05/31/2026
Hello everyone, and good morning.
Hope you all are doing well and enjoying your weekend. I’m here to announce, bittersweetly, that after lengthy consideration and deep thought, the Action Newsletter as of July will go on an indefinite hiatus for at least one year.
We will have a June edition, which is currently in production, and then for July we will have an overall "Best of" edition, noting the top stories and highlights we spotlighted since August 2019 before we temporarily close the curtain.
Forgive me in advance for the ensuing lengthy post. This is, and was not, an easy decision to make because we have sincerely and deeply appreciated the local bowling community’s support for what has been a seven-year endeavor with this newsletter. And, we know you have appreciated us giving local bowlers a significant spotlight that many local news organizations don’t usually offer. So, in short, deciding to hit the pause button was extremely hard to do.
But as a journalist who always calls upon the public to be transparent, it’s only fair and right for me to be transparent with you. Me deciding to halt production on the newsletter for the time being came down to two matters: Time and sacrifice, two things that are critical for bowlers to be successful during high-level competition.
Time and sacrifice are also major elements for journalists to be successful as well. Journalists constantly need time to put forth the highest-quality news for the public to be properly informed and also spotlighted in a way few news organizations can. It also requires sacrifices, having to be at certain events to showcase the news while giving up their own personal time and efforts for the sake of others.
Unfortunately, on my end, time and sacrifice are becoming more and more limited on my end than it was when we launched Action back in August 2019 and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to successfully produce the newsletter to the highest quality that the bowling community deserves. Therefore, due to limited time I now have to create this newsletter monthly, I have to make this sacrifice and pause Action.
For starters, my two nephews – who I love dearly – are now of the age where they’re competing in sports and they enjoy seeing Uncle James be at their games regularly. Therefore, spending time with my family will be prioritized.
Additionally, producing the newsletter has also required me to sacrifice my ability to compete in certain major local events. My window to compete with the best is finite, and I want to devote more time to myself to get back on the lanes with the best in the area regularly and consistently while the opportunity is still available.
Plus, I’ve been asked over the years when I’m covering “X” tournament for the newsletter why I'm not competing in it. My answer each time is that I cannot bowl a tournament and also cover it at the same time, and expect both to be high quality. Journalism work requires just as much focus and skill to be at its best as one does needing a strike to win a title – take it from someone with 12 journalism honors over 20-plus years in the industry.
Again, this is a hiatus; we are not permanently ceasing operations (hence the “goodbye for now” photo). This pause will give me time to reevaluate how we can continue this newsletter, and restart it possibly for the 2027-28 bowling season and deliver the best news to the local bowling community. I will keep you updated on that as much as possible.
First and foremost, I want to sincerely thank Strike F/X Pro Shops and Jonathan Van Hees. It was Jon’s idea to have a newsletter spotlighting the bowling community, and he trusted in me to help bring it to life at a level that even surprised us. Stike F/X has been a tremendous supporter of this newsletter and I cannot thank them enough.
I also want to thank those who contributed to this newsletter over the years: Chris Schlemer of Storm Products Inc., Chuck Gardner and Valerie Bercier both of Brunswick Products, Zach Thompson for his freelance writing and Scott Cabral for his photography work for some local events.
I want to give a major thank you to Vicki Prevost, who has reported on bowling in southeastern Massachusetts for decades dating back to her Pin Tales column with the New Bedford Standard-Times and for us at Action. When the Standard-Times dropped her column, we immediately reached out to Vicki, and we respectfully left the decision to her if she wanted to continue her column with us. We were grateful that she said “yes” and she was essential in not only reporting on the happenings on the lanes in the area, but also validating that our newsletter was serious in being there for the bowling community. Vicki, thank you for everything and we wish you nothing but the best going forward!
And for those who may ask, Vicki informed me of her decision to retire from writing first before I made the decision to go on hiatus. We would never force out any writer from contributing to our newsletter, especially someone of Vicki’s caliber.
Additionally, I want to give a special thanks to Matt Hansen from the New England Bowling social media page, who was a tremendous help in our collaboration with the All-Area Selections. Thank you Matt for your efforts and support!
Lastly, I want to thank you, the bowling community. Thank you for helping us deliver the news about you for the last seven years, giving us the heads up on big events and happenings and for us to showcase all of the local “Action.” We are forever grateful of that.
In closing, to quote the late great Boston Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most: “This is not goodbye. This is auf wiedersehen (until we meet again).”
Thank you all, we hope you’ll enjoy both the June and July newsletters, and we’ll see you again soon!
With gratitude,
James Bessette
Editor
Action: Southern New England’s Bowling Community Newsletter
