Let me tell you FLAT OUT no association for our industry will EVER be worth much without MONEY and TONS of money and then on top of that the RIGHT people running it who are not doing this or that for personal greed, self promotion, or whatever. IAHA has been FULL of the before mentioned... IAHA was a complete failure.
HHA was a success when you consider what was done in a short period on top of the fact that IAHA paniced and changed everything like over night what they wouldn't change for 10 years prior!
Now you will merge the two but I'm sorry to say hardly anyone will join, because its pointless ... for our industry an association just isn't in demand by the industry because things are cruising along with or without one. Until a haunt association makes or should I say FORCES the industry to make them important it will be ignored.
To do that the road map includes running your own tradeshow for the benefit of the industry, association, buyers, vendors, the whole nine.
But with Transworld doing such a good job now, and you still have MHC, Hauntcon and a host of others, where does one fit in? It doesn't. Can't start a magazine because there is hardly enough money out there now to support hardly one if not any.
It will just kind of exist nothing more nothing less.
When Transworld was not giving the haunt industry the fair shake it deserved there was a call for one run by the industry, that was the window, that was the crack of light, and now TW is really focused on the industry and doing a great job.
I just don't see a need for another show. Not to mention there is really only a handful of people in this industry that could even put it together, or be the force behind organizing it and I think most if not all of those people at this time have no interest. You don't break something that is working.
That isn't to say they couldn't do one like Hauntcon type of deal but that will making certain others upset I would imagine. I don't think it will happen
Larry
