Volume 3, No. 5. March 14, 2003
Eric's
Turn
Hitting
10
This past week we put the finishing touches on the web site for Minton Enterprises,
www.ericminton.com.
We completed loading the sample articles and we added an index of every article
I’ve had published since my college days, which currently numbers 1,066
stories.
This index, mind you, has been an ongoing—and growing—list since I
began my full-time freelance writing career about 20 years ago. But while looking
over the list before posting it this week, I discovered an item that allows
us to mark an important anniversary. That item ran in the “2nd Quarter
1993” issue of Family Entertainment Center magazine, an article
on batting cages titled, “Who’s On First? A better question may be,
‘Who’s in first?’ as facilities with batting cages and pitching
machines—buoyed by the increased interest in baseball and softball of the
1980s—are finding themselves ahead of the competition.” My wife shot
the photo above for the article; you may not be able to make me out, but I'm
the big kid the fourth cage over.
Family Entertainment Center magazine, now defunct, was published by the
International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, and this article
was my first assignment from then publications vice president Rick Henderson.
It was my first ever amusement industry article. My specialty at the time was
the Americans with Disabilities Act and I had blindly queried Rick about doing
an article on that law for Funworld. Rick replied that the magazine had
already done such an article, but he liked my writing samples and asked, “What
do you know about batting cages?” From disability law to batting cages?
But, hey, I’m a big baseball fan, I frequented batting cages every chance
I could, and I wasn’t going to pass up being paid to do so.
Within a couple of years I had become a regular contributor to both Funworld
and Family Entertainment Center en route to an eight-year relationship
with IAAPA’s publications that ultimately led to my creation of THE LOOP.
I guess you could say that 10 years ago I first dabbled in the drug called the
amusement industry and I’ve been addicted ever since.
I’m not the only one, I must add. Also on my article index is a group of
articles published in the late 1980s for a magazine called Pizza Today.
For awhile that publication was one of my favorite markets, not just because
it allowed me to visit various pizza places—and get paid to do so—but
because I liked the editors at the magazine. One of those editors, Paula Werne,
left Pizza Today to become the public relations director at Holiday World
& Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. She’s been there now
for more than 10 years.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
©2003, Minton Enterprises
LLC
All rights reserved