July 2010 - Amusement Today

32 AMUSEMENT TODAY July 2010PEOPLE WATCHLongtime assistant GM Herb Brooks retires from DutchWonderland after long career with HersheyHerb Brooks, assistant general managerat Pennsylvania's Dutch Wonderland, is retiringfrom Hershey Entertainment & Resortsafter a long and successful tenure with thecompany.Brooks began his career with HersheyEntertainment & Resorts in 1966 as a memberof the clean-up crew at Hersheypark. Hehas held several different positions with the Herb Brookscompany since then, including electrician atHersheypark; director of ride operations, maintenance, safety &security and front gate admissions at Lake Compounce; directorof operations at Hersheypark; and most recently, assistant generalmanager at Dutch Wonderland.Brooks also has been an advocate for the tourism andamusement park industries. He served as the Hersheypark representativewith the Pennsylvania Amusement Park Association(PAPA) in 1998 and later became a member of the organization’sboard. Brooks was elected first vice president of PAPA in 2005, arole he held until becoming president in 2007.Brooks lives in Hershey with his wife of more than 25 years,Deb Brooks, and plans to spend much of his retirement playinggolf.Ron Toomer celebrates 80th birthday!AT PHOTOFormer Arrow Dynamics roller coaster designer and amusementindustry legend Ron Toomer recently celebrated his80th birthday with his wife Betty, family and friends. Enjoyinga night out to celebrate Toomer's birthday at theOlenjack's Grille in Arlington (Texas) were board membersof the National Roller Coaster Museum and employees ofSix Flags and Dollywood. Shown l to r: Carole Sanderson(NRCMA), Walt Bowser (NRCMA & Six Flags), Ron Toomer,Gary Slade (NRCMA and Amusement Today), Pete Owens(NRCMA & Dollywood), B. Derek Shaw (NRCMA), Pat Hoffman(Six Flags) and Richard Munch (NRCMA). Ron spendsmuch of his time now working on notes for a future bookon the history of Arrow as well as spending time on hisfavorite hobby, woodcarving. The Toomers make theirfome in the DFW area to be near family and of course theirgrandchildren.Tim Timco accepts position with Core CashlessTim Timco has been announced as new Director of Salesand Marketing for Core Cashless, based in Lenexa, Kan. Tim hasmore than 30 years experience in the admission and ticketingsegment of the mass amusement and entertainment industrieswith 11 of those years in an executive management position. Hecomes to Core after serving two years with Worldwide Ticketas their V.P. of Sales and Marketing and 30 years with NationalTicket as their V.P. of Sales. “We are very pleased and excitedto have Tim join our team here at Core and look forward to hisexpertise in helping grow our organization,” said Brooks Lilly,Core’s director of development.EMAIL news briefs TO: GSLADE@AMUSEMENTTODAY.COMThis information is believed to beaccurate, but is not guaranteed.Returns provided do not includereinvestment or dividends.East Coast 2.949 0.348Midwest 2.892 0.346Gulf Coast 2.874 0.331Rocky Mountain 2.989 0.469West Coast 3.054 0.399Riding the MarketCalifornia 3.068 0.334Prices per gallon; Information provided by U.S. Department of EnergyStock Prices 52 weeksCompany Name 06/14/10 High LowSTOCK EXCHANGE: NYSE, OTC BB*, NASDAQ**, SYDNEY ASX***Cedar Fair L.P. FUN $12.67 $15.79 $6.03MGM Mirage MGM $11.95 $16.66 $5.34Six Flags Ent. Corp. SIX $36.49 New $0.59 stock listing as of 6/21/2010 $0.03CBS Corp. CBS $14.63 $16.98 $5.65Walt Disney Co. DIS $33.93 $37.98 $22.05Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. WOLF** $2.32 $3.95 $1.93Landry’s Restaurants LNY $24.22 $25.56 $7.75Blackstone Group BX $30.39 $17.22 $8.54Village Roadshow AU:VRL*** $1.90 $2.54 $0.91NBC Universal GE $15.495 $19.70 $10.50Region As of Change from(U.S.) 06/14/10 year agoON-HIGHWAYDIESEL PRICES$$$TOP 7 MOST TRADEDCURRENCIESOn 06/14/10 $1 USD =0.82593 EURO0.68843 GBP (British Pound)91.71672 JPY (Japanese Yen)1.15004 CHF (Swiss Franc)1.17630 AUD (Australian Dollar)1.03287 CAD (Canadian Dollar)AIMS remembers amusementride safety expert Carl DillsAIMS celebratesthe life of amusementride safety expert WalterCarl Dills, whopassed away in theearly hours of May 26,2010. He was buriedin Arlington NationalCemetery.Carl Dills grew upin Northern Kentucky Carl Dillsand started his careerin the amusement industry at Ohio’s ConeyIsland. His knowledge of the industry andride safety continued to grow and he was alwayswilling to share with those around him.For over three decades he was a mainstayat the annual AREA and later AIMS SafetySeminars.Many in AIMS and around the industrywill remember Carl as that feisty inspectorwho always had an opinion and was notbashful about giving it. He made some rideowners add safety precaution modificationsto their rides that the ride manufacturers hadnot considered. This sometimes strainedthe relationship between the inspector andthe ride owner, but the owner would soonlearn that Carl had the last word. As he washeard to say: “you can wrestle with a pig inthe mud but after a while you realize the pigenjoys it.”Regardless of how people might have feltabout Carl’s field rulings regarding ride safety,he was well respected by those who knewhim. He was also known to help ride ownersget a piece of equipment back into service afterit went down on a busy night. There is nodoubt that Carl was concerned about safetybut he knew that keeping a ride running wasthe livelihood of the owner, just as he understoodthat selling a ride was the manufacturer’sreason for being. Carl was one of thosewho understood all aspects of the ride businessand worked with all the different entitiesto try to keep the industry safe.After spending 20 years in the U.S. AirForce, Carl retired as master sergeant. Onceback home, he worked for the State of Kentuckyas director of the Division of Weightsand Measures, the entity responsible foramusement ride inspections and safety. Itwas during these years that Carl began teachingat the AIMS annual Safety Seminars. Duringhis years with the State he was also knowfor investigating ride accidents and testifyingregarding the causes of those mishaps, whicheventually lead to the certification testing ofride inspectors.Though Carl retired from state inspectionwork he continued as a ride safety consultant,inspecting rides in a number of differentstates for a variety of clients. He alsocontinued to travel to the AIMS Safety Seminarsuntil recent years when his failing healthkept him closer to home.Carl may be gone but his legacy is carriedon by everyone who knew him, who satin a class with him, or spoke with him in thehallway or on the midway. Carl’s mission tokeep people safe on amusement rides lives onthanks to those who follow in his footsteps.The members of AIMS salute him and thankhim for all he has given to the association andto the amusement industry.—AIMS International