 |
by Keith Miller
 If ever there was a person for whom a fortuitous opportunity led to a lifelong passion, it’s IAAPA’s new chairman of the board, Chip Cleary.
Cleary grew up in the New York City area and says he always had an interest in theatrical entertainment. Graduating from college in 1973 with a degree in stage design and lighting from the New York Institute of Technology, he fully intended to pursue that interest, but a chance opportunity suddenly exposed him to the attractions industry, and once he got his feet wet, he never looked back.
Cleary has engaged many facets of this industry through his career, from creating new attractions at an amusement park, to developing and operating a new waterpark, to building a family entertainment center. But aside from the direct operational experience of heading up Splish Splash waterpark for the past 20 years, he has also seen the “big picture” while working the past decade as vice president of Palace Entertainment. He is now senior vice president for Splish Splash/Palace Entertainment/Parques Reunidos. Add to that his very active involvement in IAAPA over the years, and you have a man who is well versed in various parts of the attractions trade.
FUNWORLD recently spoke with Cleary to learn more about the chairman and his views on the association and the industry.
 Where did you grow up, and what first sparked your interest in the attractions industry?
I grew up in the New York City area and spent most of my life there. I’ve always been somebody who's interested in theatrical things— movies, TV, Broadway—and early on, I was attracted to television and was going to be a set designer and stagelighting designer. It was fulfilling and I enjoyed it, but one day [in 1978] I had this unique opportunity to get involved with an amusement park on Long Island called Adventureland— just one of these fantastic parks that’s very community based—and it was a wonderful time to go there. It was the best of both worlds because it allowed me to be creative when we were developing new attractions, but it also helped me develop business skills and learn the basics of the amusement business.
Was there one person who was really an inspiration to you?
There are a lot of different slices of that pizza pie, and I don’t want to slight anybody and leave anybody out. But first, my dad, who was a bundle of energy and wanted to see his kids succeed. Also, Larry Cochran, Al Weber, George Millay, Denny Spiegel, Joe Meck, and also the people at Adventureland—just a number of people who’ve had a big influence on me. Then indirectly, as a kid growing up, just watching Walt Disney on TV—I was the baby boomer watching all the shows on TV about the building of the parks.
What path has your career taken through industry?
I eventually became director of operations at Adventureland. Then in 1989, a number of us started talking about waterparks after George Millay had done his stuff, and I really started thinking that might be something I wanted to do. I decided it was time to build a waterpark, so off I merrily went to build Splish Splash. The Adventureland partnership came with me to Splish Splash, and it opened in 1991. Then in 1999, there was a round of consolidating going on, and we were approached by a number of companies. After some time, we decided to go with Palace Entertainment, and I [became vice president] there. I also built a family entertainment center (FEC) (Bullwinkle’s) in 1999.
 What are some of the most significant changes you’ve seen in the industry over the years?
I guess first is computers and the data they’ve given us— they’ve just changed the whole business. Think of the systems we have—the controllers, the ticketing, and so forth—and all the data—trends, where guests are going, and what they’re buying. Another change has been the growth. If you go back 30 years, waterparks just didn’t exist, FECs weren’t out there that much, and the real big resorts hardly existed. The final big change is how the industry started out with entrepreneurs owning one-offs, and now all the consolidation that’s gone on.
What do you see as the role of the IAAPA Chairman?
The chairman works with a group of people on the strategic plan since we’re strengthening our international position. The board then discusses and votes on that document, and that becomes the direction we’re headed in. The role of the chairman is to implement the grand plan, and not to come in and push his/her own plan. IAAPA has grown tremendously in the past 30 years, and we need the strategic plan so the apple cart isn’t changed every year. Now, during the chairman’s time, you can shine the light on certain things, like keeping an eye on what’s happening economically out there, and I definitely want to do that.
As chairman, what are some of the issues in IAAPA you can impact?
I can help the different regions of the world get out of IAAPA what they need. Each geographical area needs something different. Some of the emerging regions look to IAAPA for safety seminars. If Europe had a good year, then [operators there] may need some different things than [do operators in] America, where it was a very challenging year.
Do you see a day when there might be a “safety accreditation” for membership in IAAPA?
We already have a code of conduct, and now we have the incident reporting, but for us, because we are so broad, to have a safety standard for every single thing that is out there might be impossible. The code of conduct addresses what is most critical to our organization.
How do you see the IAAPA/IALEI combination impacting the association?
Around the world, people are looking for connections. With the consolidation that’s occurred, I think IALEI looked at the situation and thought IAAPA could bring a lot of things to their members, and I think IALEI can bring a lot to us. Obviously, change is always interesting and always scary, but it’s going to happen—it’s part of the game. The more voices we have in the tent, the more people who are active, the better it is for IAAPA.
How does IAAPA balance putting its focus and resources into serving large numbers of members in geographical areas where it’s already established, versus putting them into areas with low membership but huge growth potential?
Every organization has limited assets to employ, but we’ve been very blessed to have leaders with a large world vision. As we travel the world and visit these places and have shows in these places, and as people see the level of sophistication we can present, IAAPA is planting seeds, and slowly but steadily we’re doing a better job of translating things into other languages.
Why is it important for members to take an active role in IAAPA?
First off, it’s very simple—this is a nonprofit association that members own, an organization run by its constituents. I worked my way through the business and was elected by my peers, and that’s the situation with the other chairmen. We can have the greatest staff in the world, but we need to have that constant input from members, and IAAPA is your association, your business.
When you look at the amusement industry right now, what do you feel best about?
The level of sophistication of our product amazes me, but we still help people escape for a good time. Whether it’s a park, waterpark, FEC, zoo, aquarium, museum, or resort, it’s amazing to me the level of sophistication. It’s one guest at a time, and each of them has to have a great day.
Does anything worry you?
If you’re in the amusement industry, half of you is an optimist and the other half is a worrywart. I think the government is moving very quickly in some parts of the world, so there’s quite a lot of challenges with that. The economic thing is a movie that’s going to play for a while, and there are travel patterns that are going to change.
Contact News Editor Keith Miller at kmiller@IAAPA.org.
|
