JUNE 2013 -
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bowlingworld.com
Tornado Levels AMF Moore Lanes In Oklahoma
By: Tony Franklin, Publisher
The Bowling News
Tony Lanning, the District Manager for the Oklahoma AMF centers, offices at AMF Moore Lanes in
Moore, OK, and just happened to be in the office last Monday when the horrific tornado blew through that
area.
They made some good decisions in the moments leading up to tornado impact and have now witnessed
something that they hope they never see again.
He said that people in Oklahoma are pretty ―tuned-in‖ when it comes to bad weather, and most have
weather radio’s, with AMF Moore being no different. The General Manager of the center heard the weather
radio go off, and they immediately started making plans to evacuate the center. Because of the possibility
of bad weather that day, they had already cancelled leagues, and there was minimal open play going on at
the time.
They had four employees on-site including Lanning and left about 5 minutes before the center got hit. He
mentioned that they went outside took a good look at the traffic and the wind and decided that south was
their best option.
AMF Moore is located about 100 feet off the service road on I-35, so they quickly got onto the highway and
headed about
three miles south. From there they parked and turned around to see the devastation.
―We could see it cross I-35, we heard on the radio that the medical center got hit and new that our center
was going to be damaged,‖ Lanning said. ―We could see the huge funnel cloud, flashes of light as the tor-
nado took out power, and the debris cloud.‖
When Lanning went back to the center after the storm had passed he found that the 40- lane center was
destroyed but a few things remained intact. A picture that has been making the rounds is one of lane 40
that still has a full rack of pins standing, an amazing occurrence that left him with only one thought, ―these
storms are insanely selective.‖
The area surrounding AMF Moore was also seriously impacted, ―when you stand in a parking lot, you can
turn 360 degrees and everything is demolished, it’s catastrophic,‖ Lanning added.
Special Guest Sings National Anthem
By
Before each team event at the USBC Women's Championships, the Star Spangled Banner can be heard
throughout the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, but bowlers on June 14 got a special treat as United States
Navy Leading Petty Officer Steven D. Powell appeared in full uniform to perform the national anthem live.
"To me, Flag Day is an honor just to show that the country is together as one nation," said Powell, who is
based out of Pleasant Hill, Calif., and has performed at countless sporting events across the country. "It's
something people don't take to heart a lot, but once that flag is out, what we're all about it comes to memory
again. Singing is another way for me to serve my country. My whole family was in the military, so it's very
meaningful to me every time I get a chance to sing it."
