C.O.C.A. Times

.o.e.A. GJ.I
3712 W. SCENIC AVE., MEQUON, WISCONSIN 53092
Phone: (262) 242-3131 OR E-mail: Bedvibr8or@aol.com
Message from Our President ...
Hello again! Thanks to everyone who helped to make
our spring meeting a big success. With almost 150 mem-
bers in attendance at our meeting held April 4, 2013,
Ken Rubin, author of "Drop Coin Here", the first majqr
illustrated book covering coin-operated machines, was
inducted into the C.O.C.A. Hall of Fame. Following the
presentation of Ken's award, he spoke briefly on how he
became fascinated with coin operated devices and also
brought along a small counter game he designed and built
back in his early days of collecting. The presentation was
followed by our featured speaker, John Papa, owner of
National Jukebox Exchange and Arcade Treasures. John 's
presentation, titled "Originals, Repros and Fakes. How can
we tell and why we care", was very infonnative for both
the beginning and advanced collectors as he explained
with carefully selected photo examples what to look for in
determining originality when inspecting machines. With
reproductions being a sensitive topic among collectors,
the follow-up question and answer period sparked some
lively discussion, which was informative as well.
I would like to remind everyone that we are accepting
nominations for the C.O.C.A. Hall of Fame to be con-
sidered for this year's awards. The award is presented
annually at C.O.C.A. 's fall meeting to one or more in-
dividuals who have made outstanding contributions to
the hobby of collecting coin operated machines. Nomi-
nations for award recipients will be accepted from any
individual who is a Member in Good Standing (as defined
in the Association's bylaws) at the time of the nomination.
Nominations should include a written statement from the
individual making the nomination as to the qualifications
of the nominee and must be received by September 1st to
be considered for 2013. Nominations can be made using
the 'Contact Us' form on our website, www.coinopclub.
org, or by email to president@coinopclub.org. For nomi-
nees who were submitted but not selected for 2012, they
will remain on the list for future consideration.
If you've visited our website recently, you may have
noticed a few changes. Starting with the home page, the
"Members Section" link buttons that were previously
only visible when logged in, are now visible, but shaded
and inactive, when viewed by non-members. This allows
non-members visiting our site to see that there is more
content available if they join. We've also added the ability
to display additional photos as expandable thumbnails on
our articles pages to enhance the postings, and in our clas-
sifieds section, the item description has been increased
from 150 to 200 characters. We've continued to get new
ad postings almost every day, so remember to check it
often. It's a great resource ... and it's FREE. We still have
a few more changes to the site planned which should be
completed soon, and we will continue to evaluate sugges-
tions for improvements in the future.
Our 10th Annual Convention, being held August 23-25 ,
2013 in Boston, Massachusetts, is almost here, and with
more than 80 members registered to date, it's sure to be
another great convention. If you haven't made plans to
attend yet, we may still be able to squeeze you in, but it's
getting close to being sold out. For further infonnation,
the flyer and registration form is posted on our website,
or contact Marsha Blau at FoxSnake@aol.com. Hope to
see you there!
Our next meeting will be held Thursday, Novem-
ber 14, 2013, at The Hilton Garden Inn, St. Charles,
IL. For dinner reservations, contact Cindy Cham per at
CindyChamper@aol.com or by phone at 419-350-0477.
Please make reservations for dinner by November 7th so
that we can get an accurate count to the hotel.
See you soon!
Doug Cain
COCA President
330.837.2265
president@coinopclub.org
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