C.O.C.A. Times

The COCA Convention, 10 Years Later
by Bill Petrochuk
Our club has held a national con-
vention for the last 10 years. This
year, 2014, we wi II visit sunny Flor-
ida in October. What impact has the
convention had on our club and what
will the future hold for more national
conventions? Perhaps we can look at
how we got from 2004 to 2014 for the
answers.
During the 2003 Atlantic City An-
tique show, COCA member Bill How-
ard had a conversation with fellow
COCA members and friends, Jackie
and Ken Durham. All three had seen
each other at a recent mechanical bank
convention and wondered if a coin-op
convention would succeed. Bill called
me when he got back to our home-
town, Akron Ohio. He suggested that
we meet as a group at my house to dis-
cuss the idea.
Soon we had a committee formed
and the group "volunteered" me to be
the first convention chainnan. Every-
one took on a task and plans for the
first convention were underway. That
first convention in Ohio had 5 collec-
tions to tour in 2 days. Close to 90 at-
tended. We had a no fee auction, room
to room trading, a great hospitality
room with open bar and snacks, along
with breakfast, lunch, and a farewell
banquet featuring a magician. All par-
ticipants received a souvenir pin .
This format was similar to what the
mechanical bank club was doing at
that time and continues to be the basic
game plan. Any doubts of the conven-
tion's success were squelched when
then COCA Treasurer, Dan Davids,
told me during the convention that he
was the lucky guy that had been "vol-
unteered' to chair the 2005 convention
in California.
After visiting L.A. in 2005 we
went on to Wisconsin, Phoenix, New
York, San Francisco, Raleigh, Hous-
ton, Minneapolis, and Boston. No two
conventions have been alike, and in
one way or another each has had some
unique aspect that made it an outstand-
ing experience. l am truly grateful to
those that have continued to organize
and coordinate and serve as hosts at
our gatherings.
Each convention has had a local
chairman. l feel lucky and honored to
have chaired 2 of them and attended
9. Current COCA V.P., Marsha Blau
has done a tremendous job as the of-
ficial convention planner and coordi-
nator for the last several years. Most
conventions have had around 100 par-
ticipants. A few members have been
to all ten. About 300 individuals have
attended at least one convention. This
number includes members and their
guests.
About 80% of the participants at-
tend as husband and wife. Although
we have many female members, our
club tends to be mostly a "guy" thing.
The conventions provide a great plat-
fonn for the ladies to get together and
also enjoy a new destination for tour-
ing with their mates.
COCA membership has grown to
almost 800. Yet despite our travels
throughout the country, only a small
percentage of you have attended a
convention. So why haven't more
members been to a convention?
Perhaps some members are happy
enough just receiving 3 fabulous is-
sues of "COCA Times Magazine" and
enjoying our informative website or
going to the meetings in Chicago. I
think that there is much more to our
club to be discovered.
Those that do attend have found the
social side of COCA. For most mem-
bers the only way to make new coin-
13
op friends and get to know each other
is at a convention. This opportunity is
seldom seen at the hectic Chicagoland
Show or at an auction. Additionally,
when we meet at a convention, we
are able to see machines that we have
only seen in pictures, how they are
displayed and sometimes purchase or
sell a machine.
It's important to provide the op-
portunity for new and old members
that have never been to a convention
to meet each other and see the great
stuff that is out there. Our club will
be stronger and continue to grow if
we continue to gather with our fel-
low coin-op enthusiasts, trade some
stories, share great meals and maybe
have the chance to buy and sell some
coin-op!
What does the future hold for
COCA and the convention? Will we
run out of new destinations that are
suitable for successful conventions?
Will we do a cruise or go to Canada or
Europe? Will we retour some of the
cities that we have been to? Will we
have regional or local mini conven-
tions? Or is there some other method
that is in the cards? Anything is pos-
sible, and I believe that it is vital to the
future of COCA that we continue to
meet in whatever format works.
If you have never been to a conven-
tion, I look forward to meeting you in
Florida this October. If you would like
to help organize a convention in your
area or if you have any ideas, sugges-
tions or questions please contact me
at: http://www.coinopclub.org/contact
l will be happy to pass your input on to
Marsha Blau and the rest of the COCA
executive board.