AAMA recently announced its establishment of the Coin-Op Industry Hall of Fame, created to honor individuals and entities who have “made outstanding contributions to the coin-op industry.”
Nominating ballots are being sent out this month and will be accepted through Sept. 2, two weeks before AAMA’s Annual Meeting. In the inaugural year, up to 20 nominees will be admitted into the Hall of Fame; in years two and three, up to 10 will be admitted; and each year after that, up to five.
The names of the individuals selected will be shown on a Wall of Fame in the Amusement Expo Town Hall during the show as well as other industry events throughout the year.
“If you’ve spent any time in this industry, you can’t help but become aware of the names of legendary individuals who established the framework for where we are today,” said AAMA President Joe Camarota. “A group of AAMA leaders had a conversation reminiscing about a number of these industry icons when someone said, ‘They should be in a Hall of Fame.’ That comment stopped the conversation in what was maybe the biggest collective ‘aha’ moment I’ve ever been part of.”
From there, a Hall of Fame Committee was organized, co-chaired by Rick Kirby and Rich Babich. “Creating a Hall of Fame that acknowledges the considerable contributions of those that came before us and built this great industry seemed like the obvious and right thing to do,” Kirby said. Added Babich: “We believe our biggest challenge is going to be limiting the initial class to 20. There’s a lot of people who deserve this recognition and we’re extremely excited to finally be able to do so.” For more information, email [email protected].