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Medalist Marketing hosted 50 key operators from across the continental US,  Alaska, Hawaii and Europe, for the company’s
2004 Affiliated Operator Council Conference on May 5, 6 and 7.
The three day confab, held annually to gather
operator input toward growing and improving the Medalist program, took place at the company’s headquarters south of Seattle, which recently
doubled in size. The operators discussed and voted on topics including expanding league seasons, revised match formats, and the return of the
Grand Masters category. They were also updated on the introduction of the new Avanti series of dartboards and software, the company’s new Quest
Darts & Apparel wholesale division, and a new Medalist alliance with the National Dart Association (NDA).
 Medalist Vice President of Sales, Christopher Peppard, called the meetings, “Very productive,
the best yet in our series of Operator Councils.” Medalist staffers, led by company President Lee Peppard, gave the visiting operators a chance to
get hands-on with the new Spectrum Avanti, which will start appearing in their locations this Spring and Summer. Operators were told that update
kits for existing boards, with the new Avanti logic board and software upgrades, should be arriving in late May. With the kits, operators can update
their inventory of Spectrum Dartboards to Avanti’s state of the art capabilities.
Avanti’s new features and benefits, including on-line capability and increased
operator freedom, drew high marks from attendees, as did the company’s expanded wholesale division. Paul Dill, Vice President for Wholesale, proudly
showed off the new Quest Darts and Quest Apparel portion of the company’s recently expanded office and warehouse facility and promised operators three
day turnarounds on parts and supplies, compared to the industry average of about seven days, and exciting new graphics and packaging on Medalist products.
 They also had praise for Medalist’s new alignment with the NDA, as outlined by NDA Executive
Director, Leslie Murphy. Kama Reed of BJ Novelty in Covington, KY said, “The NDA will be a huge addition for us. It will give us a tremendous
opportunity to grow our player base by reaching out to the NDA players in our area.”
Reed also called the meetings very positive, adding, “It’s always great to get
together with the top people in the country who are in the same business we are. The relationship between Medalist and their operators, and the respect
we have for each other, really make the whole thing work. They are always there for us, and we are there for them also.”
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