Track Owners Association, Inc. Track Owners Association, Inc.
417 Oak Place #2
Port Orange, FL 32127
Phone: (386) 763-5005
For The Worldwide Promotion
Of The Model Car Racing Industry
Go Slot Car Racing!!
2003 TOA Convention

We are happy to announce that the 2003 TOA Convention will be held in conjunction with the Parma Challenge Cup Nationals. The dates for the convention will be June 20-22, 2003. The Radisson Southwest Cleveland will again be the location. Convention attendees and racers will be able to get a rate of only $79 per night with a maximum of 4 people to a room. This is the same rate as the last TOA Convention held here 3 years ago. The TOA convention will again be affordable for member exhibitors at $75 for a skirted table on Saturday, June 21st. Manufacturers! We have interested buyers from overseas as well as distributors and dealers here in the US that will be attending this show and they are interested in seeing your products! Parma will again have a guest speaker to talk to shop owners, so plan to attend now so you have no excuses. Now is the time to get involved to help your hobby/sport succeed. Exhibitors sign up now by calling Convention Coordinator Steve Koepp at (440) 237-8650, or Bob Herman at (386) 763-5005.

It has been a long time since you have heard from us. The TOA has gone through a big change since we were last in contact with you. We became inactive for a time. About a year ago June there was an impromptu meeting coinciding with the Parma Challenge Cup event 2001. At that meeting, some TOA members met with other concerned individuals to discuss how to restore the TOA to an active organization. That meeting certainly brought out that there was not any active organization in this industry with a plan that could benefit everyone. Within a few months, a few of us began talking about how we might proceed. After a time, we decided to re-organize the TOA into a committee run organization. We did this to allocate the decision making process among a few people so that a variety of experience and talents could motivate the group rather than one person dominating the organization and moving at his/her own pace. Since last October, we have had weekly conference call meetings talking about the industry, taking care of the details concerning the non-profit corporate status, the IRS standing, and the changes to the corporate by-laws to allow for the structural change of the board of directors. During most of this time, we talked about our mutual concerns that exist in this business. We have looked at various topics from very different points of view. We have learned about how each of us, representing different segments of the business, actually does business. We have looked openly at the possible motivations that move us all to react the way we do and how we do business on an every day level. Throughout this process, we came to the realization that the TOA was capable of helping the industry in various ways. To actually accomplish anything we know that we would have to demonstrate to you that the organization was a viable resource for Track Owners, Distributors, and the Manufacturers alike. Our first challenge was to come up with a way to do this… and we have an idea that we are confident will help us all.  We have been missing an important component in this business and we are going to provide it. This industry needs a way to communicate with itself.

Without too much rhetoric, what we are going to do is provide the industry with a resource it has never had before - an industry newsletter, survey mechanism, idea box, complaint box, press release service, new product announcer, etc. As a new, dynamic, interactive resource, it will be your way to reach out as well as respond to everyone else.  What you will not see is complaining, finger pointing, or boring information that you probably know already. You can e-mail us with anything you want us to hear about. Every week, in our meeting, we will review what has come in from you and see what should to be done to properly answer your request. For example: If you bring up an issue concerning a problem with another group, we will approach all the members of that group and present the problem if it is timely and warrants discussion. No names mentioned, no complaining, just asking for information from their own perspective and their point of view about that issue.  When we gather all the information, we will see what there is in common within that group of members and go back as many times as we need to until we understand that issue. If we have to go to the other groups and ask their opinion, we will. You might see progress reports from us on the various issues we have in process. At some point, we are going to publish the results that we have found and present to the industry the important questions, opinions, and the possible solutions to the problem presented.  We are taking the position that we can only make suggestions using the facts of what the solutions to any issue can be. What this process can do for us, is clarify what the real underlying issues that we deal with in this business are, and then offer solutions that we hope will work. Until you have been in the other person’s shoes, you will not understand why things happen the way they do, or be able to effect any change. What we are attempting to do is influence positive change using the knowledge and advice from the people that are the most experienced… you and our other members. There is a good chance that each of us will re-think our own methods if there is a way to improve how we do business. We are sure that all of us have at least one issue that we would like to see addressed.  Here is a way to have that happen. This is a slow process but we are going to start this now.

We know that we have to learn to crawl, before we can walk or run. We are asking you to spend one year with us, learning how to take our first steps. In this next year, we intend to accomplish three things.

1 - Improve our New Track Owners package so that prospective track owners have the tools and information necessary to obtain loans, decide on space requirements, inventory requirements, track requirements etc.  We intend to improve what we have by getting information from our membership utilizing various surveys throughout the year. There will be a project manger assigned to this.

- Have our E-Letters be the way the industry gets its information is our second goal. Refine E-Letters to the point where the industry is prepared to tackle any problem we have with our membership understanding the issues and participating in the solution

- Sponsor and promote next year’s industry convention in June. The timing and location is in conjunction with the Parma Challenge Cup event in Cleveland. This industry needs to have every single member attend. It is extremely important that you meet and talk with everyone else in the business. You are not alone and cannot succeed alone. Having the industry improve how it does business will improve your business as well. Please start planning to be there and participate.

Right now, there are just a few of us getting things started. We are going to need the most experienced and motivated people to make things happen as time goes on. If you have a desire to be an active participant within the organization, please contact us and we will be glad to talk with you.  If you have any skill you think we can use or have a project that you think you want to be involved with, let us know that as well. Even if now is the wrong time for you to work with us, keep us in mind for the future when it may be more appropriate for you to participate on a project.

Now is it time for us to ask for your support. We are asking you to join the TOA and respond to our E-Letters when you get a questionnaire asking for your opinion or for information that will help in our efforts. You might get an E-letter at any time. We will try to keep the questionnaires short so you can respond when you get them and just submit them right back to us. You are welcome to correspond with us.  You can look forward to product announcements from the manufacturers. You will read about interviews with industry personalities. You will have information the same day as everyone else about major issues concerning your business.  You will be part of this industry in a way you never were before. There will be discussions on topics that you have NEVER seen in the magazines. We hope you got the message.  It is going to be different from anything we have had before.

The dues are for one year. You can send a check to the address below. If you would like to pay by credit card there will be a $5 added service charge. Call David Liebenthal directly if you want to use your credit card.

  • Track Owners:             $60

  • Distributors:                 $100

  • Manufacturers:            $100

  • Publishers:                  $100

 Please send your dues to Bob:           TOA
                                                            417 Oak Place #2
                                                            Port Orange, Florida 32127

 You can call us:                                  Floyd Guernsey           580-237-1699
                                                            Bob Herman                386-763-5005
                                                            David Liebenthal         770-663-6350

 You can E-Mail us:                               TOA@E-Letters.org
                                                             Floyd@E-Letters.org
                                                             Bob@E-Letters.org
                                                             David@E-Letters.org

You can expect your first E-Letters to start arriving by late September. We want to get as many members back on board as we can first, and then hear about what is on your mind. Please include the following information when you send in your dues:

Name
Company Name
Address
Phone #
Fax
E-Mail
Web Site
Your scheduled hours of operation
A basic description of your business

Thank you for your time and we are looking forward to your participation and support in this effort.

 The TOA Board

The Track Owners Association, Inc. was formed in 1991 as a means of providing business related information to the owners of commercial slot car racing emporiums in the US.

Incorporated in the state of Georgia as a non-profit entity, the Track Owners Association, Inc. has steadily grown to where we are now known worldwide simply as "TOA".

TOA acts as a clearing house of slot car business related knowledge, and provides practical information from the smartest minds in the industry to all its members in promoting the uniquely incredible hobby/sport of model car racing - be it H.O., 1/32nd, 1/24th, R/C, and every class within those scales of cars.

TOA serves to enhance the continued growth of the related companies within the industry and enhance the business climate for the evolving slot car market of the 21st century - and help position commercial slot car racing even beyond what is fondly remembered as the "Glory Days of the 1960's".

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