Play Meter

COINMAN OF THE MONTH
WESLEY
LAWSON
If there is one word to describe Wesley Lawson,
it would be '~·oiner".
The 54-year-old music
operator from Winter Haven, Florida is one man
who definitely believes in his associations. And
apparently, the feeling is mutual-- the associations
believe in him.
We came by Wes, of course, by way of his state
association, the Florida Amusement Merchandising
Association. We were interviewing Bob Rhinehart,
the executive director there for Play Meter's state
license story [which is also in this issue), and we
were told that Wes was the man who could answer
all our questions. Wel~ we checked into it and, sure
enough, Wes was the man.
He's been president of the Florida association
twice and is now on his second go-round as a
member of the board of the AMOA. He's a past
president of his local Kiwanis Club and was recently
voted the outstanding Kiwanis Club president in his
district. His civic activities also include member-
ship in the Elks and Moose Lodges and the
American Legion. He's also a 92nd-degree Mason
and a member of the board of the Salvation Army.
Wes is big on camping. When the discussion
8
turns away from shop talk, he speaks naturally of
his many camping trips. He's camped in aU states
except Hiwaii and in all the provinces in Canada.
He used to fish a lot, but hasn't gone in several
years because, as he puts it., "There's just not
enough time."
The man is also an iconoclast. He took the
opportunity to shoot down a myth. His home in
Winter Haven, Florida, he told us, is called "The
Town With 100 Lakes." "Actually there are only 96
lakes, .. he said.
His wife, Margaret, has been with him from the
beginning and they're still together constantly.
Next month is son will be joining him at Lawson
Music Co., Inc., after spending 10 1 hyears at IBM.
Wes told us it was a difficult decision for his son to
leave IBM. "But," he said, "he figured being the
only child, and aU other things being equal, this is
going to be his one day. After aU, hes going to
outlive us." Wes likes to speak of his son as
bringing some new blood into the company. But
Wes himself has 94 years experience in the
business; so we thought we would start back with
him, at the beginning.
August, 1977, PLA Y METER