The following is a guest column from PBA Commissioner Tom Clark.

My job has its ups and downs.

But there is one special day I look forward to every year as a guaranteed high point.

It’s the day I have the honor to make phone calls informing individuals they have been elected to the PBA Hall of Fame.

Monday was that day.

To start with, I had an awesome list of four inductees in front of me. And I had their phone numbers.

First, two great players and competitors – Patrick Allen and Mika Koivuniemi – both unique ambassadors for the PBA I have watched for their entire careers in awe of their innate talent and abilities to capitalize, adjust, think, execute and win on the lanes.

Then Bob Johnson, a bowling journalist I have read for decades, and Jim Doty, the general manager of Royal Pin Fun Centers in Indianapolis and specifically Woodland Bowl, where I have witnessed some of the greatest events in history.

They had all reached a prestigious resting place for their legendary status in bowling. Either through accomplishments that earned them the right to be on a wide ballot of PBA Hall of Fame voters or by meritorious service voted on by a smaller, esteemed committee of PBA HOFers, historians and key PBA staff.

So, I called them to let them know the most exclusive Hall of Fame in our sport wants them as part of the club.

Hearing inductees’ responses through the years, whether there is relief or surprise; whether they are speechless, humbled, proud or excited, is exhilarating. For a moment, the individual’s career flashes before both of our eyes and you think of all the unforgettable moments combined with the body of work that would lead to that phone call. All those thoughts wash over the conversation for both of us and it is a feeling of accomplishment being recognized. It’s happiness.

There is one word I think of to describe each person being inducted this year.

Respect.

Whether on the lanes bowling, or running a bowling center and tournament, or writing a story, anyone and everyone respects these four to the highest degree.

P.A., Mika, Bob and Jim are what make bowling great and they bleed the PBA. It shows up in their victories, their defeats, their coaching, their work, their words, their bowling centers. I am so proud to have their names forever attached to the Professional Bowlers Association.

And I can’t wait for the induction ceremony, appropriately being held at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in Arlington, Texas, Jan. 5, as part of the PBA’s Hall of Fame Classic event kicking off our 2019 FOX Sports season.

Great class.

Great phone calls.

Great day.

Tom Clark has been CEO and Commissioner of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2013. He was PBA Commissioner from 2011-2013 and PBA Deputy Commissioner, 2008-2011.