ACE 2026 Elections - pres

I thank ACE’s membership for giving me the opportunity to serve 28 of my 33 years as a member of this wonderful family. I urge everyone to get involved and help make ACE your own. What our wonderful volunteers accomplish regionally and nationally still amazes me. While a small percentage of members makes what I call the “ACE Magic” happen, I am pleased we have a larger number willing to step up and run for office this year, as we have some great candidates who want to help keep the ACE magic alive. Whether it is our spectacular events, publications, merchandise, web services, meet-ups, social media or benefits, it is our members who donate their time and creativity who make our family’s magic. It is amazing that all our volunteers started as new members who loved coasters and later decided to give back to ACE as a thank you for the awesome times they experienced. Carrying cables at an event was my first. No role is too small for our family.

Involvement

Difficult family situations forced me to wait 15 years before joining ACE in 1993. Although my family situation during our early years in ACE meant we could only do just one or two local events annually, life-long friendships immediately developed. As our situation changed, my two children and I did our first event outside Arlington, Texas: the 1996 Coaster Con in Denver. That experience was a family game-changer.

Encouraged by friends, we soon started to volunteer at local and national events — retrieving items for other volunteers, including cables! Later, it was helping with event registration, which then led to assisting the ACE volunteers in charge of audiovisual support and auctions at the Coaster Con banquet. I was shocked when Tim Baldwin asked me to be his assistant regional rep in 2002. A few months later, I became regional representative, a position I held for a decade, thanks to a talented team. I then accepted an offer to be public relations director (2010-2014), now known as communications director, and our membership elected me to be ACE’s vice president twice (2014-2018). However, I continued my role as ACE’s first Twitter/X coordinator (2012-2024) and continued to lead/co-lead ACE’s efforts with Give Kids The World, and later ACE Cares, for the same period.

Select highlights include:

• Brought industry legend Jeffrey Siebert to ACE’s Public Relations Committee as our first-ever marketing coordinator. This key function benefits ACE to this day.
• Helped modernize ACE to be more attractive to younger people by kickstarting our previously unused Facebook and Twitter/X social media platforms.
• Brought on Nicholas Laschkewitsch as ACE’s first video promotions coordinator, which helped plant seeds that led to ACE’s acclaimed “The Legacy of Arrow Development” and “The Legacy of Schwarzkopf” documentaries.
• Brought on ACE’s first Instagram coordinator.
• Modernized  our  Disciplinary  Committee’s policies and procedures.
• Played a key role in bringing the ACE Code of Conduct into the 21st century while still helping with our social media operations.
• Evolved Robert Ulrich’s #RideWithUs tag into #RideWithACE.

After recharging my batteries the last two years and retiring from my professional work life, I have more to give to our ACE family, and the time to be your next president. I have been working with a small group of dedicated ACE members since last May to do just that, including bringing back the fun for our amazing volunteers and regional rep teams!

Qualifications

My main role as vice president was chair of ACE’s Disciplinary Committee. This is a tough but necessary ACE function. A well-running, efficient and effective disciplinary committee is what used to set ACE apart from all the other clubs. This experience gives me a vital, unique qualification for this election. In addition, the incoming vice president can tap me with advice and insights to get ACE’s Disciplinary Committee on track and back up to the elevated level it once occupied.

My operations research skills helped identify a significant weakness after becoming ACE’s public relations director. ACE did not have a true marketing function or expertise, which I solved as noted above.

I have decades of professional experience leading and managing projects, teams and resources, which are important qualifications for president. My work career spans the nonprofit, private and public sectors, which is a key, and rare, intangible for serving ACE. This career experience ranges from working up from a janitor to a department manager, later becoming an engineering economist and labor market dynamics economist. Before retiring from my economics career on December 31, my professional responsibilities included managing 15 to 18 different economic and educational research grants totaling $11 million annually. This covered:

• Responsibility for budgets, work plans, fiscal reports, analytic studies, monitoring, policy development, legal compliance and resource leveraging
• Developing research and analyses on national and state employment growth and labor market conditions
• Building productive partnerships between public, private and nonprofit organizations

All these skills are vital to the role of president and having positive, effective and efficient working relationships with other members of the Executive Committee and the industry.

Other accomplishments include the following:

• The Spirit of ACE award (2011)
• The (national) 2007 Charlie Benefield Award for lifetime achievement in the Labor Market Information branch of economics
• Seven U.S. Department of Labor Secretary’s Exceptional Achievement awards
• Secretary of Labor’s Honors award
• Earning a degree in economics with a minor in business administration, graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Arlington
• Member of the National Association for Business Economics for 37 years Member of the Dallas Economist Club for 15 years

Why I Want to Be President

I want to help ACE’s future by keeping the wonderful things ACE has accomplished while returning the fun, enjoyment and satisfaction for our volunteers and regional rep teams. In that vein, I have been assisting a small group of experienced and dedicated ACE leaders and volunteers over the last year in creating a new vision for ACE’s next eight years, one I believe our regional rep teams, volunteers and members will love. I will assist in growing the relationship between ACE and our parks as well as the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives. I will support improving our outstanding regional rep system, which is the true heart of our ACE family. ACE needs to be a productive and positive, but a happy light for the enthusiast community and with the parks and amusement industry representatives locally and across the world. If elected, I will continue to bring a strong background and ability to work well with others to make this vision a reality. More than the obvious request for your vote, the more important request is to vote those you think are the best candidates, but the most important request is to support ACE by volunteering and participating in any way. Assistance (big and small) is vital and appreciated. Active participation allows ACE to continue as the greatest enthusiast organization. This is what I bring to the table and why I am ready. If you are ready, join me… Now, let’s make some more ACE Magic and have some fun! Thank you for your consideration.

I am honored to accept the nomination to run for president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts as we approach an exciting milestone, our 50th anniversary. ACE has been a defining part of my life for decades. I first joined in 1991 during a family road trip from Rhode Island, when we happened to come across an ACE event at Kennywood. We were exiting Steel Phantom and noticed the smiling faces at the ACE table. Being welcomed by fellow enthusiasts and participating in Thunderbolt ERT felt like a dream come true, and we were hooked. That experience left a lasting impression and began a journey that has grown into a lifelong passion for this organization and community.

Over the years, I have stayed actively involved through volunteering. I volunteer at every flagship event, attend every regional representative monthly meeting and participate in all Executive Committee (EC) meetings in person. I also introduced the idea of monthly EC digital meetings to help improve communication and collaboration. I have served for seven years as a Pacific Southwest assistant regional representative, working closely with members at the regional level.

For the past four years, I have proudly served as ACE’s communications director, helping modernize and expand how ACE connects with current and prospective members. I have happily contributed to ACE’s publications and archives, helped grow our social media presence, strengthened relationships with parks and manufacturers and supported the expansion of digital initiatives, including the text messaging service and ACE app. Through leading a large communications team full of exceptional volunteers, I have developed the skills needed to lead the Executive Committee. I have also helped advance ACE digital events, meetups at flagship events, YouTube content and the Ride With Us podcast. In 2020, my twin brother and I created ACE’s weekly trivia game, which continues to bring members together. We are also proud recipients of the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. Spirit of ACE Award and continue  
to look for ways to give back to the organization and its members. Additionally, I am involved in developing accessibility videos to help ensure ACE is more inclusive and welcoming to all. I have loved volunteering at IAAPA Expo since 2019, representing ACE and supporting our booth, which contributed to ACE being honored with a Brass Ring Award. My involvement in both preparation and execution would serve me well in leading IAAPA Expo week planning for ACE. I have enthusiastically represented ACE at multiple media day events and on international trips, presenting plaques, building connections with parks and documenting those experiences. I have also supported efforts that have directed thousands of dollars toward ACE preservation initiatives, including expanding ACE Roller Coaster Landmark recognition into Europe and supporting programs like the Centennial Award.

I have enjoyed being a team player and have worked closely with many dedicated volunteers over the years. Some of the closest people in my life are those I have met through ACE, and that sense of community is something I value deeply. As president, I would continue building on this progress while ensuring our members and volunteers have an even stronger voice in shaping the future of ACE. At the same time, I would love to help keep the organization fun, welcoming and centered on the joy that brings us all together.

Looking ahead, one of my top priorities is celebrating ACE’s 50th anniversary in a way that reflects our entire community. I want this to be something we build together by incorporating ideas directly from our members and creating meaningful ways to honor our history while looking toward the future. A key part of my vision is encouraging member involvement at every level. I want to inspire new members to engage in website communities and conversations so they feel connected right away. I also plan to expand annual surveys and create more opportunities for feedback that lead to real action. I believe members and volunteers should play a greater role in decisions, such as where events are held and how experiences are shaped.

Communication will remain a major focus for me. We have made strong progress, and I want to continue improving transparency, consistency and clarity between national ACE and the regions. I also encourage members to reach out to me directly with ideas and questions. At the same time, I believe in balancing innovation with tradition. While we continue to grow digitally, I support bringing back printed ACE News for members who prefer it, as well as offering printed souvenir schedules at flagship events for those who enjoy using it during the event and having something tangible to take home. Events are at the heart of the ACE experience, and I want to continue enhancing them. This includes expanding opportunities for connection through meetups at flagship events and ensuring both flagship and regional events reflect what members are most excited about, while maintaining the fun, energy and enthusiasm that define ACE.

I also want to continue strengthening ACE’s role within the industry. We have made important progress in building relationships with parks and manufacturers, and I will continue supporting those partnerships. I am currently part of the group working to identify the next ACE business manager, helping ensure strong leadership for the organization moving forward. Most important, I want to encourage ideas. The best initiatives we have developed have come directly from our members, and I will ensure those ideas continue to be welcomed, supported and brought to life.

ACE is my favorite thing. It has given me so much over the years, and I have always tried to give back through volunteering, leadership and active involvement. I believe I have demonstrated the dedication, experience and time commitment needed to serve as president, and I am ready to lead ACE into its next chapter. As we celebrate 50 years of ACE, I am excited about what we can accomplish together, and I would be honored to help lead us forward.

Please feel free to reach out to me at dperry@aceonline.org with anything you would like to discuss. Thank you for your consideration, and let’s keep ACE on track and climbing. Ride the vote!