PUBLIC RELATIONS--as Applied
to the Coin Machine Industry
By LE ROY STEIN
Manager, Amusemer>t Board of Trade of N. J.
OF the duties of a manager of a
0 NE
trade association is to act as arbiter in
the matter of disputes between members of
his association.
Despite the fact that the manager may
have had a number of years of experience
in the industry, and may know every trick
of trade, he will sometimes be rebuffed
by the remark, "Shoemaker, stick to your
last."
In accepting the rebuff for what it is
worth, may I "stick to my last" by calling
your attention to the purpose and value of
trade associations by quoting from the
principles of the American Trade Associa-
tion Executives, in which I am proud to
say I hold active membership.
The American Trade Association Execu-
tives is an organization composed of quali-
fied association managers, who represent
approved trade associations. It offers an
unlimited source of information and ex-
perience in trade association method and
procedure, in activities, in exchange of
knowledge concerning government and
legislative affai'rs as wide and varied as the
hundreds of industries represented, and a
coordination of the effort to secure under-
standing and appreciation of the trade as-
sociation movement.
In its broader aspects it seeks to estab-
lish a better and wider public understand-
ing of the purposes and functi(!nS of re
sponsible trade associations, tl:ie profes-
sional standards of service and conduct
which they maintain, and the character of
service it renders. It endeavors to secure
recognition, an appreciation of the trade
association as an effective instrument for
developing standards of business and profit,
and an approach to larger public questions.
These purposes are translated into activi-
ties which encompass-
1. Public understanding.
2. Cooperative relationships with
schools and colleges.
3. Studies in management.
4. Current information.
5. Discussion forums.
Recognizing that the purpose of the trade
association is to render service to its mem-
bers and to the public, to promote better
business, which depends upon confidence
and which calls for proper reward in the
form of reasonable profits, the meml:iers of
the American Trade Association pledge
themselves to _ the best of their ability-
1. To furnish well-informed, constructive
and effective leadership to our indus-
tries or trades in the management of
the organizations placed in our charge.
2. To collect and disseminate openly and
fairly, information that will help the
business enterprises we represent to
deserve earning and public recogni -
tion commensurate with r isks taken
and service rendered, and that will
protect them against unfair and un-
true statements.
3. To promote integrity and efficient serv-
ice in the industries and trades we
represent and to assist in the elimina-
tion of uneconomic and artificial con-
ditions, such as inflation of credit,
over - expansion, over - buying, over-
stimulation of sales and wasteful com-
petition, all of which are injurious
to business stability and to industrial
progress.
4. To deal fairly and without discrimina-
tion with all our members, and not to
accept compensation or gratuities or
otherwise to create conditions suber-
sive of loyal and disinterested service.
5. To oppose improper business methods
and unfair and discriminatory prac-
tices of every kind, and to promote
in their stead the adoption of sound
methods and fair practices.
6. To contribute, to the fullest extent of
our ability and opportunity, to the
creation and preservation of right rela-
tions between employer, employee,
capital, management, the government
and the public.
7. To cooperate in furthering the trade
association movement in such measure
as is advantageous to the participating
business groups and in keeping with
public policy, and to share with our
colleagues knowledge and experience
gained.
8. To discharge our responsibility to our
organization and to the public con-
scientiously, courageously and capably,
thus fostering better business in the
broadest meaning of that term.
The unprecedented success of the Amuse-
ment Board of Trade of New Jersey, Inc.,
has been in a large measure due to the
stric test adherence to the principles of man-
agement as suggested by the American
Trade Association Executives.
The policy of the association has been
shaped in accordance with the standards
adopted by other successful association,;.
The Constitution, the By-Laws, and the
Code of Fair Trade Practices has been
designed to include, in general, those which
have been found workable in other trade
associations, but with additions peculiarly
to our own industry.
The accounting system installed by the
association is predicated upon the principles
of good association management, while the
services rendered are those which, in the
main, are offered by the most successful
associations.
In short, the Amusement Board of Trade
of New Jersey, Inc., has avoided the costly
mistakes made by some associations in the
Coin Machine Industry because it has taken
advantage of the services offered by the
American Trade Association Executives,
and in particular, because it has recognized
the necessity of following in the footsteps
of those who have been through the trials
and tribulations of association activities.
Trade association managers who hold
membership in the American Trade Associ-
ation Executives are offered a course of
instruction of collegiate standards, helpful
hints on trade association management, and
a series of bulletins, all of which are in-
tended to inculcate the most advanced prin-
ci pies of association guidance.
To be successful in its chosen field, a
trade association must be properly managed
- its manager should be qualified and
trained in Association work, he should al-
ways be on the alert, willing to advance
himself in his chosen profession, ready to
learn something new each day, keep abreast
of the times, develop a vision to the end
that his services may be of increasing
value to his association, and through which
he may have profit and pleasure in his
work.
Every association in the Coin Machine
Industry can be a successful association, if
it will follow these principles and guide
itself accordingly in its own trading area.
The associations who are successful are
to be congratulated because they serve as a
beacon light to those operators who have
not yet learned the value of cooperatfon for
mutual benefit.
♦
AOLAC Continues
Minor, Accident
Prevention Drives
LOS ANGELES-Long noted locally for
their interest and co-operation in civic af-
fairs, the Associated Operators of Los An-
geles Count , Inc., is continuing two very
worthy efforts. First of these is aid to the
Juvenile Crime Prevention Bureau in
eliminating "minor play." Strict steps were
taken by the Association's board of direc-
tors as long ago as November, 1937, when
they passed a resolution to the effect that
any member who knowingly allowed any of
his locations to cater to the patronage of
minors should be expelled from further
membership.
Further strengthening that attitude a
recent bulletin of the Association demands
that merchants be warned of the rule and
that machines be removed from all loca-
tions where merchants refuse to co-operate;
no further equipment will be placed in such
locations thereafter. And any member who
fai ls to take the necessary action with that
object in view, or who, after notice that
such a violation has been permitted, fails
to remove his games from the location,
becomes subject to the same penalties as
those provided for the punishment of
violations of the law.
Second major effort is the AOLAC's
traffic safety campaign. Stickers have been
issued members for carrying word of the
safety drive on all vehicles owned and used
by them, and the need for safe driving,
particularly in the vicinity of schools, and
whenever there is coin operated equipment
in the vehicle, is stressed repeatedly.
In 1940 traffic accidents killed 35,000
persons, injured more than 1,300,000 others.
On an average day last year automobile
accidents took twice the number of lives
lost in the Kenvil, N. J., powder blast,
three times the toll of the Georgia-South
Carolina hurricane, and four times that of
the Little Falls train wreck or the Lovets-
ville airplane crash.
Exceeding the speed limit was responsi-
ble for 40 percent of the fatalities and 26
percent of the injuries in 1940. Almost 86
percent of all fatal accidents occurred in
clear weather and almost 78 percent hap-
pened when the road surface was dry.
More than 97 percent of all drivers in-
volved in accidents had a year or more of
vehicle operatin11; experience. The need for
care on the road is obvious but easily for-
gotten, and the Association repeats the
warning continually.
The Travelers Insurance Co. of Hartford,
Conn., recently published a striking and
informative booklet on this subject, titled
"Here Today-" copies of which are avail-
able to those interested either from the
♦
company or its representatives.
co,,.,,
MACHINE
REVIEW
FOIi
MARCH
1941
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