OPERATOR OF THE 80s
Larrianne Simon of Huntsville, Alabama
Larrianne Simon, a vibrant Californian
transplanted to Alabama, is owner of
Pride Enterprises. With over fifty accounts
in the Huntsville area of Alabama, Simon
has an especially unique location for her
games- the Space and Rocket Center of
Alabama.
The Space Center, a non-profit, educa-
tional institution owned and operated by
the State of Alabama, is the world's larg-
est space museum. The museum offers
simulated flight aboard the Space Shuttle,
journey to the moon and beyond, partici-
pation exhibits that let you be the astro-
naut in the commander's seat, tours of
the Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's
largest facility located in Huntsville, Mon-
keynaut Baker, the first " lady in space",
and the Saturn V moon rocket, together
with the largest single collection of rock-
ets, missi les and space hardware found
in the world.
When a visitor to the Alabama Space
and Rocket Center enters the museum,
an actual NASA Lunar Modu le, identical
to Apollo 16 which landed on the moon,
dominates the center of the main hall.
Close to the Lunar Module is an Atari
Lunar Lander™ game in an actual lunar
module mockup which envelopes the par-
ticipant, creating a realistic atmosphere.
As the "pilot" steps into the curved white
booth, a footpad switch lights overhead
panels. Flanking the pilot are green and
white control lights which simulate liquid
oxygen and fuel levels, and gauges for a
myriad of functions. The pilot then has to
land the craft without crashing , bearing in
mind the limitations on fuel and time.
"It's a highly challenging activity", says
Scott Osborne, director of exhibits. "The
Lunar Lander is so popular because it re-
quires skill and attention to control sev-
eral factors simultaneously."
The Space and Rocket museum also
has a game room. Naturally, all of
the games are required to have a
"space" theme, and each of the
games at the center is placed on a
platform. Two of Simon 's space-
related games are Asteroids® and
Space Duel™
Ms. Simon also has an account
at the University of Alabama at
,
Huntsville. Her other accounts are
r
spread thoughout the Huntsville
area where Simon is noted for
her quality service for her
customers.
'' I like to keep in tune
with my client's needs,
helping my customer
understand his games, in-
forming him of changes and
suggesting new ideas. I like my custom-
ers to know that I think they are impor-
tant to me." Simon carries a beeper for
any urgent message a client m ight have.
Her husband has only recently persuaded
her to turn the beeper off at 11 :00 p.m.
Simon has always been public relations
oriented-before Pride Enterprises, she
worked in political campaigns and helped
in promotions for cancer research. She
believes in participating in worthwhile
causes and recently donated a week's
revenue from a game to the Foundation
for Cerebral Palsy Research. She has
also appeared on television interviews
promoting games in the Huntsville area.
" I knew I needed to win a lot of confi-
dence when I was first starting out in
business. I was very low key and did not
push myself on anyone. People did not
realize I was the owner of Pride Enter-
prises-they thought I was a good repre-
sentative for a company with a good rep-
utation". Simon has been president of
Pride Enterprises since 1975 and con-
tinues to offer her c lients quality service.
J l
Larrianne Simon, Kent Lyman, and Bob
Neighbors, maintenance manager at the
Space Center Game Room. Ms. Simon says
her "keys to success" are her employees.
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The Lunar Lander exhibit at the Space and
Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama.
TECHNICAL TIP
Wells-Gardner
Color X-Y Display
Symptom:
Characters on the display are shaky or
made up of small dots, instead of smooth
lines.
Solution:
Members of the Pride Team are (1-r) Larrianne Simon, Mark Bond, maintenance, and Kent
Lyman, route manager, at the University Game Room.
Replace capacitor C901 or C902, 100 µF
at 35 volts, in the high-voltage power sup-
ply.