🎳 Strikes, Spares, and Strings Attached: How AAF Inland Empire Closed Out the Year at Punch Bowl Social

John McCarthy
16 hours ago
4 min read

By John McCarthy | AAF Inland Empire — Immediate Past President

We promised you bowling, cold drinks, and the loudest shoes in the room.

We delivered.

The pins are set. The lanes are polished. The letters say it all — PBCA Punch Bowl California!

🎳 The Scene

Wednesday, June 24. Punch Bowl Social. Rancho Cucamonga. Three lanes, 12 people, and a room bathed in the kind of red neon glow that made everyone look like they were starring in their own music video — whether they wanted to or not.

Here's what we learned about that red light: it's great for ambiance. It's terrible for photography. Every picture came out looking like it was shot inside a darkroom developing tray. We did our best to pull the red filter in post. Some of us cleaned up better than others. The neon chandeliers, however, looked incredible in every frame.

Three lanes. Red neon. Couches that made you question whether to bowl or just sit there and enjoy the view.

🎳 The Bowling

First, a confession.

We spent an entire five-email campaign and a full blog post talking about bowling shoes. Neon-green rental kicks. The kind of shoes no one would wear voluntarily. Colorful lace-ups that bond strangers in shared embarrassment. We leaned into it. Hard.

Turns out, Punch Bowl Social doesn't have bowling shoes. You wear your own. The whole time.

So if you showed up expecting to swap your loafers for a pair of tri-color rentals that smell like 1997 — we owe you an apology. If you showed up in shoes you actually like and got to keep your dignity intact — you're welcome.

Now. Let's talk about the pins.

If you've never bowled at Punch Bowl Social, here's something nobody tells you: the pins are attached to strings. Strings. As in, sometimes you throw a perfect ball, the pin bends sideways at a 45-degree angle, hangs there like it's thinking about it — and then snaps right back up. Standing. Mocking you.

It happened to all of us. Some of us more than others.

But one bowler rose above the strings, the gutter balls, and the collective confusion to claim the unofficial title of the night's best bowler: Past President Michael Berger. Consistent. Confident. Possibly practicing in secret. Michael, if you were holding back all year just to peak at the season finale — well played.

Name tags on. Drinks on the table. Neon overhead. This is what a Wednesday night should look like.

⚽ The World Cup Bonus

As if bowling, appetizers, and free drinks weren't enough — we had the World Cup playing on the big screens all night. Mexico vs. Czechia. And Mexico didn't just win. They dominated. 3–0. The cheers from the bowling area blended with the cheers from the screens, and for a while there, Punch Bowl Social felt less like a Wednesday night chapter event and more like a block party.

🥂 The Drinks (Yes, Plural)

I said the first round was on me. That was the promise.

What actually happened: I picked up the first round. Then the second round. Then dessert. Because when you've spent a year watching this community show up for every event, every speaker, every awkward Zoom webinar, and every late-night planning session — you don't stop at one round. You keep going. You buy the dessert. You mean it when you say thank you.

And I meant it.

Settled into the couch. Drinks sorted. The kind of networking that doesn't feel like networking.

🧑‍💼 The Transition

This was my last event as President of AAF Inland Empire. And I won't pretend that didn't sit with me for a minute.

We started this term at a speakeasy in Upland. We brought in speakers who changed the way people think about customer service, community engagement, social media, and brand strategy. We took over a decommissioned airport terminal for the ADDY Awards and turned it into a night 200+ people still talk about. We partnered with PRSA. We went to webinars. We went to galas. We went to Back to the Grind for coffee and came away with a framework for business growth.

And we ended it here — in our own shoes (because, as we learned, Punch Bowl Social doesn't do rentals), with red neon on the ceiling and guacamole on the table — laughing about string pins and cheering for Mexico.

That's a year I'll carry for a long time.

As I step into the role of Immediate Past President, I'm proud of what this chapter built. Not because of any one event, but because the people in this room — and the ones who showed up all year — made it real. You filled the seats. You brought the energy. You made AAF Inland Empire a chapter worth belonging to.

The incoming Executive Committee for the 2026–2027 term is ready. New leadership. New ideas. Same commitment to making this the best local AAF chapter in the country.

🎳 The Final Frame

Twelve people. Three lanes. A room full of creative professionals who traded strategy decks for bowling balls and discovered that string pins are the great equalizer.

We bowled. We ate. We watched Mexico win. We talked about what's next for this chapter and who's stepping up to build it. And we closed out a year that — from speakeasy to airport terminal to bowling alley — never once felt ordinary.