Boxoffice - October 2018
The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners
The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners
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NATO NEWS<br />
NONPROFITS BRING<br />
A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE<br />
TO NATO<br />
by Kathy Conroy, Vice President and COO, NATO<br />
A/PERTURE CINEMA, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C<br />
NATO is excited to bring to the readers of this magazine an update on new eligibility rules<br />
for membership in the association. On June 28, NATO’s Executive Board approved an<br />
amendment to NATO’s bylaws that makes nonprofit cinemas eligible for full, regular membership<br />
in NATO. The decision reflects NATO’s desire to have exhibition, all of exhibition,<br />
working together on common goals. That which previously divided the industry has now<br />
been set aside to encourage all exhibition voices to be part of the conversation.<br />
KATHY CONROY<br />
THE BELCOURT THEATRE, NASHVILLE, TENN.<br />
>> For years, the idea of opening NATO<br />
membership to nonprofit cinemas was discussed<br />
periodically but rebuffed by previous boards<br />
whose members focused on a “level playing field”<br />
argument. NATO’s current Executive Board members,<br />
however, carefully considered the NATO<br />
Membership Committee’s recommendation, and<br />
determined that nonprofit theaters have more in<br />
common with for-profits than not. Take government<br />
relations, for example. Nonprofit cinemas<br />
tackle many of the same challenges in both the<br />
legislative and regulatory arenas. There are several<br />
timely issues that NATO is currently addressing<br />
that affect for-profit and nonprofit cinemas alike,<br />
including ADA drive-by lawsuits and website accessibility<br />
complaints, labor laws, the Paramount<br />
Consent Decrees review, and the joint employer<br />
standard. Many nonprofit cinemas with community-based<br />
missions are actively engaged in local<br />
government and bring a great deal of experience<br />
and important relationships to the effort.<br />
Working together is not entirely new, as<br />
NATO collaborated effectively several years<br />
ago with nonprofit cinemas in the Art House<br />
Convergence (AHC) and with deaf and hearing-impaired<br />
advocacy groups on a response<br />
to the DOJ’s rule on closed-captioning and<br />
audio-description technologies. During the<br />
rule-making process, NATO and AHC represented<br />
the industry in government forums, such<br />
24 BOXOFFICE ® OCTOBER <strong>2018</strong>
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