ShoWest '88 Welcome to ShoWest '88 By Herb Burton Executive Director, ShoWest DURING ShoWest '87, we solicited your comments and suggestions for ShoWest '88. The response was overwhelming! We have tried to integrate as many of these comments and suggestions as possible into our plans to make ShoWest '88 "tailor made" for you. — You asked for a more varied selection of subject matter— You got it! Simultaneous programming will allow you to choose the subjects that interest you the most in smaller, more personal sessions. — You asked for bigger prize programs— You got it! Program sponsors this year will include Armour Foods, Coca- Cola USA, ShoWest's own Holiday-In- Hawaii and Pepsi-Cola. Plus! Look for the special T.E.A. and N.A.C. prize programs in our Trade Fair! —You asked for a free evening to get out and enjoy Las Vegas—You got it! Last year's unexpected "evening on your own" turned out to be a big hit! Your comments indicated a desire to have the chance to get out and see a show, gamble, to spend an evening on the town. So Wednesday night has been set aside for you'. But we're not forgetting your favorite parts of ShoWest— they'll be back—and better than ever! The Trade Fair will once again be our biggest ever (we've expanded our floor plan twice to accommodate all of the suppliers and vendors). This year's theme "There's No Business Like Show Business" holds a few surprise events in store. And look for a few familiar faces, too! We're bringing back your favorite sponsors and welcoming a few new faces. Many of this year's events will be . . . well, just remember to expect the unexpected from our sponsors! We think ShoWest '88 will be just the right balance of business and fim. We hope you come away both entertained and enlightened. Enjoy! H We Must Remain United By Bob Tankersley Chairman, Exhibitors West TODAY'S EXTREME, AND almost daily, changes in our industry dictates even more our need to keep exhibitors in the Unitied States (and, for that matter, throughout the world) organized for the overall good of our great motion picture industry. I say throughout the world mainly because as many of you know, the ShoWest convention has become international in scope and size, so what affects the United States industry is felt throughout the world. There have always been those doomsayers in our industry who feel that theatre organizations are not necessary. A few years ago, Paul Roth, who was then president of NATO, Bob Selig, of the California Theatre Association, and myself, being President of the Rocky Mountain Motion Picture Association, did some brainstorming regarding the value of a National association, and some of the ideas that came out of those meetings I am going to share with you. I feel that in the past year or two, due to the changes in our industry, NATO, RMMPA, Colorado/Wyoming NATO, and other regional organizations, are having a tough time coping with some of the desires on the part of some members, with keeping membership, with retaining an interest, and in general keeping a "pumped up" enthusiastic attitude about what we are doing as an industry. A trade association is the cars and eyes of its membership, and is also the mind and brains. It is the; soul and conscience, as well as the voice, of all those it represents, and in many cases, those it does not represent. One theatre or chain, no matter how large or small, does not have the ability to know everything that is going on in an industry the size of ours. By pooling what we see and hear, we have a chance to keep each other informed and leani from each other. None of us are smart enough or strong enough to fight all of the battles that come at us from all fronts. There is strength and insulation in unity; meaning we can do a lot of things no individual will do, if for no other reason than the fear of retribution by Government, by our competition, or for that matter by film companies! You can get a lot more people to listen to you when you explain to them that you represent 60 to 70 percent of all the theatres in the country, doing over four billion dollars a year in boxoffice, . . . coupled with the tremendous impact that we exert on people of all ages. Considering the many things that a trade association does accomplish, an association is also of significant importance for what it prevents It is safe to say, even though no miracles have been— or will be created— oveniight, that it is a good bet that conditions in our industiy would be a (conlmucd p. SW-12) SW-4 <strong>Boxoffice</strong>
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