BoxOffice® Pro - November 2011

EXECUTIVE SUITE
JOHN
FITHIAN
NATO
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer
From October 4th through the 6th, more than 100
exhibition company representatives gathered in
Washington, D.C. for NATO’s annual meetings. Over
three days, members met in various board, committee
and task force meetings to discuss the most significant
challenges and opportunities confronting the industry,
and to conduct over 50 meetings on Capitol Hill in
support of legislation to combat movie theft. MPAA’s
leader, Senator Chris Dodd, spoke at the annual Board
dinner, while Department of Justice representatives appeared
at the meetings to discuss access for patrons with
disabilities. All the largest movie theater companies in
the United States and Canada sent top executives to the
meetings, while dozens of independent theater operators
came as well. By week’s end, a tired but exhilarated
NATO staff met to assess the most important conclusions
from the week. This column provides a few highlights
from those discussions.
ACTIVE VOLUNTEER MEMBERS RECOGNIZED;
NEW OFFICERS ELECTED
NATO’s influence in Washington and Hollywood continues
to grow in large measure because of the volunteer
efforts of many of its members. During the annual meetings,
members were recognized for their service over the
past two years in a variety of capacities. Every reader of
Boxoffice has an interest in the motion picture exhibition
business, and no doubt joins the NATO member meeting
attendees in thanking these committed individuals.
The leaders recognized at the meetings included:
TONY KERASOTES (Kerasotes Theatres)
NATO Chairman
AUBREY STONE (Georgia Theatre Company)
Vice-Chairman and Audit Committee Chair
AMY MILES (Regal Cinemas)
Treasurer and Investments Committee Chair
MARK O’MEARA (University Mall Theatres)
Secretary and Membership Committee Chair
JOOST BERT (Kinepolis Group)
Vice Chairman, International Committee
BILL CAMPBELL (Orpheum Theatre)
Managing Director, Cinema Buying Group
ROB DEL MORO (Regal)
Chairman, Concessions Task Force
MUNIR FALAH (Cine Colombia)
Chairman, International Committee
LOTS TO TALK ABOUT
A report on NATO’s annual meetings in Washington
DON FOX (Fox Theatres)
Vice Chair, Independent Theatre Owners Committee
PHIL HARRIS (Signature Theatres)
Co-Chairman, Conventions Task Force
GEORGE MANN (Signature Theatres)
Chairman, Codes Task Force
NEAL PINSKER (Regal)
Vice Chairman, Membership Committee
RANDY SMITH (Regal)
Chairman, Captioning Task Force
GEORGE SOLOMON (Southern Theatres)
Chairman, Credit Card Task Force
BILL STEMBLER (Georgia Theatre Company)
Co-Chairman, Conventions Task Force
RAND THORNSLEY (Bear Tooth Theatre)
Chairman, Independent Theatre Owners Committee
TIM WARNER (Cinemark)
Chairman, Windows Task Force
During the meetings in Washington, new leadership was
selected. The association’s officers for the next two years
will be:
DAVID PASSMAN (Carmike Cinemas)
Chairman
NORA DASHWOOD (Pacific Theatres)
Vice-Chairman
BYRON BERKLEY (Foothills Entertainment)
Treasurer
MARK O’MEARA (University Mall Theatres)
Secretary
Congratulations to the new officers!
THEATRICAL RELEASE WINDOWS REMAIN
A KEY PRIORITY
Discussions by the members during the meetings in
Washington confirm that preservation of a robust theatrical
window remains a high priority for the association.
NATO reported on the current data and the outcomes of
the industry’s outreach to Wall Street and the creative
community. NATO leaders emphasized the need for
individual exhibition companies to establish their own
policies in the marketplace while (continued on page 12)
10 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011