From insightful presentations and networking opportunities to a celebratory evening and a tour of two Dallas-area FECs, the reimagined AAMA annual meeting was a winner. Held at the Warwick Melrose in Dallas, Texas, Aug. 19-21, over 200 industry members were in attendance, and 108 of them were new to the event, remarked association President Beth Standlee.
The “All Access Annual Meeting and Celebration” offered a refreshed, invigorating, fun and meaningful event. Among the highlights: AAMA and its charitable arm, AAMCF, elected board members during meetings on Tuesday. That evening, David McKillips, president and CEO of CEC Entertainment (Chuck E. Cheese) gave a great presentation about where the iconic brand is today and where it’s going.
Kicking off program on Wednesday, keynote speaker Dan Gingiss gave tips on how to be more remarkable by being “WISER” – witty, immersive, shareable, extraordinary and responsive. Other topics covered cyber security, artificial intelligence, maximizing game ROI and optimizing your venues. That evening, the AAMCF held its celebration, during which donations were made to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, KEEN, Sunrise Association and Make-A-Wish, and AAMA’s 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, Joe Camarota of Alpha-Omega, was celebrated. (He’s pictured below, fourth from right, with friends and family.)
The event closed out with Thursday’s bus trip to visit two Dallas suburb fun centers, the B&B Theatres 12 center in Red Oak and the Alley Cats location in Hurst. Some attendees began to make their way to the airport to head home, but many were still around when AAMA’s Pete Gustafson led a celebratory toast back at the Warwick, closing out the event. Read more and see photos in our October issue.
