Did everyone hear about this?
What the hell is going on with the HHA?
Transparency is needed...
"Haunted Attraction Magazine announces that we will no longer provide magazines as a subscription benefit to the Haunted House Association. If you received Haunted Attraction Magazine as a member benefit in the past you will not receive any more issues. Of course if you are a subscriber to Haunted Attraction Magazine, you will continue to receive magazines per your subscription.
We notified the Haunted House Association of our decision on Monday, March 15th, 2010 via email, a copy of which is provided below for the benefit of its members.
HHA Board,
After thoughtful consideration, I have decided that Haunted Attraction Magazine will no longer associate itself with the Haunted House Association. As such, I am not interested in an arrangement whereby I provide magazines to your members through the HHA and will not be providing any future issues. Of course, should any HHA member wish to subscribe, they may do so via our website http://www.hauntedattraction.com.
I have not come to this decision lightly. When I took over the magazine last year, I reached out to HHA in the hopes of building a mutually beneficial relationship and to support a burgeoning organization in the haunt industry. I made every attempt to treat HHA with respect and to provide an equal playing field for the different associations in the industry. I even provided HHA a two-page spread in my inaugural issue so that you could reach my readers. However, as the year progressed, I began noticing a trend in the HHA that I found disturbing. It appeared to me that HHA was taking action to benefit certain members over its other members.
The imbalance of content on the website favoring one vendor (which is well documented) was the first sign. I expressed my disapproval to Ben Armstrong, the HHA President but nothing was ever done. Then, the link to my website did not work and was never corrected. The imbalance clearly favored one vendor, which just happened to be owned by one of your board members. When I addressed this with the HHA President, I was told that HHA acknowledged the imbalance and simply told me that HHA “owed the board member.” The trend continued with a press release published by HHA extolling the reasons to go trick-or-treating this past season. The press release referred readers to specific haunted houses providing certain haunted houses additional exposure over and above the other members. Shockingly, one of these preferred haunts was not even a member of HHA.
There has been a clear pattern of behavior that I do not endorse nor do I wish to be associated with. HHA has demonstrated its lack professionalism and has shown great disrespect to Haunted Attraction Magazine and to the haunt industry throughout the past year. In my opinion, the lofty goals and promises that were established at its creation have been largely ignored and replaced with petty motivations. As a result of the manner in which HHA has conducted itself this past year, Haunted Attraction Magazine is withdrawing all support and breaking any ties with HHA. I am sorry that it has come this, but your actions over the past year leave me no choice.
Truly,
John Kennedy"
What the hell is going on with the HHA?
Transparency is needed...
"Haunted Attraction Magazine announces that we will no longer provide magazines as a subscription benefit to the Haunted House Association. If you received Haunted Attraction Magazine as a member benefit in the past you will not receive any more issues. Of course if you are a subscriber to Haunted Attraction Magazine, you will continue to receive magazines per your subscription.
We notified the Haunted House Association of our decision on Monday, March 15th, 2010 via email, a copy of which is provided below for the benefit of its members.
HHA Board,
After thoughtful consideration, I have decided that Haunted Attraction Magazine will no longer associate itself with the Haunted House Association. As such, I am not interested in an arrangement whereby I provide magazines to your members through the HHA and will not be providing any future issues. Of course, should any HHA member wish to subscribe, they may do so via our website http://www.hauntedattraction.com.
I have not come to this decision lightly. When I took over the magazine last year, I reached out to HHA in the hopes of building a mutually beneficial relationship and to support a burgeoning organization in the haunt industry. I made every attempt to treat HHA with respect and to provide an equal playing field for the different associations in the industry. I even provided HHA a two-page spread in my inaugural issue so that you could reach my readers. However, as the year progressed, I began noticing a trend in the HHA that I found disturbing. It appeared to me that HHA was taking action to benefit certain members over its other members.
The imbalance of content on the website favoring one vendor (which is well documented) was the first sign. I expressed my disapproval to Ben Armstrong, the HHA President but nothing was ever done. Then, the link to my website did not work and was never corrected. The imbalance clearly favored one vendor, which just happened to be owned by one of your board members. When I addressed this with the HHA President, I was told that HHA acknowledged the imbalance and simply told me that HHA “owed the board member.” The trend continued with a press release published by HHA extolling the reasons to go trick-or-treating this past season. The press release referred readers to specific haunted houses providing certain haunted houses additional exposure over and above the other members. Shockingly, one of these preferred haunts was not even a member of HHA.
There has been a clear pattern of behavior that I do not endorse nor do I wish to be associated with. HHA has demonstrated its lack professionalism and has shown great disrespect to Haunted Attraction Magazine and to the haunt industry throughout the past year. In my opinion, the lofty goals and promises that were established at its creation have been largely ignored and replaced with petty motivations. As a result of the manner in which HHA has conducted itself this past year, Haunted Attraction Magazine is withdrawing all support and breaking any ties with HHA. I am sorry that it has come this, but your actions over the past year leave me no choice.
Truly,
John Kennedy"
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