november 2014

November 2014

H IAFE/OABA/SLA Key Events in Las VegasH Radio Broadcaster Andrew McCrea to

be Keynote Speaker at IAFE convention sponsored by the OABA

H State Fair UpdateH The Significance of State and County Fairs

to the Agricultural Community

In This Issue: Paris & Bally’s Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

December 7 – December 11, 2014

Paris & Bally’s Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

December 7 – December 11, 2014

IAFE Annual Convention & Trade Show

IAFE Annual Convention & Trade Show

ContentsThe Official Publication of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association November 2014

All advertisements appearing in this ShowTime publication are paid by the advertiser and the OABA reserves the right to refuse any advertising. The ads are provided on an “as is” basis and do not necessarily carry the endorsement of the OABA. In addition, the OABA does not guarantee, warrant, or endorse the information, products, or services of any corporation, organization, or person contributing to this publication.

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ShowTimePUBLISHER|MANAGING EDITOR Robert Johnson 407.681.9444 H [email protected]

EDITOR Dee Dee Alford407.681.9444 H [email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGN Avic-Versi Creative Jen Burge H 817.602.7254 H [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES Kim Weeks 612.501.4600 H [email protected]

ASSOCIATION OFFICEOutdoor Amusement Business Assn., Inc.1035 S. Semoran Blvd., Suite 1045AWinter Park, FL 32792407.681.9444 H fax 407.681.9445

© Outdoor Amusement Business Assn. 2014

OABA OFFICERS CHAIR Chris Lopez1ST VICE CHAIR Michael Wood2ND VICE CHAIR Thomas J. Gaylin, III3RD VICE CHAIR E. J. DeanTRUSTEE 2013 Mike FeatherstonTRUSTEE 2012 Jeanne McDonaghTRUSTEE 2011 Bill JohnsonTREASURER Larry YaffePRESIDENT Bob Johnson

OABA DIRECTORS Michael BrajevichJoe BurumTony CassataBrad DallmanAndy DeggellerMichael DoolanBob HauserBlake Huston

Stacey JamiesonMitchell KaliffMelissa KibbyMichael LautherRon MorrisBen PickettDebbie PowersRick Reithoffer

Lorelei SchoendienstJoseph SkerbeckMary Chris SmithGreg StewartJay StratesHolly SwartzAmber SwedganRob Vivona

OABA TRUSTEES Dominic Vivona, Jr.-2010 Wayne McCary-2009 Andy Schoendienst-2008 John Hanschen-2007 Guy Leavitt-2006 Ron Burback-2005 Don Deggeller-2004 James E. Strates-2003* Jackie Swika-2002 Danny Huston-2001 Jeff Blomsness-2000 Sam Johnston-1999 Buddy Merten-1998* Richard Janas-1997 Jean Clair-1996 James Murphy-1995 Dominic Vivona-1994* Bill Dillard, Sr.-1993 Tom Atkins-1992* Red Wood-1991 Billy Burr-1990

Bob Coleman, Sr.-1989* Milt F. Kaufman-1988* Andy Andersen-1987* John Vivona-1986* Mike Farino-1985 James H. Drew, III-1984 Gerald L. Murphy-1983* John A. Campi-1982* Buster L. Brown-1981* Hub Luehrs-1980* Lloyd J. Hilligoss-1979* Hal F. Eifort-1978* Alfred H. Kunz-1977* P.E. Reithoffer, Jr.-1976* Bernard P. Thomas-1975 E. James Strates-1974* Rod Link-1973* C.J. Sedlmayr-1972* John Portemont-1971* William T. Collins-1966-70* W.G. Wade-1965

* Deceased

FeaturesIAFE/OABA/SLAKey Events in Las Vegas 11Radio Broadcaster Andrew McCreato be Keynote Speaker at IAFE 11State Fair Update 12The Significance of State and County Fairs to theAgricultural Community 13

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS26 DOT REGULATORY NEWS

28 ARNOLD SAFETY CONSULTING70-Hour Rule

CIRCUS MEMBERS30 FROM THE CENTER RINGRodney Huey follows circuses around the country.

32 CAPITOL UPDATEJoan Galvin, Government Relations Specialist

33 AS THE WHEEL TURNSWho, what and where are people making news? Here’s the scoop.

ASSOCIATION4 FROM THE OABA CHAIRMy Fall Finale

6 ASSOCIATION BUZZWOW… What a Season!

8 ON THE EARIETom Powell reports on the industry’s shows, fairs, colorful show folks and amusing events.

14, 18 PHOTO GALLERYThe OABA catches members in action.

14, 22 SERVICES, BENEFITS & PROGRAMSJammin’ Jamborees and Contribution Fund Drawing Winners

Chris Lopez

Even after 70 years, we still get a rush from helping our customers through the ups

and downs of the amusement business.

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800.821.7703 • www.hwins.com

My Fall Finale

helping Scott Fernandez, owner of E.K. Fernandez Shows,

for a few days.

Our last visit was in Little Rock, Arkansas at the

Arkansas State Fair. OABA Trustee Don Deggeller and

his wife Cathy, along with their son and

daughter, Andy (OABA Director) and

Heidi, with their spouses, Jamie

and Cliff, showed us a won-

derful midway and state

fair. This great state

fair is managed by

seasoned CFE Ralph

Shoptaw, a member

and former presi-

dent of the Midwest

Fairs Association.

I am looking

forward to greeting

many OABA mem-

bers at the upcom-

ing IAAPA EXPO in

Orlando and hosting our

Board of Directors at their

fall meeting. We have much

to discuss on the H-2B front, our

annual audit report for fiscal year 2014,

and updates on ASTM and NLRB activities, since

our last board meeting I hosted in Phoenix in the spring.

Once again, a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving with fam-

ily and friends… as we have much to be thankful for in the

outdoor amusement business. H

As of this month, only a few fairs in Georgia,

Florida and Kentucky remain in the early part of

November as many of you park your equipment

at your winter quarters by now.

Our company, Ray Cammack Shows, is

finishing up our 2014 season at the

Arizona State Fair as I write this

and I know all of you are

looking forward to spend-

ing a wonderful and

blessed Thanksgiving

with your families

and friends. Our

family has much

to be thankful

for, especially the

generation of family

that preceded us in

this business and

gave us this wonderful

opportunity to entertain

millions of guests at fairs,

festivals and expositions.

My summer OABA tour

with my wife, Jody, concluded last

month after visiting the biggest fair of

them all, the State Fair of Texas, Dallas, man-

aged by Rusty Fitzgerald. OABA First Vice Chair Michael

Wood operates with six rides on this independent midway

fair. I saw many OABA members including Bruce Perelman,

Mary Talley and Patrick Sheridan. Michael was in Hawaii

I am looking forward to greeting many OABA members at the upcoming IAAPA EXPO in Orlando and hosting our Board of Directors at their fall meeting.

4 H OABA ShowTime Magazine | NOVEMBER 2014

ASSOCIATION H MESSAGE FROM THE OABA CHAIR

CALENDARDecember 7 – 11

IAFE 124th Annual Convention & Trade ShowParis Hotel

Las Vegas, NV

December 7 – 10SLA Exhibitor’s Lounge

Paris Hotel Las Vegas, NV

December 12 – 14Association of Iowa Fairs

Annual ConventionAirport Holiday Inn

Des Moines, IA

NOVEMBER 2014 | OABA ShowTime Magazine H 5

Bob Johnson, OABA President

WOW... What a Season!

is broadcast nationally. McCrea continues

to manage and work on his family’s 3,500-

acre ranch in northwest Missouri, where he

was born and raised. He checks cattle on

horseback and tracks down news stories on

his cell phone while operating a combine.

McCrea serves on local community boards,

his school board, and is a frequent lay

speaker at many churches.

Again this year, the OABA is

providing two educational ses-

sions. The first is on Tuesday,

December 9, starting at 11:15

AM – “How Can Our Boots on

the Ground Help the Carnival

Industry Survive Into the

Future?” The second is on

Wednesday, December 10, start-

ing at 3:15 PM – “Things You Always Wanted to Know But

Were Afraid to Ask.” OABA board members, fair executives

and the OABA lobbyists will be panelists at these sessions.

This year, the OABA/SLA luncheon on Wednesday has been

cancelled and the OABA’s awards for outstanding audit achieve-

ment for those requesting Quality Assessment Audits, carni-

val and concessionaire recognition in the OABA’s Circle of

Excellence will be held during the IAFE Awards Ceremony on

Wednesday afternoon from 5 to 7 PM, followed by refreshments.

As our Chairman Chris Lopez has done, from the OABA staff

to your family, a very Happy Thanksgiving as we all have

much to be thankful for in 2014. H

No earthquakes, major flooding, tornados or hurri-

canes came in way of our fairs, festivals and com-

munity events this past season, marking the 2014

season as one of the best!

The manufacturers and suppliers are looking forward to

seeing many of you at both the IAAPA EXPO in Orlando mid-

November and the SLA Exhibitors’ Lounge in Las Vegas the

second week of December. OABA’s exhibit booth at the IAAPA

EXPO is Booth #3019. Please stop by and see Tom Powell, Dee

Dee Alford and Brenda Ruiz, plus

many of our board members who

like to visit.

A special thanks to Allied

Specialty Insurance for helping

to sponsor, along with IAAPA,

Wednesday evening’s cocktail re-

ception at the convention center.

Tickets are required and space

is limited. Please get your tickets when your register for the

IAAPA trade show and convention.

Our December issue of ShowTime may not reach you in time

for the IAFE convention and trade show in Las Vegas, “Seeding

Change.” Be sure to go to www.fairsandexpos.com for more

information and to register in advance for this event at both

the Paris and Bally’s Hotels.

This year, OABA is sponsoring keynote speaker Andrew

McCrea, radio broadcaster at the General Session on

Wednesday, December 10.

Since 1996, McCrea has travelled the world to produce

“American Countryside,” an award-winning radio program that

This year, OABA is sponsoring keynote speaker Andrew McCrea, radio broadcaster at the General Session on Wednesday, December 10.


ASSOCIATION H ASSOCIATION BUZZ

Tom Powell, OABA News Ambassador

On The Earie

Following Vander Vorste, in order,

were the Sky Flyer, from Reithoffer Shows;

Gondola, Kyle Brady’s Playworld Unlimited;

Hurricane, Anita and Nick Pelino’s

Showtime Rides; Starship 3000, Kyle

Wisdom’s Laser Fair; Techno Fair, Michael

Wood’s Wood Entertainment; Raiders,

Rose’s Rides, owned by Rose Barton; Rock

It, Dennis Demas of State Fair Services;

Stinger, Rick Reithoffer of Reithoffer Shows;

Arabian Daze, Wayne and Guy McDaniel’s

Fun Attractions; Puppy Express, Maurice

and Doug Haworth’s Prime Pacific; Magnum,

Michael Wood; Wave Swinger, Bobby Myers

of Myers International Midways; Alpine

Bobs, Blake and Katrine McDonagh’s

Blake’s Concessions, and Kite Flyer, Patrick

Sheridan’s Alamo Amusements.

In the games department, Cassata

Concessions, represented by OABA Director

Tony Cassata and Jack D. Cook, came in

second with a Whopper Water Race, fifth,

with Rising Waters Water Race, 12th, Top

Glo Water Race, and 15th, Break-A-Plate.

Michael Winchester and Tommy LaMotta’s

Diversified Amusements, was sixth with a

Star Dart, Jeff Bossman’s, JB Concessions,

seventh, with a Ring-A-Bottle. Dennis

Bossman’s Midwest Concessions was eighth

with a Shoot Out the Star, and Gary Oren

Concessions was ninth, with a Fish-A-

Rama, 10th, with Long Range Basketball,

and 14th, with Long Range Basketball. No.

13 was a Gun Ball from Kimberly Oren’s

Kimo’s Concessions. Coming in 11th was a

Skeeball from John L. and Darleyne Magel

of Magel Concessions, and 15th was a

Break-A-Plate, booked by Casey Trejo of

Trejo Concessions. I thank Sinclair and

Hammer for all the information.

It’s always fun to tie in the Minnesota

trip with a visit to my son, Tommy, a

nurse practitioner, who graduated from

Vanderbilt and works there. The parking

pass Hammer provides is most beneficial.

Ronnie Netterfield of Netterfield

Concessions always gets me a motorized

vehicle. Otherwise, I doubt I would have

Christine and I have cut back on our

travel plans the last few years, limit-

ing most of our trips to short ones

by automobile, but, occasionally, we’ll fly

to such far off places as Minneapolis-St.

Paul for the state fair, and, of course, Las

Vegas, for the combined conventions of

the IAFE, Showmen’s League of America

and OABA. That means I rely mostly on

phone calls to receive my information, and

it always puzzles me by the way some fair

managers of both small and large events,

and carnival owners of big, small, and in-

termediate-sized shows don’t return calls.

I’m not really complaining, since most of

them do. For the most part, if I haven’t

reported on a fair that I should have, it’s

because nobody returned my call.

Then there are a lot of guys like Jerry

Hammer and Jim Sinclair at the Minnesota

State Fair and Rick Frenette and Adam

Heffron of the Wisconsin State Fair, who

come through every time. Here’s a sample

of information sent to me by Sinclair, the

deputy manager at St. Paul. He said there

were 30 rides and shows on the Midway, 31

on the Kidway, listing the names of the op-

erators and what they brought in. The ride

gross was $3,683,411.35, up $768,813.32,

or 26.4 percent. The game gross was

$2,712,449.48, up $434,683.96, or 19.1

percent. Hammer, the fair’s general man-

ager, had previously informed me that the

food gross was in excess of $30 million,

not counting beer, which he conservatively

estimated to be at least another $7 million.

Sinclair pointed out that the Minnesota

State Fair does not offer Pay-One-Price

unlimited ride wristband promotions, but

discounts the number of tickets taken at

rides and games during promotion periods.

The top 15 rides on the independent

midway were the Crazy Mouse Spinning

Roller Coaster of Steve Vander Vorste’s SJ

Entertainment, and in the games depart-

ment, Candy Anderson had No. 1, with a

Bottle Up, No. 2, with Goblets, and No. 4,

with Goblets.

been able to walk the four and a half miles

that Tommy and Christine chalked up.

We relaxed a while at the Netterfield Food

Court, where Kim Netterfield told me that

next year’s Miami-Dade County Fair, will be

held March 12–April 5. I talked to Bill Lordy

of the Elephant Ear Bakery, always one of

the top grossers there, who said he likes

the idea of expanding the number of dates.

While I was watching baseball and football

on TV recently, Lordy called to remind me

that California Chrome, winner of this year’s

Kentucky Derby, and Preakness Stakes, was

running in the Pennsylvania Derby that day

at Bensalem Park near Philadelphia. I actu-

ally turned to watch the race which was won

by a horse named Bayern. When we used to

go to Oktoberfest in Munich Germany, one

of the top rides there was a Bayern Kurve.

Lordy also called me out for not listing

Dapper Dan, a clown, when I mentioned the

names of several of the acts at this year’s

Great Allentown Fair.

I checked on him and came up with

Dapper Dan Bonner, who was to turn 91 on

Sept. 9. This was his 37th year as the official

clown at Allentown, after being hired by

the late Ed Charles, who along with the late

Martin Ritter, ran the Allentown Fair until

both were into their 90s. It must be the

water. Dapper Dan was quoted in a newspa-

per article as saying that being a clown is

a vitamin pill to restore youthfulness, and

medicine for a sick and depressed world.

I’m already one of his biggest fans.

When I visited always ebullient

Bob Weiss at his Campfire Grille at the

Minnesota State Fair, he was super busy,

as usual, but extremely cordial, as he

always is. Working as a manager for him is

Tim Tshida, a former major league umpire,

who shares a friendship with one of my

pals, umpire Country Joe West. Weiss said

he works 29 different events at the fair-

grounds each year. They include parties,

auto shows, photo shows, weddings, and

even memorial services. “Anything that is

Continued on Page 10


ASSOCIATION H ON THE EARIE

With Netterfield Concessions at the Minnesota State Fair, from left, are Rafael Roa, Abel Lazaro, Jose (Pollo) Hernandez, Ronnie Netterfield, Erasmo Hernandez, Linos Hernandez and Kim Netterfield.

With their Goertz Dairy Kone stand at the Minnesota State Fair, are Paul Anselmo, left, Wayne Gerry and Lisa Goetz.

Dennis and Suzi Fraleigh of F&W Concessions were selling their London broil steak sandwiches at the Minnesota State Fair before moving to the Eastern States Exposition.

Brad Ribar was being assisted by his daughter, Sarah, at their very busy roasted corn stand at the Minnesota State Fair, St. Paul.

Bob (Giggles) Weiss, whose

Campfire Grille hosts 29 events annually on the

grounds of the Minnesota State

Fair, is flanked by his daughters,

Emily Schapen, 21, left, and Allie

Weiss, 21.

Doug Haworth, left, owner of Prime Pacific Entertainment, had his Lady Bug and Puppy Express Roller Coaster booked in St. Paul. With him is Patrick Sheridan, Alamo Amusements, who booked six rides.

From left, taking a break behind the Mouth Trap Cheese Curds indoor booth at the Minnesota State Fair, are Janice Lane, Dave Cavallaro, Rob Miller and Christine Powell.

Michael Wood, left, OABA first vice chair, booked his Safari

Train and Daytona at the Minnesota State Fair. Bobby Myers right, booked a Wave Swinger, Monster Truck and

Crazy Dance.

Jim Sinclair, left, is deputy general manager of the Minnesota State Fair. With him is Tom Atkins, formerly of Mighty Thomas Carnival, who helps in the electricity department.

All Vivonas, with Amusements

of America, from left, at the Wilson County Fair, Lebanon,

TN, are Marco, Rob, Dominic

and Phil.


not on wheels,” he said, with a laugh.

First on the right as we enter the Minnesota State Fair each time

Christine and I attend are stops with Lisa Goetz at Goertz’s Dairy

Kone; Spaghetti Eddie Porcelli’s, where I saw his son, Eddie Jr.,

and John and Sandy Class, at their Flavor Burst ice cream stand.

Sandi is the daughter of the late John Libby, who also managed

the Minnesota State Fair and later became a vendor. They said a

good season was to end after stops at the South Carolina State Fair,

Columbia, and Coastal Carolina Fair, Ladson, SC, which was Oct. 30–

Nov. 9. Then it starts all over at the Manatee County Fair, Palmetto,

FL Jan. 15–25, followed by two other Florida spots, Pasco County

Fair, Dade City, Feb. 16–22, and Florida Strawberry Festival, Plant

City, Feb. 26–March 8.

Dennis and Suzi Fraleigh were working hard, selling London

broil sandwiches. They were coming off good runs at the Erie

County Fair, Hamburg, NY, New York State Fair, Syracuse;

Dutchess County Fair, Rhinebeck, Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis,

and Woodstock Fair, South Woodstock, CT. Like many at St. Paul,

they were then headed to The Big E, West Springfield, MA.

Please send news to [email protected], or call 615.319.1258.

Have all great days. See you in Orlando at the park show, and

God Bless! H

On The Earie continued

Look out for our newConcession Catalog to see

our full line of new products!


ASSOCIATION H ON THE EARIE

Sunday, December 76 PM – 8 PM Wine and Dine and IAFE Foundation Auction Additional Fee – Inquire at the IAFE Registration DeskMonday, December 811 AM – 4 PM SLA Exhibitors’ Lounge Trade Show Open4:15 PM – 5 PM SLA Memorial ServiceTuesday, December 98 AM – 9 AM SLA Meet and Greet9 AM – 11 AM SLA Annual Meeting11 AM – 4 PM SLA Exhibitors’ Lounge Trade Show Open11:15 AM – 12:30 PM How Can Our Boots on the Ground Help the

Carnival Industry Survive Into the Future? (Presented by OABA)5:30 PM – 6 PM IAFE Associates Board Selection Credentialing Meeting (All OABA board members who are IAFE members should attend)6:30 PM SLA Cocktail Party 7:30 PM – 11 PM SLA President Dale Merriam’s Banquet & Ball Wednesday, December 109:15 AM – 11 AM General Session Presentation of Institute of Fair Management Scholarships & Graduates OABA-sponsored Keynote Speaker – Andrew McCrea3:15 – 4:30 PM Things You Always Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask (Presented by OABA)5:00 – 7:00 PM IAFE Awards and Reception OABA Circle of Excellence Awards presentationThursday, December 118:30 AM – 9 AM IAFE Continental Breakfast9 AM – 9:45 AM IAFE Business Session9:45 AM – 10:45 AM Closing Keynote Speaker – Joel Zeff

IAFE/OABA/SLA Key Events in Las Vegas

2014 IAFE Annual Convention December 7-11 – Paris & Bally’s Hotels, Las Vegas

IAFE/OABA/SLA Key Events in Las Vegas

2014 IAFE Annual Convention December 7-11 – Paris & Bally’s Hotels, Las Vegas

Andrew McCrea will be the keynote speak-

er for the Wednesday, December 10

general session at the IAFE Convention, to be

held December 7–11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since 1996, McCrea has travelled the

world to produce “American Countryside,” an award-winning

radio program that is broadcast nationally. During that time, he

has interviewed Emmy and Grammy winners, all-star athletes,

Iditarod sled dog mushers, and the world rooster crow-

ing champion, among others. He has travelled to the launch

pads at Cape Canaveral and chronicled the plight of Central

American coffee farmers. McCrea can be heard on the radio,

seen on RFD-TV, and read in Farm Journal magazine. His work

has earned him five New Holland Oscar in Agriculture Awards.

He is the author of four books including Ippy award-winning

“American Countryside: Where Does Lost Luggage Go?”

McCrea continues to manage and work on his family’s 3,500-

acre ranch in northwest Missouri, where he was born and raised.

He checks cattle on horseback and tracks down news stories on

his cell phone while operating a combine. McCrea serves on local

community boards, his school board, and is a frequent lay speak-

er at many churches. He is a past state and national FFA officer.

McCrea believes in building strong communities. He is the

past chair of the Heartland Foundation, a group that promotes

the “healthy communities” concept of raising the quality of life in

rural and urban communities.

OABA Chairman Chris Lopez with introduce this keynote

speaker at Wednesday morning’s IAFE General Session. H

Radio Broadcaster Andrew McCrea to be Keynote Speaker at IAFE Convention Sponsored by OABA


FEATURES H

With a history as nearly old as the

state itself, the Central Washington

State Fair in Yakima, Washington has

become one of the finest agricultural fairs

in the country. As the original State Fair of

Washington, the ten-day fair is now the largest family entertain-

ment event in all of Eastern Washington, attracting over 300,000

people in late September.

Started back in 1892, the fair has a deep heritage in showcas-

ing the agricultural products of the fertile Central Washington

region. The 120-acre fairgrounds, now known as State Fair Park, is

one of the most beautiful and picturesque in all of the Northwest,

and every year visitors from around the country comment on the

unique beauty of the grounds. With acres and acres of grass and

trees, the park-like grounds is the perfect venue for a fair.

And, as it has been for over 120 years, the fruits, vegetables

and livestock grown in the region are all on display during our

fair, creating quite an impressive group of exhibits in the beauti-

fully renovated historic buildings and 14 livestock barns.

But there is more to the fair than just the agricultural displays.

Every year we have nearly 20 acres of midway rides and games,

and this year over 70 different food vendors were part of our fair,

presenting traditional fare, along with some unique edibles.

Butler Amusements is our rides and game contractor and

over the past 20 years they have been a very valuable partner

to our fair. They have been great in working with our dates in

late September and are always working with us on special gate

promotions that bring more patrons to the fair.

We especially appreciate Butler’s desire to keep our midway

attractions fresh and attractive. This year they brought close to

40 of the most modern, safest rides in the industry to our fair, in-

cluding a new super ride called the Freak Out. It and all the Butler

rides were extremely popular with our thrill-seeking guests.

In fact, this year our entire carnival area was especially at-

tractive. We received many compliments on the layout of the

area and on the cleanliness of the carnival. We pride ourselves in

having one of the most attractive and clean fairgrounds any-

where. Butler does an incredible job and is an important part of

helping us reach that goal.

Another important part of our annual fair is presenting a

variety of different kinds of foods and items for sale. Our com-

mercial exhibits and food concessions manager Judy Buermann

does an outstanding job of recruiting and working with all the

vendors during the fair.

At our 2014 fair, which ended on September 28, we had

over 300 commercial vendors selling items. Some 140 of those

vendors were located in the Yakima Valley SunDome on our

grounds, which is the largest, single-pour concrete dome sta-

dium in the country.

The vendors in the SunDome had a good year, selling every-

thing from beds to hot tubs, hand-made candies to clothing items

and cleaning supplies. Popular food items included elephant ears,

barbecue beef sandwiches, glazed donut cheese burgers and a va-

riety of different deep-fried items including cheese curds, peanut

butter and jelly sandwiches, pickles, and a variety of candy bars.

Every year many of the vendors, plus our security and

maintenance crews, are supplied by a fairly reliable local work

force. But Butler Amusements has taken advantage of the

H-2 workforce programs. Mick Brajevich, president of Butler

Amusements, told me that the program has been invaluable for

his operations and said that the workers he gets through the

program are good, dependable employees and he doesn’t know

where they might be without the guest worker program.

Living here in an agricultural region, many of our area grow-

ers also depend on the federal program in order to raise and pick

their fruits and vegetables and get them to market. Our board of

directors, some of whom are involved in the agricultural industry,

realize the ultimate value of the federal guest worker program and

as an entity we continue to lobby our state representatives and

senators on the value of the program.

As mentioned above, our 2014 fair has just concluded an-

other successful ten-day run. While we did have a couple days

of rainy weather mid-week, we had really nice weather on our

opening and closing weekends and that helped us reach one of

the best attendance years in the past decade. Our attendance

total this year was 315,107.

Someone mentioned to me during our fair that with all of

the other things going on in our world, it is really nice to have

a place where people can bring their families that promote fun

and happiness. That’s what we want our fair to be and we are

glad people think of us that way. H

by OABA Director Greg Stewart, CEO, Central Washington State Fair

STATEFAIR Update


H FEATURES

Every year, around mid-summer, Americans start to see

advertisements for their annual fair and fall festivals —

a long-held tradition in Missouri and nationwide. People

return home, high school class reunions are scheduled, children

look forward to carnival rides, and family gatherings are timed

around our state and county fairs — which often serve as the so-

cial events of the year for many rural communities. These events

not only bring together families and neighbors, but they spur

economic opportunities for communities across America, and are

critical to the agriculture industry.

State and county fairs in Missouri and nationwide give farm

families a chance to compete for ribbons and recognition, while

Americans come together to share the importance of the agricul-

ture industry as a whole. There’s no doubt the American farmer

is the best in the world at producing quality products in the

global marketplace, and farm families in Missouri and nation-

wide work hard every day to feed the country and the world.

Agriculture is our number one industry in Missouri, and it’s

directly responsible for roughly 16 percent of the state’s work-

force. Our state has more than 100,000 individual farms – the

second highest number of farms of any state in the nation. And

like in many states, the annual state fair plays an important

role in keeping agriculture a major industry in Missouri.

The 11-day long Missouri State Fair is the largest agricultural

event in Missouri, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors

each year. From the famous mule show, to the swine pavilion,

the cattle barns, and the commodity groups, and vegetable

exhibits, the Missouri State Fair is known worldwide for its

highly-skilled agriculture exhibitors and time-honored events. In

2013, the Missouri State Fair won first place for its overall pro-

gram for competitive agriculture exhibitors at the International

Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) Convention.

In Missouri and across America, state and county fairs allow

farm families to participate in healthy competition with their

neighbors, which keeps the agriculture industry flourishing in

communities around the country. I’m proud to be the “Milking

Champion” for so many years at my fair, the Ozark Empire Fair

in Springfield, that I lost my amateur status! Many competitions

and exhibits at the fair highlight the increasing technology

used on today’s farms, as the agriculture industry touches the

lives of every American, in every community, in every state.

Fairs also serve as a great teaching and training forum for

the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Future Farmers of

America (FFA) and 4-H students decide what animal they want

to show, and students are responsible for the daily care of their

animal, which includes feeding, grooming, and practicing how

to show them. Through competing for recognition and prizes

in local fairs, young people learn how to safely work in this

industry and develop the critical skills to become future leaders

in agriculture.

Families also have the opportunity to show the produce from

their farming operation. There are numerous competitive classes

from the traditional crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat,

to horticulture plants, garden produce, and flowers. Participants

can compete in baking products such as cakes and pies, or can-

ning jellies and jams. Many of these practices date back to the

early 1900s and are still carried on today in rural America.

All of these events serve as essential opportunities for the

agriculture industry, local communities, and state economies

to flourish. In Missouri and across America, the fair continues

to serve as an important economic driver — in part thanks to

the skilled and dedicated farm families, vendors, ride opera-

tors, and other seasonal employees who help boost revenue

and fundraising to make local and state fairs a success. Annual

fairs and fall festivals not only bring us rides, amusements,

friendly competition, and fun memories — they help unite us

as communities, Missourians, and Americans. H

By Senator Roy Blunt (MO)

The Significance of State and County Fairs to the

Agricultural Community

Senator Roy BluntBuilding on a background as a public servant, university president,

and teacher, United States Senator Roy Blunt was elected by the people of Missouri to the United States Senate in 2010.

Senator Blunt serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Senate Armed Services Committee; and the Senate Rules Committee. Blunt is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and serves as a member of the Senate Republican Whip Team.

From 1996-2008, the people of Southwest Missouri overwhelmingly elected Blunt seven times to the U.S. House of Representatives. Blunt was elected by his colleagues to serve as House Majority Whip and Republican Whip three times, and he became the Majority Whip earlier in his career than any Member of Congress in eight decades.

Before serving in Congress, he was a history teacher, a county official, and in 1984 became the first Republican elected as Missouri’s Secretary of State in more than 50 years. Senator

Blunt also served four years as the president of his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.

The Senator is married to Abigail Blunt and has four children and six grandchildren.


FEATURES H

2014 OABA Jammin’ Jamboree ScheduleTwentieth Century Rides, Brownsville, TX . . . . . . . .March 5

PBJ Happee Days Shows, Marion, AR . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 6

Skerbeck Bros ., Flushing, MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 17

Butler Amusements – Lance’s Unit, Sacramento, CA . . . . July 14

A Fantasy Amusement Co ., St. Charles, IL . . . . . . . . July 15

West Coast Amusements, Red Deer, AB, Canada . . . July 15

Butler Amusements – Mick’s Unit, Turlock, CA . . . . . July 16

West Coast Amusements, Vermilion, AB, Canada . . . July 23

NAME/All Star Amusements, Louisville, KY . . . . . . . . Aug . 19

T . J . Schmidt & Co ., Southgate, MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug . 27

Rosedale Attractions & Shows, Upper Marlboro, MD . . . Sept . 3

NAME/Mid America Shows, Centreville, MI . . . . . . . .Sept . 17

Thomas Carnival, Ft. Smith, AR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept . 21

NAME/Astro Amusements, Tyler, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sept . 25

Powers Great American Midways, Goldsboro, NC . . . . Oct . 1

Reithoffer Shows – Orange Unit, Shelby, NC . . . . . . . . Oct . 1

GoldStar Amusements, DeRidder, LA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . 5

Crabtree Amusements, Waco, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oct . 10

Belle City Amusements, Gainesville, FL . . . . . . . . . . Oct . 22

Reithoffer Shows – Blue Unit, Pensacola, FL . . . . . . . Oct . 22

Mitchell Bros . & Sons, Baton Rouge, LA . . . . . . . . . . Oct . 29

2014 Jammin’ Jamboree TotalsNAME/All Star Amusements . . . . . . . . . . . .23,911

West Coast Amusements . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23,525

Rosedale Attractions & Shows . . . . . . . . . .16,218

NAME/Mid America Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . .11,610

Butler Amusements - Lance’s Unit . . . . . . .10,176

T . J . Schmidt & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,187

A Fantasy Amusement Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,145

Twentieth Century Rides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,139

Thomas Carnival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,020

Skerbeck Bros . Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,638

Butler Amusements - Mick’s Unit . . . . . . . . .5,000

PBJ Happee Days Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,000

TOTAL $131,569

PROGRAM

Jammin’ Jamborees

2014 OABA Jammin’ JamboreeOABA Jamborees are fun, exciting and entertaining . They provide an opportunity for everyone on the show to get together and have a great time while doing some good for the OABA .

OABA at the Clay County Fair – Spencer, IA

OABA Visits the East Texas State Fair – Tyler, TX

Photo Gallery

Pictured in rear are Mike Featherston, Jr. and OABA Trustee Mike Featherston with, front, Richard Hanson, Phil Hurst and Jeremy Parsons. The former fair manager was visiting new management and carnival operator at the greater Clay County Fair.

OABA First Vice Chair Michael Wood with Jeff Blomsness, fair GM John Sykes, Bob Johnson, and Tom Thebault, NAME/Astro Amusements.

Shawn McKinney, John Sykes, Pat Repp and Tom Thebault.


ASSOCIATION H SERVICES, BENEFITS & PROGRAMS

Thomas Carnival – Ft. Smith, Arkansas

Thomas Carnival’s OABA-themed side show Jamboree was held in Ft. Smith.

Dave Winkey and Randy Muller tending the bar as they have for many years.

Pictured in front of a side show banner are, from left, Jade Hurley, Jennifer Hurley and Dianna Winkey. Dianna did the decorations for the side show Jamboree.

Allen Winkey, right, “The Great Houdini,” and his assistant Tash Wagner.

The live auction guys – Chris Atkins and Steve Pegg.

They loved the dunk tank! Thanks to Tyler Counts, “Mr. Dunk Tank!”

The Hanschen family enjoying the barbeque dinner, from left, Mike, dad John and mom Carolyn.

Paul Atkins was the highest bidder for this beautiful gas grill.

Brandon Petree with one of the very special auction items – a reprint of the 50th anniversary 1977, recreated by Andrew Hanschen.

Jon Patton Hurley, center, with his OABA glow hat, with Steve Pegg and Mike Hanschen.

Joe Sutton and his wife, Chris, with a Sue Nichols painting.

Joseph Searles with his OABA jacket and glow hat.


Jammin’ Jamborees continued

NAME/Astro Amusements – East Texas State Fair, Tyler, TX

Pat Repp, NAME, visits with John Sykes, president of the East Texas State Fair. OABA says thanks for your hospitality, John!

Sporting their new OABA caps are Jim Holtz and Joe Henderson. The live auction guys – Jayson Wagner and Pat Repp.

Running the refreshment center, from left, Greg Graves, Tricia Taylor and James Smith.

Leonard Games, ready to deliver a pie.The recipient of the pie? Yes, it’s Pat Repp!

Laura Cummings loves her OABA

2014 tour jacket. She works

games for Greg Striowski, Sr.

Al DeRusha with Bridget Sparks, who helped keep track of the money and auction items.

Wayne Org selling tip boards to Billy Willis and Greg Striowski.

Running the Break-A-

Balloon for a five buck

prize inside is Walter Taylor.



NAME/Mid America Shows – Centreville, MI

Conducting the live auction was Ray The Guesser, who does a fantastic job every year! He is assisted by Paul Nachtlieb.

Keeping everyone in good spirits were Rick Huston and Alex Crabtree.

Richard Sturr with his OABA straw hat.

Working hard and having fun were Ray The Guesser and Ann Nowak.

Kevin Engelbrechp and Rudi Cronje are musically-gifted guys who wrote and performed two songs – “Managers Mix-up” and “Life at the Carnival.”

Game operator Wade Osborn with his OABA jacket.

Brandon and Sonya

DeWet, who is the office

manager.

Thanks to Diane Huston, Amy Huston and Ann

Nowak for creating 60+ gift baskets for the live auction.

Creative baskets with sports memorabilia, ladies make-up and toiletries, food, wine and cheese, rum and spirits!

Norman, Old Tyme Photos, with his Captain Morgan basket loaded with rum glasses and snacks.

Bryant Rock winner of $500 drawing, Rick Stoughton, Brandon DeWet $100 winner, and Lori Crabtree.

The Huston family – Danny, wife Diane, daughter-in-law Amy and husband Blake, brother Miles.


Rosedale Attractions & Shows – Upper Marlboro, MD

Rosedale Attractions & Shows – Upper Marlboro, MD

Jammin’ Jamborees continued

What a beautiful cake decorated with family photos of fourth, fifth and sixth generations of the Gaylins.

Photo Gallery continued

Tom Gaylin, OABA Second Vice Chair, conducts the safety meeting.

Rosedale holds a coordinated safety meeting with the fair board and local security prior to opening of all their events.

Attending the meeting were, from left: Bob Russell, fair first aid; Tom Gaylin; Doris Case, fair first vice president; Lt. Shoemaker, officer in charge; Doug Hansford, fair volunteer; Joe Jones, fair president and Debbie Herbert, fair treasurer.

Attending the Jamboree from the Chesterfield Virginia County Fair were Julia Williams, fair manager and Mike Fajna, fair president. OABA Sr. VP Al DeRusha and OABA Show

Rep Michelle Farrow.

The straw hat guys, Brian Hurline and Joey Gaylin. Brian Hurline, left, sold many tip boards. He is pictured with Ray Farrow.

From left: Mary and Gregg Hartley with Tom and Barbara Gaylin. Gregg is OABA’s lobbyist in Washington, DC. The Hartleys attended and sup-ported the OABA Jamboree. They had a great time!



GoldStar Amusements OABA Membership Drive – Clay County Fair, Spencer, IA

The Big E/NAME Circus Fundraiser

OABA Trustee Mike Featherston explains the benefits of joining the OABA.

They signed up 44 members.

Wanda Folks is the

OABA show rep. Thanks

Wanda!

The entire Featherston family was on hand to help sign up members. Seen on the right is Mike Featherston, Jr.

The names of those who signed up were entered in a drawing for OABA merchandise. From left: Jerry Bybee, Elutah Van Zyl, Jorge Yirai, Don Sanford, Morgan Knight, Aaron Acord, Tony Copsy and Timmy Bark Hui Zen.

OABA Trustee Jeff Blomsness

and Director Tony Cassata.

OABA Show Rep Lisa Shuper announcing homecoming king and queen.

Jeff Blomsness, COO NAME,

Greg Chiecko, VP of Marketing Big E and OABA

President Bob Johnson.

Jeff Blomsness and Tony Diaz, NAME Canadian Unit.


ASSOCIATION H PHOTO GALLERY

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2014 GOLDEN TICKET AWARDS | September 5-7, 2014

www.amusementtoday.com2014 Park Preview: Pages 6-9

INSIDE:

TM & ©2014 Amusement Today, Inc.

Dollywood opens FireChaser Express, Gerstlauer family coaster

STORY: Scott Rutherford

[email protected]

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.

— During the past 29 years,

Dollywood has steadily

evolved into a dining and

entertainment destination

with sumptuous food options

and award-winning live

shows. But it’s also rapidly

becoming a true thrill ride

park. Home to world-class

attractions such as the top-

rated Thunderhead wooden

roller coaster (2004), Mystery

Mine (2007) steel coaster/dark

ride and the Wild Eagle wing

coaster (2012), Dollywood

offers an evolving arsenal of

high-profile rides.

But park officials wisely

recognized that there was

still a niche to be filled. They

knew they needed a ride that

could provide excitement for

both families with children as

well as more seasoned visitors

looking for thrills. That may

seem like a difficult thing to

do, but Dollywood managed

to pull it off with the finesse

one has come to expect from

the Smoky Mountain themer

and its parent company Her-

schend Family Entertain-

ment. To accomplish the task

of creating an exciting ride

with across-the-board appeal,

including a relatively mod-

est rider height requirement

of just 39 inches, Dollywood

once again turned to Gerst-

lauer. The result is FireChaser

Express, a dual-launched fam-

ily roller coaster like no other.

Having successfully col-

laborated on Mystery Mine,

the Herschend creative team

knew the German ride manu-

facturer could help them ac-

complish their goal. Dolly-

wood’s Pete Owens explains

why Gerstlauer was selected

to provide the ride system

for what would become Fire-

Chaser Express. “This is the

second project we have done

with Gerstlauer in the last

seven years. They understand

that we are doing more than

just creating a ride — we want

to tell a story and create an ex-

perience for families to enjoy,”

Owens told AT. “We have

been very pleased with Mys-

tery Mine, the first Gerstlauer

Eurofighter built in the U.S. It

fit the story we were trying to

tell and created the experience

we wanted. The same is true

for FireChaser Express. It is

perfect for what we wanted to

accomplish. It is a family ride

that is exciting; helps tell our

story of volunteer firemen but

has some surprises!”

Decked out in a custom-

designed firefighter outfit,

Dolly Parton officially opened

the ride to media and invited

guests on March 20, 2014.

“My new FireChaser Express

has folks goin’ in all different

directions, and that’s going to

be a lot of fun, but it teaches

an important lesson, too,” said

Parton. “FireChaser Express

celebrates our heroes — fire-

fighters — and it reminds the

rest of us that we can all be

heroes if we’ll just step up and

help others, whether it’s in a

small way or a big way.”

4See DOLLYWOOD, page 4

Dollywood’s new

FireChaser Express family

roller coaster features top-

notch theming around the

ride’s station and queue

area. During the ride’s

debut, Dolly cheers on

firefighters as their water

bucket brigade prepares to

launch the first train onto

the course.

COURTESY DOLLYWOOD

As this photo illustrates, FireChaser Express is able to accom-

modate a wide range of riders and physical dimensions. The

train’s individual ratcheting lapbars accommodate full-size

adults on down to small children who’ve reached the 39-inch

height requirement. AT/SCOTT RUTHERFORD

iPad

October 2014 | Vol. 18 • Issue 7

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NEWS – INSIDE

www.amusementtoday.com

Garner Holt’s career began in backyard - PAGES 52 & 53

INSIDE:


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WWA anticipating great things for Annual Symposium and Trade ShowSTORY: Pam [email protected]

4See WWA, page 4

New programs and education sessions as well as new prod-ucts on the trade show floor will greet attendees at the 2014 WWA Symposium and Trade Show, set for Oct. 27-30, at the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas. Coordinators of the show are very excited about the show this year, saying they expect attendance to be high and those attendees will be able to not only participate in the sessions and workshops but also browse the 100,000 plus square feet of trade show space.AT FILE

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — World Waterpark Association (WWA) coordinators of the 2014 WWA Annual Sympo-sium and Trade Show are an-ticipating big things this year when members and suppliers get together later this month for the event.

The 2014 symposium is set for the Paris Hotel, Las Ve-gas, Nev., Oct. 27-30. The trade show will run Oct. 28 and 29.

The WWA last hosted its show in Las Vegas in 2012 and the turnout for that event was the association’s strongest since 2006.

“Early indications show we are going to have a strong turnout this year, both on the park operator and supplier side,” said Rick Root, WWA president. “In fact, our ex-hibit hall is essentially sold out. We are employing all of our creative floor planning skills to add more booths to the hallway areas of the Paris Conference Center to meet the demand for booth space.”

This year, attendees can expect to browse 100,000 plus square feet of exhibit hall space. The hall is expected to be full of innovative water park related goods and ser-vices.

“Every WWA convention showcases the newest devel-opments in the industry, from inspiring ideas and best prac-tices to exciting product and attraction innovations,” Root said.

“The new water parks and attractions that opened in 2014 offer outstanding examples for success,” he continued. “We are pumped to be headquar-tered back in the heart of ‘the entertainment capital of the world’ – Las Vegas!”

Root said the association is particularly excited about being in town with two new water parks to explore, Cow-abunga Bay and Wet’ n’ Wild Las Vegas. Both parks have seen strong responses to their leisure offerings.

“Nothing makes operators and suppliers happier than seeing water park attractions live and in-person and hear-ing answers to operational questions during behind-the-scenes tours of new facilities,” Root said.

Aleatha Ezra, WWA direc-tor of park member develop-ment, said they are expecting attendance figures to increase over the last time the associa-tion was in Las Vegas in 2012.

“This is due in large part to the fact that the indus-try continues to expand on a global scale,” Ezra said. “In fact, we are seeing parks being built around the world that people only dreamed about a

few years ago.”Ezra said this year saw

openings that represent some of the best and most innova-tive new facilities located in North America, Asia, the Mid-dle East and Australia. And 2015 is shaping up to launch more amazing properties in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Highlights of this year’s event are anticipated to be ex-perienced in the show’s exten-sive education program. There will be a vast offering of water leisure education and training programs, which will, in turn, feature some of the industry’s most experienced operators, developers and suppliers.

Even though the event

officially kicks off on Oct. 27, programming actually begins on Oct. 25 with certification courses and lifeguard pro-grams.

“Providing the strongest education program possible for waterpark operators is what we promise to our mem-bers and this year’s program is one of the best ever,” Root said. “Our illustrious speaker round-up features the biggest brands in the business includ-ing: Great Wolf Resorts, Splash Kingdom water park, Six Flags, Disney’s water parks, Zoombezi Bay, Hurricane Al-ley, Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark, Water World, Grand Lodge Resort Water-park, just to name a few.”

Specific education pro-gram highlights include:

•Water Slide Dispatch Op-erator Training: New this year, this half-day course will high-light key concepts and basic principles for loading and dispatching guests onto wa-ter slide attractions. Presented jointly by aquatic safety and risk management experts, Jeff Ellis & Associates, and ride operator training profession-als, International Ride Train-ing (IRT), attendees will leave with hands-on techniques and concepts.

•Reclaim Those Sponsor-ship Dollars: Land Mutually Beneficial Sponsorships & Part-nerships That Yield Additional Revenue & Build Good Will: In this workshop attendees will find new ways to sell, package and promote what they have to potential national and local-level sponsors and business partners.

•WWA University: Water-park Maintenance School: Back by popular demand, this full-day water park maintenance workshop features top indus-try experts presenting topics designed to help water park operators improve their peri-odic, routine and preventative maintenance programs.

There is an abundance of other topics that will be ad-dressed during the sessions in-cluding design, development, expansion, maintenance, food and beverage, social media, training and merchandise.

Root said in addition to

+April 2014 | Vol. 18 • Issue 1

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2014 GOLDEN TICKET AWARDS | September 5-7, 2014

www.amusementtoday.com

Food and Concessions Spotlight : Pages 7-14

INSIDE:Adventuredome’s El Loco newest thriller at Circus Circus

STORY: Dean Lamanna

[email protected] VEGAS, Nev. — Over

the last two decades, roller

coasters in this desert destina-

tion have launched, looped,

corkscrewed and even coiled

languorously atop a tower al-

most 1,000 feet up.With at least two such -

tire theme park adjacent to

one casino resort having also

been dismantled in that time,

The Adventuredome at Circus

Circus Hotel & Casino — the

indoor fun park that has sur-

vived the local vicissitudes of

family entertainment since its

debut as Grand Slam Canyon

in 1993 — has done something

exceedingly right: providing -

mate-controlled environment

connected to a resort known

for its kid friendliness for half

a century.It took more than six years

of planning and decision-

making to choose and custom-would both compliment the

park’s popular Canyon Blaster the tight, dome-roofed foot-

print left by the Rim Runner But on Feb. 18, after sev-

eral weeks of extensive test-

ing and media teasing, El

Loco — an acrobatic, inverting

wild mouse-style coaster from

S&S~Sansei Technologies, Inc., loose inside The Adventure-

Tom Nolan, vice president

of operations for the park, de-

scribed the coaster as “the per-

fect addition” to the enclosed

facility’s arsenal of two dozen something they have never ex-

perienced before,” Nolan said

in a chat with Amusement To-

day just outside the coaster’s

exit on opening day. “Riders

enjoy El Loco’s twists, turns

and drops in such close prox-

imity to our other rides that,

for an instant, they get the sen-

4See EL LOCO, page 4

El Loco, from

S&S~Sansei Technolo-gies, Inc., performs its

wild mouse-on-steroids

acrobatics with precision

and family-friendly com-

fort within the dramatic confines of The

Adventuredome at

Circus Circus. It replaces

the park’s 20-year-old, five-acre Rim Runner

Shoot the Chute ride.COURTESY THE

ADVENTUREDOME AT CIRCUS CIRCUS


Contribution Fund2014 OABA Contribution Fund Program ParticipantsPROGRAM

Gold PlanContribution from Concessions & Rides $5.00 per dayMonthly drawings April-OctoberFirst Prize $500Second Prize $400Third Prize $300

Final drawing in FebruaryFirst Prize $5,000Second Prize $2,000Third Prize $1,000

Gold Plan: If the carnival contributions exceed $10,000, 2015 OABA dues are waived for carnival.

Silver PlanContribution from Concessions & Rides $10.00 per weekMonthly drawings April-OctoberFirst Prize $400Second Prize $300Third Prize $200


Bronze and Silver Plans: If the carnival contributions exceed $5,000, 2015 OABA dues are waived for carnival.

Bronze PlanContribution from Concessions & Rides $5.00 per eventMonthly drawings April-OctoberFirst Prize $300Second Prize $200Third Prize $100


THE OABA’S CONTRIBUTION FUND offers three different plans to meet your show’s contribution to the OABA and in turn rewards the show and con-cessionaires for these donations.

WHAT IS IT?Fund-raising for the OABA has always been based on the generosity of its members and depends on members to pay their fair share, the theory be-ing that the organization belongs to the members who raise relevant is-sues and in the belief that they will also underwrite activities. Support and participation of enough members will provide the revenue necessary to continue and improve on member-ship services.

WHAT IS THE MONEY USED FOR?The funds collected for this program are earmarked for legal, legislative and lobbying issues. Also, funds are used to continually upgrade member services.

CAN’T I JUST CONTRIBUTE?Sure, but then you lose out on the op-portunity to participate in winning cash incentives.

WHY SHOULD I PARTICIPATE?You will be given the opportunity to receive cash prizes for your contri-butions to this program and help the OABA protect the carnival industry.

HOW IS IT HANDLED?This OABA program advises member carnivals to collect funds from all office-owned and independent conces-sions and rides, side shows and ar-cades. When the show owner collects the money, they need to give or com-plete a receipt. The show or conces-sionaires then send the receipts to the OABA office, which will be eligible for monthly and annual incentive prizes. Please note that it is important to in-clude your phone number on your re-ceipt, as we want to be able to contact you when you win!

SEND IT ALL IN!Funds are solicited and contributed in the name of the OABA. Once money is collected, please send it monthly to the OABA office in form of a check or mon-ey order. You may check ShowTime magazine where the contributions and monthly winners in each plan will be published monthly. H

OABA Contribution Fund Program

• Get Your Contribution Fund Tickets Now

• This is deductible as a business expense

2014 OABA Contribution FundRay Cammack Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,895Powers Great American Midways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,850Deggeller Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,905Reithoffer Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,495Frazier Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,435Luehrs’ Ideal Rides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,120Rainbow Valley Rides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,900NAME/Mid America Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,100NAME/Astro Amusements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,050S&S Amusements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,790NAME/Amusement South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,515Thomas Carnival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,030Strates Shows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,665Poor Jack Amusements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500Rosedale Attractions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,359NAME/All Star Amusement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,220Crabtree Amusements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,020Calkins Midways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000Showmen’s League of America-St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000Bates Bros. Amusements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990Elliott’s Amusements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820Doolan Amusement Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625A Fantasy Amusement Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400

TOTAL $94,274

September Drawing Winners

BRONZESue Shreve Rosedale

Attractions $300

David Belcher NAME/All Star

Amusements $200

Emma Tobias Frazier Shows $100

SILVERCharlotte

Gudenkauf A Fantasy

Amusement Co. $400 Stephanie Ianni Elliott’s

Amusements $300

Chris & Kristin Atkins

Luehrs’ Ideal Rides

$200

GOLDVanesa Lewis Ray Cammack

Shows $500

Joseph Lewis Ray Cammack

Shows $400

Kincaid Dwyer Ray Cammack

Shows $300

BRONZE Bates Bros. Amusement Co.Amusement PlusB&D EnterprisesBates Bros. Amusement Co.Bates E.L.I.T.E.Bates EntertainmentCampi’s ConcessionsCreech ConcessionsD&S EnterprisesDills ConcessionsFain ConcessionsFowler Concessions

Glo ConcessionsGuinsler/Carousel ConcessionsMolnar ConcessionsPanachek ConcessionsRoss ConcessionsS&S EntertainmentSteven’s ConcessionsSutton EntertainmentTaylor ConcessionsCalkins MidwaysAva HoltzJulia HoltzKathy Holtz



2014 OABA Contribution Fund Program Participants

Chuck & Lynn WatermanCrabtree AmusementsMarina CarrazaTracy DuckKaren GibsonMelissa KibbyLemon GirlsPat MartinezAmber NemethBarrett NemethBig John NemethBrittany NemethDanni NemethDavid NemethDolores NemethJackie NemethJackson NemethJacob NemethJames NemethJennifer NemethJohnny NemethMadison NemethPaul Anthony NemethPaul NemethPaul’s ConcessionsCas SheridanPatrick SheridanPhilip SheridanCheryl WigginsDeggeller AttractionsCandy AndersonAny Name JewelryBarrett’s East Coast Foods –

Dennis RowlandBobo ConcessionsBrandon Concessions –

Alex BrandonBrandon Concessions –

Barry BrandonCalifornia BoysCF VarietyBeverly ChapmanChen – Name ArtChen – PicturesCypress Enterprises, Inc. –

Jamie & Andy DeggellerDEA Games – Andy & Jamie

DeggellerDeggeller Attractions –

Candy AndersonDeggeller Foods –

Cathy DeggellerDizon FoodFABCO – Jason &

Angela FloydFairplay Games –

Dale & Sharon NegusJeremy FloydGabrielle’s Face PaintGail’s Face PaintingGone CountryHeidi & Wendell – RaidersHigginbottomChris Hopp – BullHot Stuff & Co. –

Bonnie JacobsonMike Huskey

Kat’s QuartersThomas LautherLittle RichardsLT’s AirbrushM&D Rides – MacNeill

& DeggellerRob MyersAnthony OaksPB3 – Paul BuryPorky’s BBQR&A ConcessionsRaiders – Heidi &

Wendell GilcrestRobbeloth ConcessionsRobert’s Concessions –

Paul & NancyRussell Foods – Jay RussellSmithSose MalesStuart ConfectionsT&T ConcessionsTeacups – Heidi &

Cliff ElspermanUpsplashYoyo CaricatureDoolan Amusement Company

Abigail DoolanHeidi DoolanJohn DoolanMichael DoolanSean DoolanTina DoolanFrazier Shows3 G’sBlazen EnterprisesBroetsky EquipmentBroetsky FoodsAndrea BroetskyAshley BroetskyBryan BroetskyCash BroetskyJan BroetskyJaxon BroetskyJulie BroetskyS.P. BroetskyS.T. BroetskySteve BroetskyFrazier ShowsGarfield MillerGarry MillerGinny MillerCarlos RamirezJaxon ScalesAdam SchrumAJ SchrumBetsi SchrumSchrum EnterprisesBarb SloanLarry SloanTobias EntertainmentTobias SkyAndrea TobiasDylan TobiasEmma TobiasGeorge TobiasGeorgie Tobias

NAME – All Star Amusements

David BelcherPat BlomsnessBeverly ChapmanJPB, Inc.Libbertts ConcessionChristian LopezJason MarottaJames MayhewDave & Tasha PotopasMike O’ConnorCarl WaggonerRainbow Valley RidesLorraine KedrowiczReithoffer Shows – Blue Unit

Tony AlbaneseGary AlberryMike BronchikWesley BurnettWilbur CookeDoug DillsJohn DoolanRuss HarrisonRay & Patty HrudkaJan HustedMichael LautherShelby LautherJimmy LeBaronNicole PopovichBeau PughBob PughRick ReithofferMario RojasDave RothsteinShelby RoyalLouie RucuboPaul SmithRichie StaffordJohn StoorzaRobert VinsonRosedale AttractionsMichelle FarrowBarbara GaylinJason & Joe GaylinTom GaylinWayne HinsonSusan ShreveS&S AmusementsAndrew & Britt’s NoveltyAndrew & Son’s PosterAndrew’s BalloonAndrew’s BlockbusterAndrew’s Cork GunAndrew’s Fishy FishAndrew’s Ring TossAndrew’s WaterraceBAJ’s Bottle UpBAJ’s Cork GunBAJ’s DuckBAJ’s PosterBAJ’s Ring TossBritt’s BasketballBritt’s High StrikerBritt’s Long RangeButch & Josh Novelty

Butch’s BalloonButch’s Bebe GunButch’s DuckButch’s FishButch’s French FryButch’s FryButch’s Funnel CakeButch’s Kiddie High StrikerButch’s NoveltyButch’s Machine GunButch’s SkeeballDennis’s Animal ShowDennis’s Horse ShowElsie’s LemonadeJimmy’s Break a BottleJimmy’s FishJimmy’s Fishy FishJimmy’s Gun BallJimmy’s Long RangeJimmy’s One BallJimmy’s SharkJimmy’s Sponge BobJimmy’s TubsJosh’s NoveltyKenny’s BozoLarry’s BallLarry’s BalloonLarry’s Bebe GunLarry’s BowlerLarry’s Bowling BallLarry’s FishLarry’s FloaterLarry’s GoldfishLarry’s Machine GunLarry’s RolloverLarry’s Whack a MoleMary’s JewelryMichael’s Cotton CandyMichael’s Family BalloonMichael’s Family

Balloon BustMichael’s Family Bust 3Michael’s Family DinerMichael’s Family MiniballMichael’s Family Ring TossMichael’s Family WaterraceMichael’s French FryMichael’s Funnel CakeMichael’s Ice CreamMichael’s PopcornMichael’s Ring TossPaula’s PretzelPrincess PizzaS&S Monkey MazeTim’s I Got ItVince’s SteakWilbur’s SausageSkerbeck Bros. ShowsTim & Cindy Koleff

SILVER A Fantasy Amusement Co.

Charlotte GudenkaufJames GudenkaufJim GudenkaufJeff Lapin

Denise RyalsElliott’s AmusementsBob CookK. ElliottStephanie IanniDianne WilliamsLuehrs’ Ideal RidesChris & Kristin AtkinsClair’s Classic Foods –

Joe & Jean ClairFirst Class

Attractions – Andy & Lorelei Schoendienst

Luehrs’ Ideal Rides, Inc.Oliver C. Atkins, Inc. –

Chris & Kristin AtkinsAndrew Schoendienst, Jr.Powers Great American Midways

Amy Albert BallietBearChenCiscoCorlDave’s I Got ItDebbieDoolanEast Coast AirRuthie EvansGailBilly HortsmanG. IanniSteve IanniSteve Ianni, Jr.JanasJasonBrad KlingenhymerChris McGuireMcKnightMikeMythicPamMike PanchekPGAMEddy PowersRaymondWillie RyanChris SherbertTeddyJeremy ThomasRon ThomasTracy ThomasTomlinsonBrad UrwinJill WellsPiers Weston-BurtNAME – Mid America Shows

Randy BertramCISCOGary & Lori CrabtreeRay DeFratesNick DouglasAmy HustonBlake HustonCooper Huston


OABA–Duke Smith Memorial Education Fund2 0 1 5 S C H O L A R S H I P

Statement Of PurposeThe Mobile Amusement Industry, Inc. (MAI), through

its OABA–Duke Smith Memorial Education Fund, is

interested in furthering the educational goals of young

people within our industry. The youth

of today will be the leaders of to-

morrow and will require the

education necessary

to be competitive

in an increasingly

complex busi-

ness environ-

ment. Individual

and company

contributions

to the OABA–Duke Smith Memorial Education Fund

and the annual generosity of Allied Specialty Insurance

Company and Gold Medal Products provide opportu-

nities to eligible applicants for financial assistance with

advanced education.

Scholarship applications and all supporting

documentation must be received by the OABA by

December 31, 2014. Students who have applied for

and/or received scholarships in the past are eligible

to reapply by submitting updated transcripts and au-

tobiography. (The deadline for fall transcripts is January

16.) If you are an OABA member, go to www.oaba.org,

Member Area, Member Programs, Education and Industry

Training Scholarships, OABA–Duke Smith Memorial Fund

Scholarship, then click on Applications for forms. Or

call the OABA office at 800.517.6222 for more informa-

tion. IMPORTANT: Applications and/or supporting

documentation received after the deadline WILL

NOT be submitted to the scholarship committee for

consideration! H

Eligibility RequirementsH Each applicant must be a member in good standing

of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association.

H Each applicant must be a graduating high school

senior or a continuing student at a university,

junior college or trade school or be employed in the

mobile amusement industry.

H Each applicant must have plans of attending an ac-

credited educational institution or trade school of

their choice for their continued education.

If you’re between the ages of 10 to 18, this is your

opportunity to win a cash prize and show your friends,

parents and relatives how well you can write by entering

the 2015 Essay Contest, sponsored by the OABA–Duke

Smith Memorial Education Fund.

The essay contest winners will be announced at the OABA’s

Annual Meeting in Tampa in February. Winners will be select-

ed by the Mobile Amusement Industry, Inc. board members.

There will be two $250 cash prizes for winning

essays — one for the 10-13 age group, and one for the

14-18 age group. In addition, the winners of our essay con-

test will have their essays published in ShowTime magazine

to be read by over 5,000 people in the outdoor amusement

industry!

So, don’t hesitate and don’t be shy — start putting some

thoughts on paper for the topic, “What have you learned from

working with foreign guest workers in our industry?” Submit

your essay with a maximum of 500 words or less, via e-mail

to [email protected] by December 31. Be sure to provide your

name, address and phone number, along with your age, at

the top of your essay so we can contact you in the future. H

CallingAll YoungWriters... 2015 Essay Contest

2015 Memberships SoldDebbie Powers Powers Great American Midways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Niki Skerbeck Skerbeck Bros . Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Wanda Folks Goldstar Amusements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Andrew Schoendienst, Jr. Luehrs’ Ideal Rides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Doug Burtch T .J . Schmidt & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Carly Skerbeck Skerbeck Bros . Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Lisa Shuper NAME/International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Heidi Elsperman Deggeller Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Brad Dallman Bates Bros . Amusement Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Michelle Farrow Rosedale Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Patti Power NAME/Mid America Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Darla McMurran West Coast Amusements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

TOTAL 357


70-Hour RuleBy Eric Arnold, Arnold Safety Consulting

One of the biggest thorns in the side of my trucking cus-

tomers is DOT’s new 70-hour rule. This rule went into

effect on July 1, 2013. DOT is now enforcing it just as

seriously as all the other rules, which means they are enforcing

it very seriously. It is complicated, and deserves a column of

its own because many drivers still don’t understand it. For that

matter, numerous police and DOT personnel don’t understand

it either, but they won’t be fined tens of thousands of dollars if

they get it wrong.

Prior to July, 2013, a driver could get a fresh 70-hour clock

any time he accumulated a 34 hour consecutive off-duty break.

Simple. Easy. Under the new rules, a driver can only reset his

running eight-day total to zero if he meets three conditions:

1) The reset must be at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty.

2) The reset must include two periods of 1 AM–5 AM.

3) The start of the reset must be at least 168 hours distant

from the start of the last reset.

The 1 AM–5 AM provision is annoying, but relatively easy

to understand. When a driver logs his reset, that reset window

must cover two 1 AM–5 AM periods. For example, a driver goes

off-duty at 7 PM on Friday night. He returns to duty at 5 AM on

Sunday morning. His reset meets the 1 AM–5 AM requirement,

and the 34 hour requirement, as he was off-duty for exactly 34

hours, and he was off-duty on Saturday morning, and Sunday

morning from 1 AM–5 AM. If the driver had started his reset

at noon on Friday, it would not count as a reset until 5 AM on

Sunday morning, even though the driver reaches his 34th hour

off-duty at 10 PM on Saturday night. This new rule forces driv-

ers to be off-duty two consecutive nights in order to get a fresh

70-hour clock.

The 168-hour rule is the one which is causing all trouble,

and is roundly hated by nearly all drivers. In order to count as

a reset, the start of the break must be 168 hours, or one week,

distant from the start of the last break. For example, if I start my

reset at 7 PM on Friday night October 3, I cannot start my next

reset before 7 PM on Friday October 10 for it to count as a reset.

What is happening is my over-the-road customers are losing

all sorts of hours because they cannot get a fresh 70-hour clock

any time a driver takes a 34 hour break. A driver will be off two

days, getting a reset, work for four days, then be in a place where

he gets hung up delivering. In the past, this would be the ideal

time to take a 34-hour reset, so he can get another long run. Now

this cannot be done, because the break on the sixth day, even

though it might be a day and a half long, does not set the running

70-hour clock back to zero. The driver’s running hours total will

exceed 70 before he completes his next long run, because that

down time did not reset his 70-hour clock back to zero.

There are some additional considerations of which OABA

members need to be aware with respect to the 70-hour rule.

Even though many OABA drivers do not drive that many hours,

they still may be in violation of the 70-hour rule. The rule says

a driver cannot drive beyond 70 hours on-duty in any consecu-

tive eight-day period unless there is a valid reset in there. DOT

considers any type of work to be “on-duty” time. So, if your

drivers also operate rides, take tickets, or are otherwise work-

ing on the show, DOT considers that on-duty. If you show DOT

logs where your drivers log driving time moving the show from

Point A to Point B, and then a week of off-duty time in-between,

the auditor may start asking what that driver was doing during

that off-duty period. Again, if he’s working on the show, that’s

on-duty time, and needs to be recorded accordingly.

If you have part-time guys who pull your rides on the week-

ends, you had better know what they’re doing during the week.

If they have other jobs, that time needs to be counted as on-

duty time even though the driver wasn’t working for you.

The main point is, operations that would never be in viola-

tion of the 70-hour rule in the past, may now be in violation

mainly because of the new 168-hour provision. It would be wise

to double-check all your drivers’ schedules and logs to make

sure they are not suddenly in violation under the new rule.

I have one final point on the new 70-hour rule. There was a

move afoot in Congress to shut down the new rule. For the mo-

ment, this has stalled. However, the industry has not given up

and is united in its hatred of this rule. There is a decent chance

the rule will eventually be tossed, largely because it’s nonsensi-

cal and simply dumb. This will not happen in the near future,

though, so for now we are stuck with it. H

Eric Arnold, President of Arnold Safety Consulting, Inc. is a

former U.S. Department of Transportation agent, with 24

years’ regulatory and transportation compliance experience.

His column will appear periodically in the ShowTime maga-

zine. As part of your OABA dues, Mr. Arnold is available for

free consultations regarding the DOT rules and regulations.

Pack-Man 175 kw or 250 kwQuiet Power

Tractor or Trailer Mounted

GFlex 400 Amp309 N.E. 1st Street P.O. Box 128 Alta, IA 51002

Toll Free: 800-838-1482 Fax: 712-200-1936

Gull Wing IndustriesWorking with the Carnival

Industry since 1989Contact us at:

www.gull-wing.com

Gull Wing Industries


GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS H ARNOLD SAFETY CONSULTING

From The Center RingConnecting & Protecting the Circus Industry!

Rodney Huey, RAH PR Strategies

OABA Circus Media Consultant

November is a time of giving thanks for all our bless-

ings. In the circus community, it’s also a time of

reflection and transitioning into the future.

The performers and crews with Ringling Bros. and Barnum

& Bailey’s traveling units will start looking forward to their

respective season-ending “home runs” this month. Super Circus

Heroes closes out its season early in November in Bethlehem,

PA, and will go on hiatus to revamp for its 2015 production. The

Legends edition spends most of November in the Chicago area

before ending the year in Indianapolis, IN on December 7. Then

it’s back to Florida for a well-deserved mid-itinerary break.

But when Built to Amaze finishes its two-year run in Auburn

Hills, MI on November 16, the return to Florida will make circus

history by adding Ellenton to the list of Ringling winter quarters

sites that include Baraboo, WI, Bridgeport, CT, Sarasota, Venice

and Tampa, FL. The new 145th edition of The Greatest Show

On Earth will be the first circus production to rehearse in Feld

Studios at Feld Entertainment’s Worldwide Headquarters.

The 450,000-sq.ft. facility, which earlier this year rolled out

Marvel Universe Live and Disney on Ice’s Frozen, should pro-

vide ample space for building and rehearsing a three-ring circus

with all its rigging, props and dressing rooms. Feld Entertainment

also inked a deal to park its mile-long train in nearby Port

Manatee during winter quarters through 2024, with options for

five-year extensions.

Big Apple Circus’ Metamorphosis enters its second month at

Lincoln Center to strong reviews by circusgoers and media alike.

BAC runs through January 11, but if you can’t see in person, perhaps

you can catch it in your neighborhood theater. Fathom Events

and BY Experience (the companies that beam NYC’s Metropolitan

Opera performances into movie theaters) will simulcast a live

performance of the Big Apple Circus in up to 500 cinema houses

in the United States and Canada on November 8. According to BY

co-president Julie Borchard-Young, if all goes well, a televised BAC

performance could become an annual circus holiday tradition.

Universoul opens the month in Philadelphia, then moves

on to Greensboro, NC and closes out this season in Charlotte on

November 23. Cole Bros. Circus’ 130th Anniversary edition is

winding its way home toward DeLand, FL from recent Southeastern

dates. Both Carson & Barnes and Kelly Miller circuses have

returned back to home turf in Oklahoma, and out west, Circus

Vargas plays Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, AZ this month.

If you’re in Florida on November 8, catch aerialist extraordinaire

Dolly Jacobs’ solo performance at the Night of Flight Benefit

for the Circus Arts Conservatory in the Sailor Circus Arena in

Sarasota. But you had better hurry if you want to glimpse the steel

skeletal remnants of the former Venice Circus Arena. According

to Christi Womack of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the site of

Gunther Gebel-Williams’ 1969 American debut that served as

Ringling’s winter quarters from 1960 to 1993 will finally be taken off

life-support. After four-and-a-half years of grueling fund-raising ef-

forts to save the building, the Venice City Council voted to demol-

ish the structure. Alas, another piece of American circus history lost!

In an effort to promote youth circus skills year-round, St.

Louis’ Circus Harmony is holding unicycling and juggling class-

es through December 7. The classes are available to all comers

five years or older, and are being taught by Richard Kennison

at its City Museum facility.

Nik Wallenda is scheduled to attempt another “skywalk” 635

feet above the Chicago River on November 2. Chicago presents

the highwire hero with new challenges — freezing temperatures

and driving lake winds. “I’ll definitely have to dress warm, that’s

for sure,” he told a newspaper reporter. Nik plans to walk up a

15-degree inclined cable between the Marina City west tower

and the Leo Burnett Building. The event will be carried live on

The Discovery Channel at 7:00 pm EST.

Dutch coach and choreographer Vincent Michels, founder

of the Amsterdam-based Corpus Acrobatic Theatre, has

been named winner of the 2014 World Circus Photo Contest

staged by the Fédération Mondiale du Cirque. His prize-

winning photo of young contortionist Li Ling attired in zebra

stripes was taken during a World Circus Day event, as were

all 115 entries from 19 countries. Michel’s photo will grace the

cover of the Fédération’s 2015 wall calendar (check it out at

www.circusfederation.org).

Other winning entries to be featured on monthly pages include

two photos by American photographers: Merilyn Barrett’s photo

taken during at a World Clown Association event; and Julie

Kycia’s snapshot at a mini-circus performance of Circus Fans of

America Tent 24. Ms. Kycia is also registrar and bursar for the

upcoming Worldwide Circus Summit 2015.

Four rare historic European circus banners will go on display

November 7 at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in

Sarasota. The 9-by-9.5-foot banners were not considered “art” when

they were painted by Belgian designer Frans de Vos circa 1900,

but are now considered museum-quality classics. The colorful ban-

ners depict trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns and other performers,

and were restored over a seven-year period by Ringling Museum

preservationists. The exhibition runs through March 29.

Retired Carson & Barnes performing Asian elephants Rosie and

Opal, previously on loan to the Hope Elephants preserve in Hope,

ME, have been returned to the Hugo, OK-based Endangered Ark

Foundation after the death of Jim Laurita, DVM, who was ac-

cidentally killed in September at the preserve.


ASSOCIATION H CIRCUS MEMBERS

Help the OABA maintain the right of Circuses and USDA licensed animal exhibitors to provide Americans with educational performances of exotic animals.

Contribute a minimum of $25 to the OABA Circus Fund to receive your NEW 2014-2015 Camel Pin

Your contribution will be listed in the next issue of the ShowTime magazine. Donations of $50 or more will be listed in ALL issues of the campaign year.

Make your check payable to: OABA Circus Fund and send it to:OABA, 1035 S. Semoran Blvd., Suite 1045A, Winter Park, FL 32792

Special Thanks to: Ellian Rosaire, Big Cat HabitatPhoto of Nomad the Camel taken by: Richard Czina

To contribute to the Circus Fund, make your check payable and send to: OABA Circus Fund, 1035 S. Semoran Blvd., Ste. 1045A, Winter Park, FL 32792

It is important that we maintain this fund so we are able to hire professionals to assist with challenges such as legislation that threaten our members’ businesses. Please consider and make your contributions to this very important resource pool. Feel free to be creative such as matching dollars, innovative fundraisers, endowments and memorials, to name a few. Another option is to designate a percentage or daily amount of your ride operation to be set aside for this important fund.

2014 Circus FundThe Big “E”/NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,804Circus Producers Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000John F. Cuneo, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000Have Trunk Will Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000Kathleen Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000Zoppe Family Circus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000Forepaugh-Lubin Tent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760Bill Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500Alliance of Professional Animal Exhibitors & Owners . . . . . . . . 500Edward Limbach – in honor of Frank Robie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300National Showmens Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Bari L. & John E. Hart, Jr. – with appreciation to

Jan & Bill Biggerstaff for Circus Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250Circus Flora Staff & Performers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240OABA Tampa Circus Unit Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Lisa A. Dufresne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Edward C. Todd – in memory of Bob MacDougall & Pat J. Todd . . . . . . 200Brian Liddicoat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180George A. Hamid Tent 109, CFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Welde’s Big Bear Show. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Zerbini Family Circus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Ryan Henning, Hovey Burgess, Ian Garden Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Avic-Versi Creative, Jen Burge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Charles Bellatti – in memory of D.R. Miller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Felix Adler-Paul Binder Tent No. 12, CFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Paul Gutheil – in fond memory of Jim Hamid, Sr.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Allan Kirk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Leonard Aylesworth Ring, Circus Model Builders Central PA . . . 100Fr. Richard Notter – in honor of Ward Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Stephen A. Partyka – in honor of Wayne McCary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Robert J. Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100James B. Rittle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Serge Coronas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Wayne Scheiner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Robert Faust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Paul Gutheil – in fond memory of Arthur Duchek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Ken Holehouse – in memory of Father Jack Toner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Dan Kroeger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Janeen Wilds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Bill Doty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Misc. Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

TOTAL $18,589

Those sneaky folks at PETA took advantage of a drop

in SeaWorld’s stock (due to bad publicity from Gabriela

Cowperthwaite’s documentary Blackfish) to buy shares of the

publicly-traded company. PETA recently bought 55 additional

shares, bringing its total ownership to 135 shares. The animal

rights organization is not trying to profit from SeaWorld shares.

Rather, its buying strategy is much more nefarious. “This allows

us to attend shareholder meetings and ask questions of execu-

tives in front of other shareholders,” explained PETA spokesperson

Lindsay Rajt. Thank goodness most American circuses are pri-

vately owned!

And finally, a belated birthday wish to Ron Morris, who

recently celebrated his 80th birthday at a gala produced by

his lovely wife, Arlene, in Sarasota. Ron was a Canadian Circus

Producer for many years before getting into his printing busi-

ness, Spotlight Graphics, in Sarasota. His firm has also pro-

duced and donated the American version of International Circus

Federation’s annual circus calendar, among other donations. H


The fall remains a busy time for us

all. Although Congress has been

away, the work continues in Wash-

ington as it does at the state level.

One disturbing trend we are seeing is

increased activity by OSHA, often at the

behest of animal activists who are filing

complaints and triggering inquiries into

animal handling and worker safety. So far,

we have been able to assist our members

in responding to the inquiries with suc-

cess, and hope to meet with OSHA in the

coming weeks to learn more about the

impetus for this new increased activity

and to help educate them about industry

best practices and the primary role that

USDA pays in overseeing animal handling

for federal licensed exhibitors.

Last month I attended the Florida Fish

topics, including licensing, husbandry,

caging and administration. The locations

of the meetings have been announced,

and as soon as the dates are released we

will make sure OABA’s Florida exhibitors

are made aware so that we can maximize

our participation and ensure our voices

are heard. We have publicly made our

support for the FWCC workshops known

and look forward to working with FWCC

to improve the process for captive wild-

life licensees, especially traveling exhibi-

tors who reside or operate in Florida.

And, of course, we continue to work

with our partners at Cloakroom Advisors

to advance OABA’s efforts on the H-2B

seasonal labor front.

We look forward to continuing our ef-

forts this fall! H

and Wildlife commission’s public meeting

in Orlando. The FWCC is planning a series

of regional workshops between now and

March to gather public input on suggest-

ed updates to the state’s captive wildlife

rules. The FWCC is focusing on four

Prairie FinancialPaul [email protected]

Wade [email protected]

Mark [email protected]

A division of

Through the smiles, the seasons & the miles –Financing everything for the outdoor amusement industry since 2000.

816-554-3863blvdbank.com/outdoor-amusement

The outdoor amusement Division of Boulevard Bank

Celebrating Ron Morris’

80th Birthday Bash were

Alex Johnson, Ron Morris,

Joan Galvin and Bob

Johnson along with some

100 circus friends and

family in Sarasota, FL.

Capitol UpdateBy Joan Galvin, OABA Government Relations Consultant

32 H OABA ShowTime Magazine | november 2014

ASSOCIATION H circus members

30-36_Circus-BC_ShowTime_Nov2014.indd 32 10/14/14 11:06 AM

Happy Birthday to Struppi

Struppi

Hanneford’s 83rd

birthday celebration

was held at The Big

“E” in September,

with Wayne McCary,

retired ESE presi-

dent/CEO and OABA

Trustee, honoring

the “First Lady of

Circus” as the party’s

master of ceremony

and toastmaster. H

Walt Disney Imagineer Mike Withers Joins AIMS International Board

AIMS International is pleased to an-

nounce that Michael Withers, Vice Presi-

dent of Ride Engineering at Walt Disney

Imagineering in Glendale, California, has

been elected to its board of directors. In

making the announcement, board President Roger Berry com-

mented, “Mike brings a wealth of safety knowledge and experi-

ence to AIMS and will be a huge asset to the organization as we

plan for the future. We are thrilled to have him on board.”

In addition to his job responsibilities, Withers is Project

Manager for the Disney Global Ride Safety Enhancement Program

reporting to the Chief Safety Officer of The Walt Disney Com-

pany. As Chairman of the ASTM World Standard Task Force, Mike

is responsible for the coordination and development of the new

F-2291 Standard Practice for the Design of Amusement Rides

and Devices. He served three years on ASTM COTCO and repre-

sents ASTM F-24 on the Euro Norm CEN Technical Committee 152

for Fairground and Amusement Park Machinery and Structures –

Safety. Mike also serves on the ASTM board of directors.

“I have always admired AIMS for its leadership in safety

training and certification and I’m honored to be joining the

board,” said Withers. “I have tremendous respect for our board

members and look forward to working with them.”

Birth Announcement

OABA Director Brad Dallman and his wife Michelle, Bates

Bros. Amusements, are proud parents of their new baby girl

Emerson Jo Bates Dallman. Emerson was born on June 24th.

She was very early, born at 30 weeks weighing 2.7 lbs and

15 inches tall. She was in the NICU at West Penn Hospital in

Pittsburgh, PA for 7 weeks. Now she is with mommy, daddy

and sister Delaney on the road. During her last checkup she

weighed 7.8 lbs and was 19.5 inches tall. H


SUBMISSION H AS THE WHEEL TURNS

Making News...

Announcements or suggestions can be emailed to [email protected]

ASSOCIATION H AS THE WHEEL TURNS

ShowTimeOutdoor Amusement Business Assn. 1035 S. Semoran Blvd., Suite 1045AWinter Park, FL 32792

november 2014

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