The 2023 Haunted Attraction Association OSCARES awards

Scott Swenson: Hey, John. Sorry I'm late. The time difference really still just kind of messes with my mind. Hi everybody, my name is Scott Swenson, I'm with Scott Swenson Creative Development, and I'm also the host of A Scott in the Dark Periodic Podcast for Haunters, and the co-host of Green Tagged Theme Park in 30, a weekly podcast about the attractions industry. I am so glad that so many of you are there tonight, at least I assume so many of you are there, I can't really see you as this is, you know, a video. But, but I will assume that the room is packed, which is great. The reason that's so exciting is because it means that so many of you are there to celebrate what is working within the industry. 

Scott Swenson: The Oscares celebrates all that great stuff, and I will tell you I'm a little bit jealous... OK, I'm a lot jealous, because this is the first time in 20 ish years that I haven't been able to be at Transworld or the last time in several years that I haven't been able to be there to host the Oscares. I would love to tell you why I'm not there. Unfortunately, I've signed a non-disclosure agreement so I can't tell you exactly why I'm not there. I can tell you I am in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates working on a big theme park project. Google it, it's not that tough to figure out. So, anyway, like I said, the Oscares are a great way for all of us to celebrate all the cool things that our cohorts have done in this industry. So, aces to you for being there and not just thinking about it as a place to sit down, grab a quick drink before you can go home, take a nap, and then go out and party all night. But that's OK too, just saying.

Scott Swenson: The other thing I'd like to talk to you about real quick is Haunted Attraction Association, who are the sponsors of the Oscares, obviously. If you are a member of the Haunted Attraction Association, kudos for you, keep doing it, because they certainly are able to help and support our industry. If you are not a member, please consider becoming a member, because the HAA provides a ton of information, tons of tools, tons of safety training, all to make our industry better, and when our industry gets better, each of us get better. So, please consider it, talk to one of the board members, I'm sure they have a booth or a table at Transworld, and if they don't, well, what do I know? But please, talk to somebody who is involved and see if you could become involved if you are at all interested. 

Scott Swenson: I know that tonight is going to be an awful lot of fun, and I won't take up too much more of your time here, because I know there's a lot of awards to get to, yadda, yadda. So, as they say in this part of the world, inshallah, which basically means, God willing, I will see you all in person next year at Transworld, and at the Oscares. So, take it away, John. Or take it away, John. Have no idea which side of the screen you're standing on.

John Schwarz Jr.: How's everybody doing tonight? How many of you here tis is your first Oscars? Show of hands. OK, hands down. How many are past board members? Let's just have you stand. Because without you doing what you have done, obviously none of this would even be a thing, so thank you. My name is John Schwarz, for those of you that do not know me, I've been on the board since 2019, and I like to stay busy. I'm so proud of this entire industry, but I'm proud of the way the association has kind of taken off. If you are not a member, honestly, be involved. Volunteer, that's what this is, and I love doing this. There's always a spot for anybody. Honestly, I could use some more help for next year's Oscares. 

John Schwarz Jr.: I just want to go over a few notes of mine. We have a couple of changes as far as the awards go, and one of them was we wanted to give back to the small, medium, and large attractions. So, the last year and every year prior, it was called the Board of Directors Award. We have taken that and now we changed it to Attraction Excellence Award. So, that will accommodate all levels of attractions. Obviously, we're also going to be doing the Vendor Excellence, the Home Haunt Award, and then the modified, President's Award, featuring the Board of Directors. So, it's not just the President that votes that award, it's the entire Board, it's a little bit more fair that way. Then following up with the Special Recognition and Lifetime Achievement. 

Spencer Terry: Welcome to the 2023 Oscares Awards, produced by the Haunted Attraction Association. We're excited to have you here. My name is Spencer Terri. I'm the general manager and equity owner here at Fear Factory Haunted House and am your Haunted Attraction Association President. As we get ready to roll out these really exciting awards this year. I want to take just a quick minute or two just to recap 2023 and what that has meant for the Haunted Attraction Association, specifically our members. 

Spencer Terry: As you may recall, back in 2020, we rolled out a three-year strategic plan to really just kind of helped us navigate the new waters and turn the HAA ship a little bit, for not only our members but for our vendors, and certainly for our industry. We're happy to, at least now, after two years of the three-year strategic plan, review that we have now accomplished 100% of our goals, which we're very excited about, for 2020, 2021, and 2022. As we move into 2023, we've already accomplished two of those goals and are looking forward to accomplishing those at the end of 2023. So, we're very excited for the year.

Spencer Terry: We've also increased the diversity of the Board, which has been really exciting. One of the things that we've been working on is making sure that we have small, medium, and large haunts, as well as vendors who are on our board who can really help shift our industry better and to be able to be more of a voice for the Members throughout our entire industry. We have online mixers now that we're doing about every other month, just to really kind of connect folks get new marketing, get new networking, new goals, new ideas, new sharing content that can help you beneficial for our Members. We also rolled out a really great new national and local media platform. That's been really beneficial, especially for those of our Top Haunt recipients, for those that received that award, which has been really great for some local media, extra attention for them.

Spencer Terry: You may recall that we ran a Sexual Harassment Training that we produced a few years ago now to really address how we can be more proficient in creating safe spaces so that our staff can feel more safe and secure being on our properties. We are excited to now roll out a Youth Protection and Safety Program that's going to be rolling out this year, 2023, specifically for those folks that may be 18 and under that are on our properties. So, whether they're volunteers or they're employees, it's important to make sure they have a safe space to be as well. So, we're excited to be rolling that out. We're also going to be unveiling our new, four-year, online recertification program for the CHAOS Program. So, this is going to really help us better align ourselves as a national accreditation, but more importantly, allows folks who already have the CHAOS Certification program to recertify every three years online. That's going to be a really big deal, and we're very excited about that as well. 

Spencer Terry: Then, of course, you know the other perks that come with membership, whether it's the legal team, our advisory team, our crisis intervention teams, those were all just things that we've built into our membership. So, we're really excited for what the year has been this year. Quite frankly, at this point, if you're not a member, we encourage you to do so. You can join for as little as $50 and as much as $250, but you get over $9,000 worth of resources, benefits, and staff who are available to help you. So, it's a really, really great opportunity. That said, we have a party to have tonight! 

Spencer Terry: This is really exciting, because the Oscares awards, for the first time that I can recall, have been 100% nominated by you by Members. We've been asking for your feedback, we've been asking for your nominations all year long, we'll be asking for them again this year. You're going to see a QR code later on in the show where you're going to be able to sign into a Google form and you can nominate other attractions all over the world to be part of this really great Oscares program. So, congratulations to our winners this year, we're really excited to be able to honor you. Of course, thanks again just for your support in general. Whether you're a member or not, I think being in this room, supporting each other, and encouraging each other to be the best that we can be is really key for our industry, and we certainly as the Board of Directors appreciate you being here. We're excited to have our membership continue growing, and we're looking forward to continuing to find ways that we can award and celebrate our industry. So, thanks again for being here, and thanks for your support. Thanks for being a member. Really, just thanks for supporting each other and being part of this industry. Let's get some awards started, hope you have a great time.

Vendor Excellence Award - Toxic FX

Krista Brower-Wood: Good evening. My name is Christa Brower-Wood, and I am the owner of Requiem Haunted House in Caldwell, ID. This company was started in 2011, and for 16 years, Blake and his team have worked tirelessly to build this company into what it is today. Originally it started out with making masks only, however, it has shifted to making props now too. The prop that stands out the most today, the rotten pumpkins. The creation of the Rotten Pumpkins allowed this company to grow at a tremendous rate. Pumpkins are being delivered all across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and even the UK. This company continues to grow and strive to and to make an impact in the haunted attraction industry, and with that they have.

Blake Phillips: You know, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I would even be receiving an award, at all, for anything in this industry. It's just absolutely mind-blowing. I brought my team up because this is just representing that it's not just me that's a part of this, it's my entire team. I have Andy, Drew, my dad, my mom, Sherry, and everybody involved. My wife's not even here, we've got a little one on the way. She's due next month and I'm extremely excited and nervous at the same time. We wouldn't have the company that we have today if it wasn't for them, all their hard work, and I just want to thank them. 

Blake Phillips: I want to thank each and every one of you in the Haunted Attraction Association, all the board members, and the Members, for you as well for just voting for me, giving me a chance. This is crazy, like I said, I never would have expected that. I see a lot of familiar faces around here as well, plenty of you that have rotten pumpkins putting them in your haunt, your, your retail store, your theme park, it's amazing and it's really a humbling experience. So, thank you guys so much, and again, it wouldn't be for my team, it wouldn't be for the members, and it wouldn't be for all of you amazing customers. Toxic FX wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you guys, so thank you so much for this. Love you guys.

Vendor Excellence Award - Sinister Signs

Ashley Long: Hello, my name is Ashley Long, and I'm the creative director at Fright Nights, West Virginia. He mainly works in the mobile food concessions and outdoor amusement industry, every summer in multiple fairs and festivals in Ohio, but his real passion came every fall when the fair season ended and he could finally decorate for Halloween. He would theme his yard and garage and make his own props. His yard display has made several new stations every Halloween. His talent for art and design came just as naturally on the computer as it did on paper. So, he and his wife began a sign business. The business mainly focused on food service signage as wraps for the carnival industry, but eventually grew after attending the Midwest Haunters Convention in 2011. This couple has been vending right here at Transworld since 2012, and they continue to grow. You can find anything sign related, and if you can think it, they can make it.

Speaker 20 All right. I do want to say thank you. It has been a long time we've been in this industry, and this is my favorite industry because a lot of us are all the same. We're all artistic, we enjoy doing what we're doing and creating stuff, and I couldn't have done anything without my wife, Michelle, my right-hand man Ron, then. Todd Reed and Tonya Reed, good friends of mine. So, it's been good, I appreciate it, thanks.

Vendor Excellence Award - When Hinges Creak

Michael Edwards: Michael Edwards, here, operations director at Terror in the Corn out in Erie, Co, and believe it or not, a 30-plus year veteran of the haunt industry. It occurred to Alex that after creating a few pieces for his own attraction, that other attractions from the haunt industry could also benefit from his creation. His team scraped together enough money, that made they made their Transworld debut. Alex has now been teaching mold-making at Transworld each year. Their products have been featured all over the world in theme parks, escape rooms, movies, television shows, theater sets, and even inside homes as Gothic decor. The future is very bright for this company as they continue to grow, adding new pieces every year. They have always noted that their company would be nothing without their crude and their dedication to it is unparalleled. Of course, we can't forget about their shop dog who diligently guards all of the products from attacks from bears, and to this day their product line hasn't suffered from one single bear attack. Alex and Jennifer started this company side-by-side, and there's no telling what they'll do next, but you can rest assured they will do it together.

Alex Lohmann: Oh, this is a fine casting, the mold work on this is superb in just about every way. The text is a little off, but that's all right. Yeah, I launched this company on a 6-foot folding table in front of my TV in my living room during an episode of Family Guy. The following morning Jennifer got up and started pouring resin and poured it all over the countertop, and it got in the grout.

Jennifer Lohmann: Still there.

Alex Lohmann: And things have slowly been deteriorating ever since then. As cliche as it is to say, I mean, we're obviously nothing without our crew. So, hello, everybody over there. They started out paying out of pocket to come up here to help us sell this product line and keep it moving. I don't know, it's been weird. Jennifer and I have always worked together, and honestly, we probably have fought more over When Hinges Creak than just about anything else.

Jennifer Lohmann: Except the haunt.

Alex Lohmann: Except the haunt, yeah, but I guess our love for one another is greater than our passion for creating scary, spooky stuff.

Jennifer Lohmann: Our entire booth is for sale if anybody needs a good deal, because I got a bear, I got to take home.

Alex Lohmann: So yeah, we're going to continue to do what we do. We actually have some pretty big ideas in line for next year. We're moving this year, so we couldn't get it squared away, but just rest assured, Hinges is the kind of company that's never going to give you up, never going to let you down. But we will, Rick Roll the piss out of you at the awards ceremony. Thank you, everybody.

Scholarship Awards

Terri Bernstein: Hello I am Terri Bernstein, the owner, and CEO, of the US Nightmare and BB riverboats in Newport, KY. I am also on the Haunted Attraction Association Board and Chair for the Scholarship Program. The Haunted Attraction Association is proud to offer three annual scholarships. The James K Smith Memorial Scholarship, the Joe Thaler Scholarship, and the Bloody Marion Makeup Scholarship. These scholarships are available to any actor, makeup artist, or other cast or crew of any haunted attraction member above the associate member. The recipient must be accepted in, or enrolled, in an accredited college or university and working towards a two- or four-year bachelor, associate, or other degrees. Thank you for all your submissions, and please continue to enter as you may be selected next year. You can apply for a scholarship today, go to HauntedAttractionAssociation.com/scholarship. 

Terri Bernstein: The winner of the Bloody Mary Makeup scholarship, $1,000 sponsored by Bloody Mary Makeup, is Courtney Mercurio from Woods of Terror. The winner for the James K Smith Memorial Scholarship, for $1,000 sponsored by Froggys Fog, is Tayan Poplin from Sir Henry's Haunted Trail.

Tayan Poplin: Hello. I just wanted to come on and say thank you to the Haunter's Association for the James Smith Scholarship. I am currently at CF right now, which is my college of choice, and I will be enrolling in the fall. So, thank you, the scholarship helps so much with the theater program. I am hoping to build the front industry into something bigger.

Terri Bernstein: The winner of the Joe Thaler, $1,000 scholarship by Fear Worm Hauntvertising, is Shannon O'Grady. From Woods of Terror.

Shannon O'Grady: Hi, Transworld. My name is Shannon O'Grady, and I am this year's recipient of the John Thaler Scholarship from the Haunted Attraction Association. I am representing the Woods of Terror in Greensboro, NC. I have been acting at The Woods for three seasons, and it has been an incredible first experience working in a haunted attraction. I currently attend Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, where I am studying cardiac ultrasound. I am expected to graduate this year. This scholarship is going to help me pay for my last semester of school, which is an awesome blessing. So, thank you so much Haunted Attraction Association. I'd like to give a shout Out to Eddie and Peggy McLaurin, and all of the senior staff at Woods of Terror, Erica, Nate Hudson, Jimmy, Dutchie, and Scorn. I love you all, and I also love my Woods of Terror family.

Home Haunt Award - Dead by Dawn, Dead & Breakfast

Brent Wilson: Hello, I'm Brent Wilson, owner and general manager of Doom Haunted Attraction. A good night's sleep thou shalt not get from your fright-themed room. After 25 years of running a top haunted house. Dead by Dawn, Dead & Breakfast was the next path of the Halloween trail. “Dead by Dawn” Dabeck and her husband Jim decided to open a new portal and allow guests inside their actual home to experience the world's first dead and breakfast, when you are assured not to get a good night's rest.

Brent Wilson: Along with the haunted theatrics occurring during this day, there have been several paranormal investigation teams that have documented an abundance of activity throughout the building. Some of the visiting guests have included Butch Patrick from the Munster’s, and Miko Hughes from Pet Cemetery. Dawn and Jim could not be here this evening, but on behalf of the Dead by Dawn family please join me and the Haunted Attraction Association in honoring Dead by Dawn, Dead & Breakfast.

Dawn Dabeck: On behalf of myself, "Dead by Dawn" Dabeck, my husband Jim, and the entire cast here at Dead by Dawn, Dead & Breakfast, we humbly accept the Haunted Attraction Associations Home Haunt Award. We appreciate the recognition and acknowledgment of all the hard work and long nights we have put into our unique creation and thank you from the bottom of our cold, lifeless hearts. We hope you all enjoyed the rest of your weekend here in Saint Louis and hope someday our host family can draw you into our nightmare. Remember, a good night's sleep, thou shall not get. Thanks again Haunted Attraction Association, hope you all have a chilling All Hallows Eve season.

[Intermission]

Attraction Excellence Award - Exit 13

Travis Rhoad: Greetings everyone, I am Travis Rhoad, co-owner of Reapers Revenge in northeast Pennsylvania. Today I have the pleasure of offering up our very first. Attraction Excellence Award. This haunt opened in 2004 in Mount Morris, Michigan. Our awardees started off as home haunters, with the help of their three children, Ethan, Tyler, and Natalie. Since then, their haunt has grown, and doubled their size, and tripled their employees in just a span of 10 years. They featured highly detailed sets combined with outstanding effects. They also have added highly successful seasonal events such as, Extreme Night and Family Day. As a result of their hard work and dedication, Exit 13 has truly become a destination of terror. Congratulations on your achievement in your community, as well as our industry. It is much deserved.

Exit 13: That's it. It's amazing. It's a real major award! Anyway, thank you, everybody, all you hoes back there, everybody that made this possible. Exit 13 is cool. Come and see us. We love you guys. Thank you. You guys very much.

Attraction Excellence Award - Banshee Manor

Brett Molitor: Good evening. I'm Brett Molitor, owner of Hysteria Haunted Asylum in Fort Wayne IN, and a member of the HAA board. In 2016 this home haunter was at a crossroads to give up haunting, or take the leap to make a lifelong dream come true. The haunter presented a business proposal to a local family fun park, and an agreement was made, the attraction was born. 

Brett Molitor: Despite being less than 2,500 square feet, they have created an immersive experience that has become ranked as a must-see event in their state. The owner is involved in the national podcast that is listened to by many people, owners, actors, and others. I know that many times they are done about tips for actors, but just as many times they're talking about safety in the haunt, safety in the build, safety for everybody, and if you know me, safety is important. 

Banshee Manor: Well, I kind of feel like the weird kid that's been invited to sit at the cool table, because somehow, I ended up at the same table as Shannon and Allen, which is an honor itself. Whenever they chose to add small haunts, I don't think you can get much smaller than 2,500 square feet. Not only that, but it's put up in 2 1/2 weeks and take it down one day, because I don't have a permanent location. I want to say thank you to the Haunted Attraction Association. I want to say thank you to family and friends, and anyone who's ever been involved in Banshee Manor, for all the support and love. I also want to say thank you to the Big Scary Show who has allowed me to help motivate and help make sure everyone is aware: don't focus on what you don't have, focus on what you do have, and do the best you can with it. Thank you.

Attraction Excellence Award - Abandoned Haunted Complex

Cody Bailey: Hi, I'm Cody Bailey, owner of Hush Haunted Attraction in Westland, MI., but coming from you today from the beautiful island of Kauai. For this award, this haunted house opened in Mount Pleasant, WI in 2012 with a partnership between Cory Stevens and Matt Mars. Cory left his job as a funeral director, and Mars was the current owner of two different haunted attractions. They brought on. Matt Berg as the lead designer and general manager after having proven to have amazing talent. Abandoned open with two full-length attractions, Ambush and Histeria, on five-and-a-half-acre property. Five years later, after purchasing another eight acres adjoining the current property, Stalker Haunted Cornfield was added. Now, Abandoned is home to three full-length attractions, axe throwing, a walk-up diner, a beer trailer, and a merchandise shop. Congratulations.

Cory Stevens: Hard to prepare for a speech when they don't tell you what kind of award you're going to get, so we're going to wing it. As you heard in the video, I was a funeral director for 16 years, and I just want to say that every single person in this room is super lucky because we get to entertain people on a daily basis as opposed to going through and watching people grieving on a daily basis. What a better gift than to watch people having times of their lives where they're going to be remembering these things and events that they've gone to for the rest of their lives and telling stories to their kids and same thing with our employees. They're going to be telling their grandkids that they worked at a haunted house and had the time of their life. 

Cory Stevens: I want to thank Matt Berg for coming on and trusting, quitting his full-time job, and coming on with us full-time when we hadn't even opened yet. He's an amazing designer, and him and I have grown quite an amazing relationship and partnership at Abandoned. So, thank you guys very much, and we really appreciate it. Have a great night.

Special Recognition Award - The Warden's Widow

John Schwarz Jr: You know as a reminder, it's very difficult to watch something like that. I don't even need these bullet point cards, because what we do here on stage, and I get a little nervous sometimes, but I always believe when you do things from the heart, including speaking from the heart, then nothing else really matters, right? It does not matter. You do things from the heart, everything, it'll always play on. It'll do good, and this is a reminder of that. 

John Schwarz Jr: I'll share a story with you. Back at Scare USA in Wisconsin, that's my haunt, early summertime we typically have this, I don't know if it's like a metaphoric type speech or something that prevails us into our season. I don't know why this happens, but it does every year, I love it. But we had a difficult offseason for some reason, and I said, "what are we going to do? What's the message moving forward?" I had no idea. Then talking with Spencer, just people from the Board, people from the industry, and then my own team, my own friends, my own family. I always would repeat the same message, always choose love. Always choose love. Then one day, I'm like, you know what, I was really stuck in my head. As part of this industry, we've been addressing major topics, but we need to start addressing mental health, because mental health is really what starts tripping us all up and we all act up because of that. So, moving forward, I want this industry to start focusing on that. Because how many of our own crew comes to our haunts as a safe space, as a place to escape? This is something I've recognized at Scare USA, I know that there are other haunts like this. Always choose love. 

John Schwarz Jr: I was having a difficult day. So, what I did, I said, "all right, I'm going to put it on the floor in the back room." OK, here's some Sharpies. I started drawing it, free handing, then I clear-coated it so that every time my team came to Scare USA backstage, they'd be able to look at the message saying "always choose love." I'm going to choose love first. That's an important message. What I didn't understand at the time was that the reason I came up with that is because somebody else was struggling and I said, "just choose love." You could choose the other side, which is what? Hate, negativity, rage. Where do you get with that? 

John Schwarz Jr: You choose love, and here's the trickle effect. Chose that, put it on the floor, my brother-in-law, our photographer, came up to me and said, "John, it's your 10th season at Scare USA, we want to make sure that you could showcase yourself." I don't like being in the spotlight like that. I'm like, "OK, Frank. I'll go with you. I'll trust you, he says, use that chair, sit down. We're going to put "choose love" right in front of you. Going to put that on your poster." OK. Well that poster then started trending and it became a little bit more popular. Now it's one of the best photos, I love it, and it's got my godson, my son, and Sakura to the right, and I'm proud of that. I didn't realize that writing that on the floor then took it to a poster, then took it to like an iconic photo within our own group, and now that message is here. 

John Schwarz Jr: You can choose two different paths. That's what we're presented with. There's the gravel street, and then there's the paved road. So many people like to take that paved road because it's fricking fast. You can get there, that's OK, you can get there faster. But I like to be on the gravel road. Why? Because I take my time. I have to, its gravel, right? If I go too fast, it's not good. It's going to screw up my car. I get to appreciate the journey because I'm forced to drive slow. I could go fast, I've been there, but I realize it's not always the best option to go too damn fast. Yeah, you'll see the billboard, you'll see some of the bigger objects along the way. But if you slow down, you can see the tree, the park bench, the people. I think that's the most important part along your journey. You're going to get there no matter which side you choose, but I just say slow down, enjoy. You might spin out going too fast, at least you could see the pothole if you slow down. 

John Schwarz Jr: Transitioning into this next category Special Recognition Award. I've been watching, I watch everybody. So, when we vote and we do this stuff, I do my homework, and I'm trying to go into the back of my hard drive here to figure out what it was that she told me to speak about with her as a description. All I know is, I have been watching her on TikTok. She is everywhere, and I'm proud of that, because she is empowering. I'm so grateful that we have women in this industry that are starting to step up, and myself, the Association, and all of us, we need more of that. She's inspirational. She educates people on TikTok, it's trendy. She's also hitting that demographic and that audience that maybe does not understand the haunt world. I'm going to introduce you to her, watch some of her content, it's awesome.

[Video]

Andrea, The Warden's Widow: Hi I don't even know what to say. This is literally crazy. You guys are learning right now why my character doesn't talk, because I shake a lot when I'm in front of people. This is really cool. I literally joined TikTok as a joke back during the pandemic, so the fact that I'm here in front of all of you with this is just... I literally have no words. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

President & Board of Directors Award - Todd Fedyshyn

Spencer Terry: Good evening again everyone, I'm Spencer Terry, I'm the HAA President, and this evening we are awarding our 2023 Board of Directors Award. This is a pretty exciting award for us because it allows us to really look at the entire industry and look at who someone specific, or a group of people, have really been instrumental in not just guiding the industry over a year or a season, but really over a long term.

Spencer Terry: This evening, our award is going to someone who has been around for the last 25 years, has been a home haunter for 10 years, and has run an attraction for the last 15 years. Someone who I believe really has been an advocate for being ADA compliant, and looking at how you can build an attraction that's 100% compliant, to be able to allow everyone an opportunity to get to see all of the work that you've done as an owner. 

Spencer Terry: I think it's a really great opportunity when we can see past the disabilities that people have to be able to really understand, that people want to have fun and they want to come to our attractions. This person has really done a great job of being able to do that on their property. They've been the key component in organizing some safety trainings that have happened nationally, certainly locally on their property. This person really led a task force with a local insurance company to really look at how we can better benefit members who are CHAOS Certified, who are meeting certain criteria, who are following certain procedures, and he led this national task force to be able to be beneficial for all of our members across the nation.

Spencer Terry: He's a vendor, for those of you that don't know he owns Mind Games, which is a really great escape room company. As a home haunter and as a haunter, I think he really understood how to be able to bring escape games into that industry and really make that beneficial for himself and certainly for others. 

Spencer Terry: He's been a catalyst at Reapers Revenge for a number of years now, going on 15, and has really been key in how that facility operates, both internally for how the staff feel and the culture within that, but certainly for the customers as well. He served a 6-year term on the Board of Directors here for the Haunted Attraction Association, which I think is really key, because that's completely volunteer. It's something where none no one gets paid to be able to be on the Board of Directors. It's something where you care enough about the industry that you want to do more. 

Spencer Terry: I said the word advocate before, and I'll say it again. I really think that, if anything, this person has been an advocate for small and large attractions, for vendors, for folks, makeup artists, or builders, for anyone in the industry, this person has really been a catalyst in really forging new ways to stand up for others, to advocate for them, and to show the industry and to show the world how great we are and how great this industry can be. So, from all of us, from the Board of Directors, we're excited this year to nominate Todd Fedyshyn. So, Todd, come on up and get this well-deserved award. Congratulations.

Todd Fedyshyn: Well, I don't even know what to say about that, so thank you so much. Just, wow. This means so much. I mean, 25 years ago, I just didn't know what I was doing, and I was so excited to just haunt. I never could have thought I'd be here. I want to thank my beautiful girlfriend Rebecca, and Exit 13, congratulations on everything and their amazing haunt. I can't believe we're both getting awards tonight. Who could script this? I mean, my partners at Reapers Revenge, the board.

Todd Fedyshyn: The last thing I want to say is with the first haunt I did. Yeah, it was ADA-compliant. I lost my friend this year that was honored up there. I wouldn't be here without him, and I love you, Bill. Thank you.

Lifetime Achievement Award - John Burton

Jim Werner: Hello, I'm Jim Werner, the operations manager for Pennhurst Asylum in Pennsylvania, and also the Eloise Asylum located in Michigan. The Haunted Attraction Association is proud to present this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. Known for his work in the Halloween and Haunted Attractions business for decades now, his first foray into the haunted industry was actually a home haunt in 1969. His first commercial success with a haunted attraction was in 1971, for the Prospect Elementary School's Spring Carnival. 

Jim Werner: Since that time and in the 50 years that have passed, he has produced more than 150 attractions and events. His imagination and his conceptualization skills equipped him for designing and producing Halloween, haunted, and horror projects all over America. Some of the more notable attractions that he has been directly a part of are Chamber of Horrors, Industrial Nightmare, Brutal Planet for Distortions Unlimited, Science of Fear, SiloX, Terror Behind the Walls, Spooky World, Frightmare, Nautical Nightmare, Erebus, Trilogy, Chop Shop, and the Theatre of Horror. 

Jim Werner: You can find his work featured in Fangoria Magazine and several other publications. His work was also featured on television stations such as MTV and the SciFi Channel. He's been involved with several stage productions, as well as movies like Doc Holiday, The Man, The Myth, The Legend, Dead End Road, Acts of Death, and Cut Print. He also has credits as an associate producer and was one of the judges for the Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival. 

Jim Werner: John has one daughter, Bobby, who has worked on haunting projects with him over the years, since the age of 3. John also has 2 grandchildren Colby and Kai. John is now 64 and really sore from all the damn haunting he has found over the last decades. John, on behalf of the HAA, Congratulations.

John Burton: In 2014 Pat told me I was on the top of a very short list to get this award. Pat, that was eight years ago, I'd kind of given up hope. Before I make some thank yous, I want to clear up a couple of rumors. Number one: No, I'm not dead. I've actually heard that rumor over the past decade and a half. Number two: I'm not retired. I can still consult, design, and conceptualize, just can't build a damn thing. I have been through a lot physically, so I'm kind of disabled, but no I'm not retired. 

John Burton: When Pat told me a few weeks ago I was going to get this award, your mind starts thinking back. My first commercial haunt was 52 years ago. So, there's a lot to think about. A lot of people you can thank over the years. But it's very easy to do really cool haunted attractions when you've got great companies like Distortions, Goregalore, and Ghost Ride Productions as your friends and suppliers of some really cool props that you can use in your creations. 

John Burton: But the one guy I want to thank the most, he's not here, he's even more disabled than I am, but His name was TOG, for That Other Guy. Don Moore, who traveled with me for years, some of you in this room know him and know him well. Ed Gannon has worked with him a lot, but Tog can't be here because he can't travel. I guess I destroyed his back over the years, and he was a great forklift for me. But, there are just too many people to thank, like my dad, the most unique person I've ever known in my life. I want to dedicate this to him and his memory. Gail Burton, who passed in 2017. Anyway, I thank you. Love you. Hope we see each other more often.