Dick Needleman and Howard Rubin
Appointed to New Marketing Posts
Don Osborne, Atari's National
Sales Manager, recently announced
the appointment of Dick Needleman
to the position of Regional Sales and
Promotion Manager. At the same
time, Frank Ballouz, Marketing
Director, named Howard Rubin to
the post of Special Markets
Manager.
Mr. Needleman, who formerly
served as Manager of Atari Leisure
Industries in Florida, has an exten-
sive background in the leisure and
amusement industries in Florida.
In his new position, Mr. Needleman
will be responsible for marketing
and promotion efforts in the
southeastern area of the U.S.
Commenting on Needleman's ap-
pointment, Osborne said: "We are
very pleased to have Dick join our
marketing team. His creative pro-
motional talents make him a
valuable asset to Atari, and his
many contacts in the coin industry
will help us to expand our
marketing base in the Southeast.
Dick will provide an effective liaison
between the factory and our
distributors and operators.''
One of Needleman's special ef-
forts in the past involved introduc-
ing the first video game, Atari's
Lunar Lander, to the Kennedy
Space Center. He will continue to
operate from his base in Homosassa
Springs, Florida.
In his new position as Special
Markets Manager, Howard Rubin,
whom many of you may remember
as Atari's East Coast Regional Sales
Manager in New Jersey, will
operate out of Atari headquarters in
Sunnyvale, California.
I INTERNATIONAL NEWS
I
Sue Elliott
Announces New
Australian Distributor
Sue Elliott, Atari's International
Sales Manager, has announced the
appointment of A. Hankin and Com-
pany of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
as an Atari Distributor for
Australia. The appointment will be
effective October 10, 1980.
A. Hankin has been in the games
business in Australia for more than
twenty years and is currently
operated by Peter and David
Hankin, sons of the founder of the
company. As well as serving as a
distributor of video games, A.
Hankin manufactures pinball
games. Their latest pinball effort is
"The Empire Strikes Back", based
on the recent hit movie.
Ms. Elliott, who recently visited
the A. Hankin facility, said, "We
would like to welcome A. Hankin
and Company to the Atari distri-
butor family. With their extensive
background in the game industry in
Australia, they will help us to serve
our Australian operators more com-
pletely. We look forward to our
association with them.''
A. Hankin and Company will join
Leisure and Allied Industries as
distributors for Atari's coin-op pro-
ducts in Australia.
Frank Ballouz noted that ''Howie
will be a great addition to the
marketing staff. As Special Markets
Manager he will work with
operators to open new locations
such as convenience stores, recrea-
tional and amusement parks and
other areas where coin-operated
games have not been seen before."
We congratulate both Dick and
Howie on their new positions, and
wish them continued success in
their new ventures.
3 Top Asteroids
Scorers
TM
Last month in the Coin Connec-
tion we told you about Shawn
Davies of Murray, Utah, who scored
10 million points on Asteroids in 21
hours and 50 minutes.
Frank Ballouz, Atari's Marketing
Director recently announced two
other top scorers on Asteroids. They
are Duncan Brown of Charlot-
tesville, Virginia, with 7,200,620
points and Salvador Cordova of
Falls Church, Virginia, with
7,111,000 points.
Commenting on these top scores,
Ballouz said: "We congratulate
these players on their skill and
perseverance in attaining such high
scores. Asteroids continues to be a
super challenge, and we encourage
other players to try to best these
current high scores."
High Score tournaments are a
great promotional idea. If you hav.e
some Asteroids players in your loca-
tion that would like to try to break
the current record, set up a tourna-
ment for them. Call the local press
to cover the event. And send the
verified high scores to Atari.