Those decades of dedication are being recognized as McClay will receive this year’s Bowling Centers Association of Ohio Pat Marazzi Certificate of Achievement at the BCAO annual convention in May.
“I can’t think of anyone who deserves this more than Mary does,” BCAO executive director Jenny Martin-Clarke said.
The award – named in honor of the former BCAO executive director who died last year – honors those who exemplify service to the bowling community on a local or state level, which McClay has done for many years.
McClay was a bowler first, joining an adult league in 1969 as a sophomore in high school. She has tallied a 300 game and posted a few 200-average seasons in a 49-year career in which she has never missed a season.
The Dayton resident served as secretary of the Dayton Women’s Bowling Association for close to a decade starting in 1988. She began working for the Ohio Women’s Bowling Association in 1997 and became the association manager in 2006. But McClay wears many hats. She served as the secretary of the Dayton Young American Bowling Alliance from 2000-2010 and is currently the secretary/treasurer of the Ohio Association Managers Club, the historian for the women’s association and the director for the State Pepsi Tournament.
She was inducted into the Greater Dayton United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame for meritorious service in 2007.
“I don’t have the ability on the lanes, but I have the ability to work behind the scenes,” McClay said with a smile.
That work has not gone unnoticed.
“Mary works tirelessly on behalf of the bowlers,” Martin-Clarke said. “Throughout the years, whatever her role, Mary has spent countless hours working for the sport.”
McClay is the first to admit she has a tough time saying no, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.
“It’s all about the bowlers,” she said. “I don’t do it for any kind of recognition and I definitely don’t do it alone. I’m receiving this for all of the people who help me do my job.”
And while she is being recognized for her work off the lanes, McClay has no intention of slowing down on the lanes.
“I love bowling,” she said, “and I will continue as long as my body allows me to.”
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