The FREE weekly Ezine for bocce aficionados everywhere
Volume 2, Issue #2 January 13, 2003
Publisher: Mario Pagnoni Copyright 2002 http://www.joyofbocce.com
Come visit us often at joyofbocce.com. We have bocce info, merchandise, links to other great bocce sites, and the best selling bocce instructional book in the USA.
Order Now @ just $12.95 by clicking on the book image to the right.
I hope you will like this electronic newsletter. To be deleted from my list, you can Unsubscribe at the end of this issue. One of our enthusiastic readers suggested that “…bocce and unsubscribe are mutually exclusive terms.”
If you know others who would enjoy and benefit from this Ezine, encourage them to sign up. You could forward this issue to them so they can decide for themselves if they want to "opt in". I promise that I will never be in the business of selling or trading your email address or other personal information.
A word about ads: Like any entrepreneurial type, I'd love to turn a profit from something I really enjoy. For now, I have decided not to accept paid advertisements. If I pitch a product here, it is something I have examined and tested and deem it beneficial to our readers.
PLEASE – we are always looking for bocce photos and feedback from all over the USA. We want to connect bocce fans everywhere. You can email (author@joyofbocce.com) or snail mail (Mario Pagnoni, P.O. Box 608, Methuen, MA 01844).
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{Publisher’s comments in brackets}
Bob Whitlow of West Frankfort, Il sends an update on his great community service program…
“The bocce courts out at the VF mall in West Frankfort are ready. This is a community service provided by Ms. Linda Simpson and Ms. Ann Hall of Factory Stores of America, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse of Carbondale, Ron Shew Welding and Fabrication of Marion, Rural King of Marion, FWHS, Inc. and Bob Whitlow of BOCCE USA.
The courts are available for the Franklin-Williamson workshop clients and group home residents. They will be playing late morning/early afternoon.
The courts will be open for walk-in play for everybody every TUESDAY evening beginning at 6:00 PM for the months of January and February. March and April nights will change.
Clubs, social, church, civic and senior groups of eight or more (sixteen is even better), can make appointments by calling 618-937-1668. There is NO CHARGE for the use of these courts. I will be scheduling and supervising court use at all other times.
Barry Kohl, Regional Superintendent of Schools, has offered to contact all Franklin and Williamson county schools thru their computer network.
He is a big fan of bocce and it's great to have him in our camp.
I will be out at the bocce complex a lot. If you can't make it on a Tuesday, give me a call. If we can get enough together, we will roll a few. (As long as it's NOT on the same day/evening as a SALUKI home basketball game).
The bocce courts were created for three reasons:
1. To give our local citizens with developmental disabilities a place for recreation during winter months.
2. To assist in educating the general public of all ages about bocce.
3. To help with our local FWHS Foundation fundraising tournament and other local bocce events throughout the year.
In a tribute to the memory of my late father-in-law, John Niana, (nickname: Ole Crooked Arm), I am dedicated to promoting this great Italian game of 7000 years so our younger generation can experience some clean fun and pleasure.”
{Keep at it Bob. You are doing great work. And keep us posted.}
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Laurie Katz has a great story to tell and she tells it in charming fashion…
I got into bocce just three years ago by going to Cunningham Park to play softball and jog a little. To take a break I would go sit by the Bocce courts.
When I first sat down I said, ‘What a boring game this must be.’
Three hours later, as the sun was setting, I was hooked. But how to learn the game?
I asked the guys there - "How can I learn to play?" They said "It's a club - you can't play on thissa court." I asked, "Can I join?"
They say " NOa ....Noa womens allowed." (Yes, this was the 21th century)
"Oh my" I thought - that's not for me. So I bought my own balls on eBay and started playing on the other court - by myself. One great guy from the club came up and said “Do you want a few tips?” That started my love - no - obsession for the game. Luckily the club voted to let women in that next year and I joined.
I'm still somewhat of an outcast but still getting better. I really want to get more and more people into the game, especially the young kids, but the club really only accepts you if you can already play well.
SO I would love to set up my own club to really introduce newcomers to the game but I haven't figured out how yet.
{Some of the “old-timers” still hold to the idea of confining the game to adult men only. That’s too bad. We should work to include as many as possible, and share this wonderful game with EVERYBODY.
Do readers have suggestions for Laurie about how she could get her own thing going "to really introduce newcomers to the game”? Please REPLY.}
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Jim Licciardi of Methuen, Massachusetts asks…
“My brother-in-law’s father is looking for a bocce league on the Cape. Are there any?”
{Does any reader know of bocce activity on Cape Cod? Please REPLY.}
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{Hey, bocce's great, but I'm always on the look-out for all kinds of good products for my readers}
Need a first-rate web site?
My company offers a website software package that puts you in control of your website even without programming skills. These websites are perfect for small to mid-size businesses or hobbyists.
I built joyofbocce.com with this package. I can set up your site very quickly and then show you how to maintain it with simple "point and click" technology. So, whenever you have to make a change, run a special, offer a holiday sale, etc., you can handle it yourself without having to wait for a programmer to fit you into his schedule and without having to pay for his/her time (which can be $50 to $100 per hour).
My sites include a Contact Manager so you can collect and manage your customers' email addresses and other info, automatic search engine submission technology (which you should do about every five weeks), statistical tracking to analyze how many people visit your site and when, and a toll-free number for tech support 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Pacific Coast Time.
Check out my favorite site that I built with this technology - www.kenwaldiessc.org. It’s named after my friend Ken Waldie who was a passenger on the ill-fated American Airlines Flight 11 that hit the World Trade Center on 9/11/01.
You can read about my friend Ken and the Senior Sports Circuit that we established in his honor (we offer softball, basketball, and bocce for anyone age 50 and over - we let people slide on the age restriction for bocce, where physical prowess is not a prerequisite for success).
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{chronological order}
Please - anyone running a tournament - do me a favor - put a notice near your tourney bracket board informing players that they can go to http://www.joyofbocce.com and "opt in" for my FREE Ezine on bocce.
February 22, 2003, Two Men - One Woman Open, Italian Athletic Club, Stockton, CA, Open Rules, Contact Ron Jacobs (209) 957-1223 or ronjo9445@aol.com.
March 8 & 9, 2003 - The Italian/American Bocce Association of Punta Gorda, Florida.
Fourth annual Southwest Florida Open Bocce Tournament. For more Info, contact George Farruggio at Tel. # 941-575-0482, Fax. # 941-575-6231 or E-Mail wam@strato.net.
March 29, 2003, Cape Coral Bocce Association, Money Tournament, Open Rules, Veterans Park Bocce Courts, 4100 Coronado Parkway, Cape Coral, Florida, Four Player Team, Prizes 1st = $2000, 2nd = $500, 3rd = $300. Entrance Fee = $200 per Team ($50 per man) Based on 18 teams, Register by March 15, 2003, Contact Skinny Battista (239) 540-8246 or skinny@prodigy.net.
April 5, 2003, Four Person Team, Italian Athletic Club, Stockton, CA, Open Rules, Contact Ron Jacobs (209) 957-1223 or ronjo9445@aol.com.
April 26, 2003, Three Person Volo, Waterloo Gun and Bocci Club, Stockton, CA, Volo Rules, Contact David Canclini (209) 957-3314 or canclini@gotnet.net.
June 8-15, 2003 - United States National Bocce Tournament - Highwood Bocce Courts, Highwood, IL
winners will compete in the WORLD COMPETITION in SWITZERLAND. Contact Mike Conti @ 847-692-6223.
July 11-13, 2003 Bocce Classic IX Tournament, John Pirelli Lodge, 2625 County Line Road, Dayton Ohio, contact rbloomky@aol.com.
NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL, NO MATTER WHAT PART OF THE COUNTRY, SEND US YOUR TOURNAMENT INFO SO WE CAN GET THE WORD OUT IN THIS COLUMN. PEOPLE MAY WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR EVENT OR JUST VISIT TO CHECK IT OUT TO "BROADEN THEIR HORIZONS."
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