Fifth Annual 'Bowl For Ronnie' Raises More Than $50,000 For 'Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund'

The fifth annual "Bowl For Ronnie" celebrity bowling party, benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, was held on Thursday, November 7 at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, California. Once again sold out in advance, the event raised more than $50,000 for the music-based cancer charity.

Over 300 rockers, bowling enthusiasts, Ronnie James Dio fans and Dio Cancer Fund supporters made up the capacity crowd at the event hosted by broadcast personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM's Volume channel and whose TV series "TrunkFest" airs on AXS TV. Also joining the festivities this year was the No. 1 bowler in the world — Professional Bowling Association world champion Jason Belmonte, who bowled a ceremonial strike to open the celebrity competition and show the crowd "how it's done."

This year's attendees included:

* Steven Adler (GUNS N' ROSES, ADLER'S APPETITE)
* Dennis Atlas (ROCK THE VAULT)
* Ira Black (LIZZY BORDEN, I AM MORBID)
* Dewey Bragg (KILL DEVIL HILL)
* Phil Buckman (FUEL, PETTY CASH)
* Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH)
* Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES)
* Jason Cornwell and Jimmy Burkard (WESTBOUND)
* Fred Coury (CINDERELLA)
* Art Cruz (LAMB OF GOD)
* Greg D'Angelo (WHITE LION, ANTHRAX)
* Phil Demmel (VIO-LENCE, MACHINE HEAD)
* Logan Nikolic and Patrick Stone (BUDDERSIDE)
* Jeff Duncan (ARMORED SAINT, DC4)
* Matt and Shawn Duncan (DC4)
* Bjorn Englen (DIO DISCIPLES)
* Marc Ferrari (KEEL, COLD SWEAT)
* David "Rock" Feinstein (ELF, THE RODS)
* Damon Fox (THE CULT)
* Marc Malsegna
* Jared Pease and Chase Potter (GRANNY 4 BARREL)
* Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS)
* Rita Haney
* Sonia Harley
* Terry Ilous (XYZ, GREAT WHITE)
* Richie Kotzen (THE WINERY DOGS)
* Frank Kramer (KLOS)
* Sean McNabb (LYNCH MOB)
* Dave "Chili" Moreno (WESTBOUND, PUDDLE OF MUDD)
* Todd Morse (THE OFFSPRING, PETTY CASH)
* Ronny Munroe (TSO, METAL CHURCH)
* Sadie Nardini (SADIE AND THE TRIBE)
* Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (OZZY OSBOURNE)
* Ronald Osbourne, Cat Burglar and Slayer MacCheeze (MAC SABBATH)
* Kelle Rhoads and Kathy Rhoads D'Argenzio
* Rowan Robertson (DIO, DC4)
* Gonzo and Phil Sandoval (ARMORED SAINT)
* Rudy Sarzo (DIO, QUIET RIOT)
* Brett Scallions (FUEL)
* Pete Shoulder and Daniel Spree (SILVERTHORNE)
* Steve Smyth (ONE MACHINE, TESTAMENT)
* Ernie Snair (THE LOVELESS)
* Michael Spencer (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM)
* Rufus Taylor (THE DARKNESS)
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE)
* Marq Torien (BULLETBOYS)
* Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING)
* Scott Warren (DIO)
* Chas West (WESTBOUND, BONHAM)
* Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH)
* Chuck Wright (QUIET RIOT)
* Roy Z (WESTBOUND, HALFORD)
* August Zadra (DENNIS DEYOUNG)

Also attending was eBay auction winner Dan Hayes of Stamford, Connecticut, who was the winning bidder to play on Eddie Trunk's celebrity team that comprised Steven Adler, Geezer Butler, Dave Grohl and Brent Woods. The winning bidder of the KLOS FM radio eBay auction James Helgager joined their team that included Frank Kramer of the "Frosty, Heidi And Frank" morning show, David "Rock" Feinstein, Rob "Blasko" Nicholson, "Biggest Legal Eagle Metal Fan" Sweet James Bergener and comedy's Roastmaster General Jeff Ross.

"I want to dedicate our win to my friend, the late, great Dean Schachtel. Without him, I never would have been a part of the Dio family," says Phil Buckman. "We had a great time, surrounded by a bunch of great people, for an amazing cause." The Dean Schachtel Award, named for the late Dio Cancer Fund board member, has been awarded each year to the individual bowler with the highest overall score. This year, it went to Chris Dritz of Capital Mortgage Services with an overall score of 216, which he assured Jason Belmonte is at the low end for him!

The Dio Cancer Fund presented Dr. David Wong, whose research team at the UCLA School of Dentistry is closing in on a simple, non-invasive saliva swab test for early cancer detection, with a check for an additional $25,000 toward their research. Dr. Wong thanked the Dio Cancer Fund for its support since 2016 that has financed the specific research of postdoctoral fellow Dr. Karolina Urbanowicz to pioneer research in the development of salivary biomarkers for gastric cancer detection and led to a number of groundbreaking outcomes. Their Saliva Liquid Biopsy Test for Early Cancer Detection received regulatory approval on March 22, 2019, and the financial support from the Dio Cancer Fund assisted his project in receiving additional funding from the National Institutes for Health to study biological markers in saliva to attempt to develop a tool for detecting stomach cancer and the NIH Common Fund Award to study the mechanism of early detection of stomach cancer in saliva. Dr. Urbanowicz is the recipient of the prestigious Debbie's Dream Foundation Award for Gastric Cancer Research by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund was founded in memory of the legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010. A privately funded 501(c)(3) charity organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund has already raised over $2 million in its short history. Monies raised have been committed to the cancer research work of the T.J. Martell Foundation for cancer, AIDS and leukemia research, the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life, and other cancer research projects. Since 2016, the Dio Cancer Fund has also committed funds to support the research of Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry in developing a simple, non-invasive saliva test for the early detection of cancer, which is in keeping with the Fund's mission of cancer prevention, research and education.