Coinman of the Month
ARTSEGLIN
Art Seglin holds a rather unusual positio n in the
industry . He 's a teacher and a director .
He teaches high school-age students at the Hudson
County Area Vocational Technical School in North
Bergen , New Jersey . Though still related , his subject
matter is somewhat different from what you probably
expect to be taught at vo-tech schools . He teaches a two -
year course in vending machine repair.
That 's got to be good news for this industry. especially
if it catches on throughout the country . It would mean
vo -tech students could have the opportunity to be trained
for careers in the coin-op business and not just for careers
in such fields as welding. carpentry , and refrigeration .
'The course." Art told us, "includes anything operated by
a coin. except telephones and parking meters ." Thai 's
quite an expansive subject .
One night a week. he also teaches adults who come to
him from the coin-op trade. That night -school course
normally runs fifteen weeks. Additionally , for about 1112
years. he 's been teaching at technical schools in
conjunction with the New York State association . That
program met with such great success that Art has been
contracted to offer the course again this fall for member
co mpanies of the state 's operator association .
Recently. however, he took on another duty - that of
director of the AMOA of New Jersey . That state operator
association presently boasts of 40 members, out of a
potential of 125. But Art told PLA Y METER he plans to
raise that to 60 members by the end of the year, and to
10
75 by next year. W ith programs such as his technical
school. chances are he 'll be able to meet his
expectations .
Art got in to th e business in 1946, starting as sales
engineer with Atlantic New York . a large distributor at the
time . Th e position of sales engineer, which he stayed
with while working for various companies during his
career. coupled sales and service , and it provided him
with a unique viewpoint for his later positions in life as a
teacher and state association director . After 10 years with
Atlantic New York . he moved on to take a sales
engineer position with Seeburg Corp . He eventually left
Seeburg to get into comm unicatio ns. but came back into
the industry a few years later. joining Rowe International
as a field sales engineer. He spent 10 years with Rowe
before taking on a position with a commercial food
equipmen t manufacturer and left that when he saw the
opportunity to mold his own course of instruction at the
Hudson County Area Vocational Technical School .
Art's wife these many years is Flore nce . who is
presently the executive director of the Faith Temple in
East Orange. New Jersey . They have two children ,
Mark. a psychologist on th e staff at Fordham and Rutgers
universities: and their daughter. who resides in Beverly
Hills . California. where she is a religiOUS school director .
Most recently a featured speaker at the Amuse ment
Operators Expo. Art has some valuable thoughts about
schooling employees in this industry. thoughts that we
feel should be shared with the industry as a whole .
PLAY METER, July, 1980