HHA vs IAHA

[drfrightner]

Another discount...

www.Spookywoodsfx.com
Will now offer all HHA members 10% discount on all orders year around.

Tony is making awesome zombie suits and mummy suits!

Thanks tony for the support!

Larry

[Scareview]

Man, all of this is alot of work and too much thought process! I can't even imagine the fun that it must take away from Halloween for all those involved.

Remember twenty or so years ago when there was no organizations, no internet, no trade shows, no magazines or videos? Some of my greatest childhood memories are of the "Old School" haunted attractions with no barbed wire and no closed fences. Everything was "do it yourself" and have one helluva time! I miss those days.

Has anyone marketed an organization for St. Patty's Day yet? Who wants to join?Hell...I'm in!!! haha

[drfrightner]

Scareview...

Yes you're right 110%...

So how about this and remember I didn't start this thread, although it has produced some great information and debate.

Hauntworld IS NOT a supporter of IAHA, period! This forum will not chat about IAHA, and or discuss them, and they shouldn't post things on this forum about what they're doing. They can stay on their website and vice versa.

We will not mention them, nor will we discuss them as long as they don't make posts to promote what they do...

If we have something positive to announce we will do so without making a comparison, or without mentioning their organization.

Lets consider this topic dead and move on.

I do not support them, so do not want their links and what not here, then there is no reason to discuss them. Let them do what they want, and promote their events on their site. We'll promote HHA things our our sites.

And yes you're right... lets get back to what's important scaring people and making our industry stronger!

Larry

[drfrightner]

NOTICE: I AM BANNING MYSELF FROM SPEAKING ABOUT IAHA. As they say if you have nothing good to say...

I have NOTHING good to say. I would request that no links are posted to their site, or anyone bait me to discuss them.

They have a website and if you want to read about them go over there.

From today on I'm BANNING MYSELF from speaking about them...LOL

Larry is officially BANNED!

Who will moderate me? LOL

When we have positive things to add about HHA I will post them without mention the other thing. See I did it...

Larry

[Scareview]

Larry,

AMEN brother!

[JamBam]

HHA vs IAHA

Good discussion, I agree that the association that represents haunt owners needs to be that. The IAHA has struggled in the past and has moved forward as best it can with all the volunteers that have stepped up in the last several years, including Larry.

This is not to bait you Larry, since all know you position on this matter.

The HHA is a start of possibly another organization, but one comment that is in this thread answers a question I have had, which is the present status of HHA. I have joined and also still a member if IAHA. The HHA question that I saw answered was the future. At present, it is pretty much on Larry's control.

Ben's comments are great. Have read many posts with partial info and some misconceptions. One that I know I can confirm is the comment that Randy Young doesn't run a hunted event. The last 2 years, that is true. But a clarification: for 25 years before that he was the chairman of the St Vincent's Scouts Haunted Castle. I know this because the Haunted Castle is 20 miles from our event and it is the biggest event in northeast Indiana by far. I have been involved for the last twenty years with our event. The new chairman of the Haunted Castle has not gotten involved in any regional or national associations.

Larry, I was disappointed in you the month of January as you posted many negative comments and rantings in the IAHA lists until the list was purged. You now are taking a fairly positive spin on things on your own boards.

I know you are wanting to respond, but DON'T. I know you feel you were only being honest, but there is a difference in how people comment on these boards. Wil Shock comes to mind, and the transformation he made in his comments, once he became a vendor and didn't want to alienate customers.

Larry, I do believe that you do have the industry and growth in mind after your own business. You are truly one of the most passionate and outspoken people in this industry.
Continue the movement forward and stay one of my heros!
Just keep in mind that people have many heros. Mine include names like Randy (B & Y), Ben, Leonard, Kelly (C & A), Rich, Brett (the other ones), Larry, and many more!


Brett Molitor
JamBam/Huntington Jaycees Haunted Hotel-13th Floor
www.HauntedHuntington.com
www.MySpace.com/the_haunted_hotel

[drfrightner]

ANOTHER DISCOUNT ... and YET ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT.

UNIT 70 will offer HHA members 5% off any purchase year around.

Now that you're looking at all of those awesome pics we just uploaded, you know you want to buy buy buy...

Use your HHA membership to gain a 5% discount on their whole product line.

Join today at www.hauntedhouseassociation.org

YOU MUST SIGN UP BEFORE THE SHOW if you want to pick up your card to show vendors ...

Sign up right now and save THOUSANDS of dollars!!!!!!

Larry

[drfrightner]

Brett,

Let me clear things up for you...

First and foremost I appreciate your comments. I really do.

I've been getting emails from people saying, 'oh Chad Savage said this or that about you on HAM'. blah blah... I don't care.

Let's make something clear... Chad Savage, or Rotting Flesh Radio, or Leonard or the people who run IAHA, or whomever all have their own plans, to make money mostly,or expose themselves to people, promote their services, or whatever.

Most of the time you have take what most people say with a grain of salt because there is always a motivation to behind most of what everyones does. Eveyone has an agenda, everyone.

Do I bash Chad Savage as he says in his post... NO I DO NOT! I could care less about Chad Savage, his name hardy if ever comes up. I have told people and very few I might ad that I do not like his work. I would never hire him because I don't think what he offers is something I would suggest to anyone.

If someone asks me I will tell them USE ROGUES HOLLOW! In my opinion Rogues Hollow blows Chad Savage out of the water... just look at www.thrillvania.com and that end that discussion right there.

I would never suggest someone use Chad, not because I think he can be a jerk, but because I don't like his work. Its just my opinion and he might share the same one about me. It's nothing personal I just prefer something different...so if Chad thinks I sit around all day and bad mouth him he's nuts. I have better things to do. He gives himself too much credit I can tell if he really thinks this.

Facts are I have opinions but the same opinion I think about Chads web work I would tell him right to his face... I wouldn't hide it. I'm not two-faced. Will Chad ever say 'oh yeah Larry told me he loves what I do, then bashes me to other people'. NO HE WILL NOT! I'm not two faced. But do I make it a crusade to go around and see to it that every single person knows how I feel about him?

NO... show me one thread where this has ever been brought up by me. NEVER! On the RARE occasion someone might ask me my opinion I give it to them...end of story. Do you think Leonard would ever suggest someone go to Transworld show over his own Hauntcon or read Hauntworld before Haunted Attraction?

So how is this bashing, something that people do everyday in their lives. If you work for ATT and you're in sales, you tell your clients all day long why you're the better choice, and you'll point out the flaws in say Sprint or why you're better.

THAT ISN'T BASHING...

Have I bashed on IAHA, or pointed ou facts? Good question isn't it.

I'm organizing this vendor program for HHA, and in less than 10 days I accomplished what it took the other group over 10 years to do. Is that bashing or pointing out facts?

I tried my very very vey very best to promote IAHA, to help turn it around when its membership dropped below 100 after all the scandels. I rebuilt their website, recreated their logos, called vendors to help rescue the sinking ship, raised money or them, got them FREE booths at IAAPA and TRANSWORLD. Did you know in IAHA's annual budget was something like $8000 a year to buy meeting rooms and booths from TW. I got TW to give that to them for free and saved the group all that money!

I made ads for them, I wrote mounds of information for the group, organized and created a safety program for them, I did all of this basically BY MYSELF! Ben will tell you...

I tried to get these people to see past personal differences, to see the bigger picture that BUYING peoples memberships with book bags, dinner, dvd's, or things of this nature just made people turn their nose up at the group.

I wanted to go bigger, better, farther than anyone had EVER DREAMED.

When half the board wanted to GIVE BOB TURNER $8000.00 of MEMBERS money for a sponsorship to the haunters pavillian I was opposed, so was Brett, so was Ben, and Rich and even when I had Gregg from TW telling them WE DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY they still resisted... it came to a 7-7 vote to give members money for a sponsorship that wouldn't HELP YOUR BUSINESS!

If that money had bee spent on a worthless sponsorship to hang some banners in a room no one cared about, we might never have seen the NATIONAL PUBLICITY program I stated.

I must say though... I was impressed with how the board gave me the money, and trusted me enough to see if I could make this happen. They invested $14,000.00 of the members money into this dream I had.

I had to go out and raise the rest myself, find the right PR firm, organize the plan, and see it through to the end...

I did all of that pretty much all by myself.

Where was Larry's thanks for all that? No one in this industry has ever really walked up to me and said WOW THAT WAS THE SINGLE GREATEST THING the indsutry has ever done working as a group and thanks!

No instead you get really really sad comments from Dan Faupal saying 'yeah sign up for HHA so he can fund another run at getting his face on the front of USA TODAY'.

That was sad Dan... really sad comments!

That article wasn't about me...it was about an entire industry, and I helped tell that story. I can tell you and its really like a made for a movie story... the pr company kept going in other directions, and BEN WILL TELL YOU... Larry would say everytime WHAT ABOUT USA TODAY!!!!

I felt if we could get a story in USA TODAY all the rest would come all by itself...and that happened. Next was Good Mourning America, and Today Show...was Larry on those shows? NO I WAS NOT... but WHO CALLED LARRY to set up those shows...GOOD MOURNING AMERICA CALLED ME DIRECTLY.

We gave them Netherworlds contact info because they had a crew in Atlanta and wanted to do this piece. I did however provide them with the FAMOUS quote on that which was something ike 'The Haunted House industry isn't what you remember, its now a 300 to 500 Million Dollar industry'.

Maybe Dan doesn't appreciate what I did, or what I was trying to do, maybe because he neither owns a haunted house or a supply company and doesn't see the real value I don't know.

Fact is though...I think DAN was one of the ONLY people who EVER did anything!

The board had three MVP's: Jim Smith, Dan and Brett Bertolino, and for the most part NO ONE else did a thing but talk about doing stuff. Deanna did a great job at taking notes but everyone else did basically nothing While I was on that board all the action was done by myself and Brett.

Deanaa kept notes and Jim Smith kept everything organized, Dan worked on anything you asked him to do, and outside of that everyone else could have gone home. Tony was always offering to do web work but the board could never make up its mind about anything.

I don't operate this way... I'm all about doing things right the first time, I'm all about ONLY doing things that benefit the members or the industry, I wasn't about buying members freebies to keep their happieness. I wanted a bigger picture, and if you ask me I will tell you what I think.

I DO NOT LIE, I DO NOT CHEAT, I DO NOT MISLEAD, I DO NOT HOLD BACK...

If I tell you something you can take it to the bank that its the truth, what I really belief, or how I feel. With some of these other guys they're like Eddie Haskel they say one thing to your face and a total other when you leave.

I don't work that way.

EVERYONE WHO SAYS I'm all about myself is full of crap... you don't see pictures of me anywhere, I refuse all interviews, I refuse all seminar requests, I don't call myself 'the godfather' or say others wan to follow in my footsteps.

I'm just ME! Nothing more, nothing less.

I have some assets here some big ones, and other smaller groups have tried to COMBINE everything they have to try and crush me...why. I don't know.

You guys don't know what its like to be me... there are always people out to get you, and as you know I don't lay down for that non-sense. There are people who would love for this message board to crash on its face, for me to stop printing my magazine, or as IAHA tried many many times to buy me out of some of my most valuable media assets. NO WAY JOSE!

I own these things yes, why because I trust myself...sorry

I trust myself to do what I think is right for all, and I will continue to do that.

Others don't like the fact that they as a group can't do 1/10th of the things you d by yourself. I don't do everything by myself, I have a group of friends who help me, advice me, and keep my grounded. Ben Armstrong being the best example of someone who I trust wholeheartly.

I want ALL OF YOUR HAUNT OWNERS AND VENDORS TO REACH YOUR DREAMS... I had a hard hard road myself, and I got lucky, so I want to share.

I've done that and will continue to do that...

Now we're at this crossroads with IAHA vs. HHA... hmmm..

Well I don't see it that way, I never have. I know what I can do, I know what I will do, and if you think that will help you come on board. For 10plus years we've wasted our time counting the days until IAHA would emerge as they voice for this industry, create benefits that we couldn't get without them, and it just never happened... and I can tell you exactly why!

EGOS!

That keeps IAHA going backwards! I don't care what anyone says becuse that is a fact plain and simple.

Bottom line at some point you say... cut your loses and move on.

I know I haven't always been positive, and I have had some negative things to say, and some I regret... but from today on, I could care less about anything but being positive in a new direction for a new day for a new era for a new group.

End of story!

Come along for the ride and see where we end up! Who knows!

Larry