Play Meter writers contest winners
Charles C. Ross's thorough three-
part series on amusement machine
depreciation has been selected as the
$500 first-place winner in PLAY
METER 's writers' contest . And Barry
Fireman , for his editorial statement
concerning quality control (o r lack of
it) and warranty programs (or lack of
them) , won the $500 first -place
money in the magazine's editorial
contest.
Ross's first article in the series
appeared in the January issue , the
ser:ond article last month, and the
final install ment appears in this issue .
Fireman's guest editorial statement
appeared in the October , 1978 issue
of PLAY METER.
The second-place winner ($250)
in the feature article contest was
Michael Mendelsohn whose article
"What to Look for When Purchasing
New Games" appeared in the
November, 1978 issue of PLAY
METER . The third-place winner in
the feature article contest went to R.1.
Lyttle for "Soliloquy of a Pinball ,"
which ran in the August , 1978 issue .
Other finalists in the feature article
contest and the months those
submissions ran in PLAY METER
were as follows (not in any particular
order) : "Pinball Through the Ages"
by Tom Stroud , drawings by Tim
Skelly (February , 1979) ; "Where's
the Music?" by Ron Rysztogi (July ,
1978) ; " Property Assessment Rip
Off" by Mic hael Mendelsohn (March ,
1979) ; "Confessions of a Two-Year-
Ol d" by Leigh Palmer (J anuary ,
1979) .
The other entries which were
finalists in the judging for the $500
prize for best guest editorial were
(and month the editorial ran) as
follows: Thomas Poplar (February),
and Greg Zink (March) .
All writers whose articles were
published received , in addition to
any prize money they might have
received regular payment according
to PLAY METER's regular profes-
sional writing payment scale . All
have been asked to contribute
material on a frequent basis to the
magazine .
Ralph Lally II , editor and publisher
of PLAY METER , said of the
contest: "We were certainly pleased
with the overwhelming response to
the contest. But , to be truthful , we
were not the least bit surprised . We
have long realized that there is a large
amount of untapped expert informa-
tion within the operating ranks of this
industry, and this contest , we feel ,
brought some of that talent to the
fore .
"This does not preclude others
within the industry from submitting
articles or article suggestions for the
magazine ," Lally continued . "Just
because the contest is over , that
doesn't mean that PLAY METER has
stopped its talent search for new
writers within the industry . PLAY
METER will always be open to new
articles and suggestions , whether
they agree or disagree with our
editorial position ."
The deadline for the contest was
November 1, 1978, but because of
the large response to the contest,
Lally said , articles and feature stories
entered in the contest were held for
publication as late as March , 1979
(this issue) .
Schroth elected
president
Whitey Schroth of Vend Music
Service in Hermiston , Oregon was
elected president of the Oregon
Amusement and Music Operators at
the association 's
annual meeting
January 19 . 20
at the Valley Riv-
er Inn in Eugene .
Oregon .
Other associa-
tion officers who
were installed for
1979
include
vice president .
Jim liVingston.
Vee Lee Amu se - Wh itey Schroth
ment. SI. Hel -
ens; secretary -treasurer. John Wed -
dle. ABC Amuse ment , Eugene .
Fred Granger , AMOA 's executive
vice president. and Wayne Hesch ,
president of the AMOA were among
the invited guests.
Keels moves
After being in business in the
downtown area of Florence. South
Carolina for 33 years . Keels Music.
Company. Inc. has moved into a
new 15.000-square-foot building out
on th e edge of town .
PLAY METER , March , 1979
Jeremy Brett, star of Dracula, the Broadway hit currently running at the
Shubert Theatre in Chicago , gives the evil eye to Dracula, Stern
Electronics, Inc . 's latest pinball machine release . The Dracula machine's
first release sold out very quickly , and Stern Electronics has stepped up
production to meet increased demand around the world .
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