Volume 2, No. 6. March 22, 2002
Fears for the future
With signs that the haunt
industry, after an off year in 2001, is still growing, the fledgling International
Association of Haunted Attractions elected a new president and board of directors
to lead an organization with growing membership and increasing financial stability.
Bob Turner, president
of Turner Enterprise Inc., which runs Haunted Hydro Dark Attraction Park in
Fremont, Ohio, took over the gavel from D'Ann Dagen at this month's annual IAHA
meeting during the TransWorld National Halloween Costume and Party Show in Chicago,
Illinois. Turner becomes the association's third president under the bylaws
adopted four years ago after Dagen served consecutive one-year terms.
"Last year I had not
worked enough with D'Ann and needed one more year to feel comfortable before
taking over," said Turner, who had been vice president during Dagen's tenure.
"She's done a great job for us, given us a lot of committed time. Anytime you
are building an organization it's the slower steps that have to be handled very
carefully for the long-term growth of the organization. She's accomplished a
lot of those steps that will allow me to take it to the next milestone."
Among those milestones
is to establish more IAHA-sanctioned regional meetings so more haunt operators
can gain the educational benefits of the association's training seminars and
literature. Last year IAHA published a Safety Manual free to members, and this
year it produced a 118-page addendum to the safety manual, plus a 132-page Haunters
Handbook, with operational tips from established operators. "I think from the
inception of the TransWorld conference four years ago to what it is today we
have made tremendous strides and have established some great networking opportunities
for a lot of people across the haunted industry," Turner said. "And the new
handbook is a wonderful addition to the safety manual. Between those two activities
we truly have accomplished a great deal."
Just by staying alive,
IAHA has accomplished a great deal. The haunt industry is saddled with a seasonal
calendar more pronounced than any other sector of the entertainment industry
and creative egos and strong personalities—a requirement if you are going
to dress as a fiend with the express intent of frightening your paying guests—unmatched
in the amusement industry. Yet despite many clashing personalities among this
group, they have banded together for the benefit of the whole.
Membership stood at
300 going into this year's TransWorld show and officials suspect it could approach
400 once the applications collected in Chicago are counted. Meanwhile, the association's
coffers sit at a close to $30,000, a workable amount for an organization still
wholly dependent on volunteer labor. Dagen proved the perfect president for
these pivotal years, earning universal admiration from her peers and rising
above personality issues while bringing to the table her strong business sense
and organizational skills as president of La-De-Da Productions in Fort Worth,
Texas. She will continue serving the association under the title Past President
as a non voting advisor to the board and provide administrative support.
One thing IAHA does
have going for it is a still-growing industry; in fact, IAHA itself may be a
contributor to that trend. The TransWorld conference saw about a 20 percent
increase in attendance over last year, pulling in more than 300 people, and
many of the attendees were newcomers. "It's kind of surprising how many are
trying to get into the business," said Randy Young, an IAHA board member who
runs the Haunted Castle and Black Forest in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "At least in
outward appearance, it is a healthy industry." Young, Turner and several haunt
vendors reported that while the number of theme parks attending the show was
down, representation from zoos is on the rise, and family entertainment center
operators helped fill the trade show aisles.
And filled is no hyperbole.
At the haunt end of the trade show floor traffic was consistently heavy. "Whether
they were buyers is hard to say," Young said. "There may have been a lot of
lookers rather than buyers." But that was better than the other sectors at the
show did: the costume end of the floor saw much less traffic, and the aisles
in the party portion of the show were virtually empty. As the U.S. economy struggles
to recover from its recession and the attractions industry still wonders what
9/11's ultimate fallout will be for this year, the haunters, at least, are feeling
bullish and building a future.
For a complete list of IAHA's newly elected officers, click here.
