Cameron Park, Ca., August 24, 2010 –Scott Drummond, President of Agile Software and Marketing, received notification that their product PartyCenterSoftware.com, is a finalist for the “Innovation of the year” award presented by the Play Providers Association (PPA), arguably the UK’s most influential association for the fun industry.  “It was great to see our PartyCenterSoftware.com program be recognized for the contributions it is making to help the fun industry.  As a previous operator I understand the struggles that our customers go through and we have found a solution to help make both their lives and their profit better!”

Drummond will be exhibiting at the Leisure International Week in Birmingham, UK in late September and along with 9 other finalist will display his PartyCenterSoftware.com product to be voted on by members of the PPA.  He hopes to bring home top prize for his newly released version of his online party booking and facility management software. “This will be our first year exhibiting at LIW so I am very excited to meet many of our customers in person and if we can bring home the award it will make for one great trip!  I’m just thankful for our customers and all they do to help us grow as a business”, said Drummond.

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PartyCenterSoftware.com is the world leader in online party booking and event management.  From an industry leading webPOS system to our online management tools, we help businesses in the fun industry improve their customer experience, increase revenue and decrease costs.  Some of the top franchises around the world rely on PartyCenterSoftware.com every day to run their facilities.

Scott Drummond started his first digital marketing business in 1998, owned and operated his own fun center for many years and has been a long-time member of the fun industry.   His experience in marketing and software, along with running and operating an FEC, give him a unique and cutting-edge perspective into the life and operations of the fun center world. Through the worldwide use of PartyCenterSoftware.com in almost every size and type of FEC, Drummond collects and analyzes industry data to make his company and software stronger.

Boomtown Reno just switch over to PartyCenterSoftware.com for all their party management and online party booking needs. “We never got the chance to compete when they originally signed up with a competitor, but now that are leaving their contract early to switch to our more advanced and reliable platform”, said Scott Drummond, President of Agile Software and Marketing, (Makers of PartyCenterSoftware.com). Boomtown is one of the largest attractions in Reno with a family focus. It has great staff and their 3D ride is truly amazing!

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The Family Fun Center(sm) is an arcade featuring over 30,000 square feet bursting with exciting games for kids of all ages and a redemption center that offers a huge array of fun prizes.

There’s a 3D Motion Theater, Climbing Wall, Flight Simulator, Antique Carousel, Covered Wagon Ferris Wheel and the Rodeo Rider – plus over 200 video and redemption games, a separate party room and a snack bar. Now enjoy our new Bounce House! Fun Center Bounce House Waiver

Boomtown’s 3D Motion Theater is the first in the world to be all-digital. Hold on tight as you ride amid booming sound effects produced by Dolby Digital!

BY JAMES S. TYREE Oklahoman
Published: June 9, 2010

NORMAN — Summer vacation has just started and Eric and Andrea Hanson’s three kids have already reached the ends of their rope.

Emily Hanson, 13, tries to keep her balance on the ropes course at Hey Day Family Fun Center in Norman. PHOTOS BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

That’s OK, they’ll just turn and walk another portion of Hey Day Family Fun Center’s ropes course, which is laid out 12 feet above the facility’s floor. “It’s the whole reason we’re here,” Andrea Hanson, of south Oklahoma City, said of the suspended ropes. “It’s awesome because it’s physical activity; I like that it requires some exercise.” Brian Burks, Hey Day’s entertainment and program manager, said the course is the first in Oklahoma at a for-profit facility and is patterned after a larger one used by the Tulsa School District. All participants are tethered to harnesses and there are courses with varying levels of difficulty, all for safety.

“It is a lot of fun but after you do it, you’ll feel like you’ve been working out,” Burks said. The ropes course and other attractions at Hey Day, off Indian Hills Road and Interstate 35 near the Moore-Norman border, offer just a few ideas for summer fun.

While Hey Day has ropes, Andy Alligator’s Fun Park, across the street from Hey Day, has “The Rock,” which is a 32-foot climbing experience for kids and adults weighing from 40 to 250 pounds. Both facilities, along with Perfect Swing near State Highway 9 east of U.S. 77 in south Norman, provide an array of indoor and outdoor activities that, depending on the business, ranges from go-kart racing, and miniature golf to arcade games.

In addition, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History has a full schedule of workshops and activities for kids and teenagers, and low-cost swimming is available at Norman’s Westwood Park and Moore’s Fairmoore Park.

Norman and the south metro area also have many free activities available. The Norman Public Library’s Summer Reading Program includes visits from performing artists, and both University of Oklahoma museums have free days — every Tuesday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the first Monday of the month at the Sam Noble museum.

There also are splashpads galore, including 16 throughout Oklahoma City, two in Norman at Andrews Park near downtown and Colonial Estates Park at 1641 E Lindsey St., and one at Moore’s Apple Valley Park.

And for summer fun at home, Sonya Meier of the Cleveland County Extension Service has composed a lengthy list of ideas that range from planning neighborhood Olympics to creative craft ideas. For more information, call Meier at 321-4774.

2010 Golden Phaser Awards to Robert Peppard with Battlefield Live in Manalapan, New Jersey,

Excerpt from The 2010 Laser Tag Convention Review by Eric Gaizat

On the show floor, the ILTA announced the winners of the 2010 Golden Phaser Awards. One of the show’s attendees, Robert Peppard with Combat Sports Laser Tag Park, New Jersey, won the award for best website (www.OutdoorLaserTag.com) and was able to receive his plaque at the show.

On Tuesday night, the ILTA had their first Convention Mixer on the third floor of Margaritaville in the Flamingo Hotel. Over 40 people joined in appetizers, drinks, and discussion of all things laser tag. A few ILTA Developer Members had commented that it was great to see a vast representation of the industry having a great time together.

The mixer event wasn’t all work though. Shane Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ILTA, presented Jarett Waite with the Golden Phaser Award for Operator of the Year. Scott Drummond with Party Center Software also turned 31 that night and everyone got to sing Happy Birthday while Scott wore a balloon hat in the shape of 31 (seen left).

The awards didn’t stop there. Before the show was done, Battlefield Sports also won an award from the RSA Trade Show for the best single booth! Congratulations to Elaine with BFS for representing the industry in style.

Is Your Leadership Showing
By: Beth Standlee, TrainerTainment

I believe that most people that read this newsletter are leaders, supervisors, owners, and influencers of some kind. We all influence or have some leadership roles with someone or ones in our lives. How are you showing up when it comes to leadership?

Whether you believe in scripture or not, Exodus provides great insight to the visual presence of leadership. Exodus 13:21 says that God lead his people out of Egypt with a cloud by day and fire by night. When I read this scripture it struck me that leadership has a real presence that others can see. It takes different shape depending on the situation.

In the fast paced world we live in, people move in and out of our businesses very quickly. Those that show themselves as leaders demand to be promoted. Our young leaders today have a confidence that they can get the job done, but may lack the wisdom of what leadership looks like. Oh wait, that can apply to mature leaders too!
I don’t know that I’m an expert in what leadership looks like but I have noticed that these 5 things inspire others to follow:

1. CARE: Great leaders show that they care. John Maxwell teaches servant leadership; and I have a personal philosophy that we are all in service to one another. As a leader, respect is earned and grows out of respecting others. When leaders express care and concern for the well being of their team and their guests great things happen.

2. ACCOUNTABILITY: Great leaders hold themselves and others accountable. It can be difficult to do the right thing all the time. However, leaders that stand by their own standards and live up to their own expectations, have the right to expect the same from others. It may seem ok to let this or that slide, but the minute you do that things become slippery with everyone and everything. Accountability requires discipline, confrontation, and established standards.

3. LISTENING: Leaders definitely need to give orders and share the plan. They are directive and need to make decisions even if they are wrong. However, great leaders place a great emphasis on listening. When we listen to our front line staff and to the customer, they can help our businesses be more than they could be if we try to do it all ourselves. A leader has one perspective and one voice – their own. When we put the voice of the team into play many great things can happen.

4. MOTIVATION: Great leaders have the ability to motivate and inspire others to do what they are doing. When you get others to help you execute the mission at hand, the job becomes more fun. This motivation helps others get creative. Duplicating your own effort is the only way to build your business. While the ultimate vision is the leader’s responsibility, the how to get there can be shared with the team. Motivating that team to get the business to the next level is a characteristic that must be part of every member of your leadership team.

5. EXUDES CONFIDENCE: Great leaders look the part. They carry themselves in a way that says I’m in charge. It’s not arrogance or pride. It’s simple really. Your clothes are pressed. Your shoulders are back. You stand tall. You look engaged by looking people in the eye. You are available. You step up when others walk away or avoid a situation. You show up.

In closing, I’d like to know what your greatest leadership challenges are. We have many respected leaders that participate in this newsletter and have access to our blog. Please use the comment section below to take the time to post your leadership challenges or victories.

Trainertainment
1166 Country Club Lane, Suite 9
Fort Worth, TX 76112
Phone and Fax: 817-886-4840

By Juliana Gruenwald

Ahead of the expected release Tuesday of a House privacy bill, a group of public interest and privacy groups wrote House members Monday calling on them to support the inclusion of principles aimed at giving consumers more control over their personal information.

House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., is expected to release his long awaited data privacy bill Tuesday. The legislation is expected to address concerns about consumer privacy given the growing use of online behavioral advertising, which involves using data about a consumer’s Web surfing habits to target ads to them. Boucher detailed the bill’s provisions Monday during a speech at the American Business Media’s annual conference in Charleston, S.C. According to a news release from the group, Boucher said the bill would apply to the collection of personal information from consumers both online and offline and “initially require that all Web sites that collect information from consumers give consumers notice with respect to what information is collected, how it is used, who it is shared with, and the circumstances under which it is shared.”

It added that Boucher said it would require firms to allow consumers to “opt out” of having such information collected, which means that firms would be allowed to collect and use data unless consumers specifically request that it not be collected. He said unaffiliated third-party Web sites that “gather information from consumers across multiple unaffiliated Web sites” would be required to gain specific consent from consumers before using and collecting data from them, as would those who seek to use sensitive personal information such as medical or financial data.

Boucher’s spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment on the American Business Media report. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said if the report is accurate it is “a blow to consumer protection.”

Chester’s group and 10 others wrote House lawmakers saying that privacy legislation should include the Fair Information Principles, which allow consumers to “control their personal information, help to protect human dignity, hold accountable organizations that collect personal data, promote good business practices, and limit the risk of identity theft.” In addition to these, they also called on lawmakers to ensure that data used in online behavioral advertising cannot be linked to an individual’s name or address and also can’t be linked to them through an Internet protocol address, cookie or other identifier.

In addition, the groups called for ensuring that sensitive information, which the FTC should define, such as health or financial records cannot be used for behavioral advertising; Websites should only be able to use data for behavioral advertising within 24 hours after obtaining consent to use it; Web sites should tell users what they plan to use the data for at the time it is collected; and allow users to find out which online firms have data about them, to see the data and correct it if necessary.

“Companies engaged in behavioral targeting routinely monitor individuals, the searches they make, the Web pages they visit, the content they view, their interactions on social networking sites, the content of their emails, and the products and services they purchase,” according to the letter also signed by such groups as the Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. They added that “Consumers have rights, and profiling should have limits.”

Mike Zaneis, vice president of public policy for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, noted the industry has taken steps to ensure online advertisers provide consumers with “enhanced consumer notice.” He said he hopes the legislation would follow the FTC in allowing for a “strong first-party carve out” from behavioral advertising restrictions.

“We are seeing a tremendous amount of innovation in this space and we hope that any legislation will not be overly proscriptive, but rather allow industry the flexibility to innovate and discover new and more effective ways of providing consumer notice,” Zaneis said.

Read the article here

Party Center Software will be attending the IAAPA Attractions Expo in 2010!

We will be in a large 20×20 booth. Our booth number is #1012.  Take a minute to find our booth here . Scroll down to PartyCenterSoftware.com. Find our booth on the floor plan and stop by at the show!

Location
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida, USA

Conference: Monday – Friday, November 15-19, 2010
Trade Show: Tuesday – Friday, November 16-19, 2010

For more information on the Expo visit IAAPA

Your business insurance is sometimes handled by your local insurance agent who does your personal auto or home insurance.  Usually because you already do business with that person and you feel comfortable with that person.  This is usually not a challenge until you have a claim and find out that part or all of the loss is not covered.

Unfortunately many business owners do not understand that they probably need an insurance broker that specializes in that field to understand all the exposures that the business owner might face.  The difference from an agent and a broker is that an agent represents the company; a broker represents the business owner.

What an insurance specialist brings to the table, if they are a broker, is someone that knows your exposures, knows the insurance companies that are players in your industry that can provide you with these three important things:

1. The best coverage’s
2. The least amount of exclusions
3. The best price

What you are looking for is a broker that can provide A B and C that specializes in your field of business.

How do I know that the agent/broker is a specialist?  You will want to use these five important qualifying questions:

1. Look on the internet, Google “insurance for (Your type of business) and see who pops up.  Not just the highlighted pay per click ones.
2. Contact the agent/broker and ask how many other businesses like yours do they currently insure?  Look for a minimum of 10-20 businesses.
3. Ask how long they have been insuring this type of business.  Look for a minimum of 3-5 years.
4. Ask for some names of current customers.  Get at least 2-5 and call the customers for their opinion of this agent/broker.  They will tell you the truth!
5. Ask if they are licensed to write insurance in your state.  Ask for proof or check on your state Department of Insurance website.  If their name does not show up, do not use them and move on.  You will want to see a Property/Casualty and Life/Health license that is active.

Larry Cossio is a licensed agent/broker in all 50 states for 30 years.  He specializes in business insurance for several specialty niche markets.  He travels all over the USA as a speaker on insurance issues for several industries.  Larry Cossio is the owner of Cossio Insurance Agency aka The CIA with his wife Marcela Cossio.  www.cossioinsurance.com

Larry Cossio
Cossio Insurance Agency
107 Old Laurens Rd
Simpsonville, SC 29681
864-688-0121
864-688-0138 fax
larry@cossioinsurance.com

This free webinar is being presented by industry expert and founder of TrainerTainment, Beth Standlee. She’ll share all the tips and tricks to host the ultimate birthday party from the initial reservation to the lasting memories. It’s being held on Thursday, Feb 25 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST. Attendees can register for free at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/530878018.

Webinar is sponsored by Redemption Plus

From PursuitZone.com

The Number 1 Mini Laser Tag system sold in the Softplay and Inflatable laser tag game market today.

The all-new Begeara 2 Laser Tag Equipment is the most advanced portable laser tag system on the market, yet is simple to operate. Simply open the sturdy case, issue the Phasors to the Players, plug in the Base Station, and start earning money. No computer is required, and managing games is simple, fast and stress-free with the Hand Held Mission Controller.

Players will experience state of the art technology and a game play experience that will keep them coming back for more.

• Plays Happy Birthday Song
• Adjustable Game Times (1 – 60 Minutes)
• Red Lasers and much Brighter LED’s
• Real Time Radio
• Audio and Graphical feed back
• Dual MP3 Sound effects
• View Score, Rank & Play names
• Even 4 Year old’s can operate this
• For Softplay and Inflatable markets
• 10 built in missions
• 2 Bases (Red and Green)
• All Blue LED’s in a solo game
• Hand held remote control wireless KeyFob
• Scoreboard solo = Top 3 players : Team = Totals for the team
• Quick charging = Hours of Li-Ion batteries for 24 hours or more of fun

The primary focus of Begeara Laser Tag is portability – everything you need to run a begeara game fits into the carry case, which can easily fit into the back of even a small car. The phasers, scoreboard, radio base station, charging unit and Mission Controller can all fit neatly into a single case. Adjustable Game Times (1 – 60 Minutes)

New York — November 2, 2009 — Media Vision Inc., the premier FEC attraction developer, and CBS Consumer Products, a unit of CBS Entertainment, announce the launch of THE STAR TREK LASER ADVENTURE, a fully themed interactive attraction where guests actually enter into the universe of Star Trek ^TM.

THE STAR TREK LASER ADVENTURE lets guests do battle in various Star Trek scenes and can be played with up to four guests per scene, and as many different scenes as the individual facility will allow.  Each room features 3D custom fabricated interactive Star Trek targets that guests fire at in order to save the U.S.S. Enterprise^TM.

Tom Appleton, President of Media Vision, said, “There is nothing more awesome than being able to engage Star Trek enemies on the bridge of the U.S.S Enterprise or in the Transporter room!”

THE STAR TREK LASER ADVENTURE is ideal for theme parks, vacation destinations, museums, casinos, cruise lines, family entertainment centers, or any other venue that has a demand for quality interactive experiences.

“THE STAR TREK LASER ADVENTURE is the future of interactive attractions in that it absolutely maximizes guest throughput with a minimum amount of space required, while utilizing one of the greatest themes of all time,”  said Richard Elliston, VP of International Sales.

Media Vision Inc. will be showcasing THE STAR TREK LASER ADVENTURE at The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo in booth #6116.

TM & © 2009 CBS Studios Inc. All rights reserved. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All rights reserved.

For further information contact:

Media Vision

1-800-672-9401

info@mvisioninc.com