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Do IT this week: Layering
Critics complaining about soap box management, lack of sponsorship, even sandwiches served in '07
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Jul 12, 2008
Two weeks before the big race, the All-American Soap Box Derby is awash in controversy about sponsorship, management and even bologna sandwiches.
But derby Chairman Bill Evans said he and his staff are just trying to turn the organization into a business that will generate more racers and eventually more dollars.
''What I've tried to do is to instill a positive, futuristic view of the derby,'' Evans said. ''If we stayed the same organization, we would become stagnant.''
More than 600 local race and rally champions — a record — and their families will attend the 70th grand prix of gravity-powered racing in Akron on July 26 to compete for up to a $5,000 scholarship.
But disgruntled devotees worry that their beloved derby is slipping.
No title sponsor in '08
Money problems are at the forefront of the troubles.
In 2006, the organization was $827,477 in debt and had to appeal to the city of Akron for $600,000 in advances on the gas-well revenue it dedicates to the derby.
Derby officials also couldn't find a title sponsor for this year's All-American, even though they made hundreds of pitches to companies and personal presentations to about a dozen.
''As a nonprofit entity, it is not always reasonable, especially in the present economy, to expect several national sponsorship opportunities to become available,'' the derby's executive board said in an e-mail to supporters last week.
This is only the sixth time in its history that the derby has gone without a national sponsor to spur publicity and generate income.
''At this point, my heart sinks,'' Frankie Gilmore, director of the Culpeper, Va., race e-mailed to other Soap Box Derby supporters last week. ''Last year was the sure sign of the downward spiral. . . . Unfortunately it continues to worsen.''
A call for change
Much of the criticism centers on Jim Huntsman, who was named president 18 months ago to put the financially troubled organization on a more solid footing.
John Piscitelli of Springfield Township does not mince words in his call for a change.
''We need new leadership. I don't think we're going to settle for less,'' said Piscitelli, a member of the derby board of directors for more than two decades and a chairman in the 1990s.
Gilmore, the race director in Virginia, said the tone of the office has changed under Huntsman.
''When you came into race week and called the All-American, you used to be able to hear laughter in the background,'' Gilmore said by phone. ''Last year, it was doom and gloom.''
But Evans and the other members of the derby's executive board say they firmly support Huntsman, who became involved with the derby as a volunteer and rose through the ranks to the top paid job.
''Jim's doing what he feels is important to get monies into the derby,'' Evans said. ''He's trying to be everything to all, but it's impossible to do that.''
Huntsman is working the business plan that was submitted to the board of directors in 2006 — one that seeks to rely less on title sponsors and more on new streams of income, Evans said. They include offering corporate ''team-building'' events, where companies would pay to build cars against a clock and then race them in an indoor venue such as the John S. Knight Center, plus licensing Soap Box Derby apparel and toys.
In its e-mail, the executive committee wrote that Huntsman ''has single-handedly been instrumental in delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars to [the derby] by negotiating contractual obligations. . . . His continuing efforts to professionalize our sport are met with gratitude.''
More efficient practices
Huntsman said he has concentrated on bringing more efficient business practices to the organization, which is based at Derby Downs at Akron Fulton International Airport.
That includes processing orders for parts by computer instead of by hand and expanding the Internet ''storefront'' through which racers can place orders.
''It's a change in the culture,'' Huntsman said. ''We've looked at everything — how to process a race-city request, how to process paperwork for race-week events, shipping and receiving.''
But change has been difficult, with three of the derby's 10 full-time employees quitting in recent months — one to go back to school.
Piscitelli said derby officials have not been receptive to suggestions that could improve the organization's financial standing.
In light of the derby's financial problems, Piscitelli has urged them to solicit bids for purchases over $200, especially for the liability insurance for drivers, fans and staff in all race cities. That was one of the biggest items in last year's $1.8 million budget.
Currently, the derby pays about $300,000 a year through Roy Hartz, of Cuyahoga Falls, an insurance salesman who is also derby vice chairman.
Evans, the derby chairman, said the organization has opened the bidding to other companies, but the issues are complex, the underwriters are few and some declined to submit a bid once they saw how much the contract encompassed.
But what really triggers complaints is Huntsman's salary — too much, in the eyes of many derby devotees.
''You hear rumors about Huntsman's pay increases and you get soured on that,'' said Fritz Kysar, of Charlestown, W.Va., whose two children have aged out of derby racing.
Huntsman makes $120,000 a year, plus $10,000 for medical coverage. Last year he also received $41,549 for expenses that dated as far back as 2002.
Some of the expense money was reimbursement for an interest-free loan he made to the derby when money was tight. Some was for purchases he made on the derby's behalf, he said.
Bologna raises stink
Then there are the bologna sandwiches.
They were served at a picnic during last year's race week, when organizers ran out of the more conventional hot dogs and hamburgers.
Families ''stood in a very long line of [330-plus] people and [were] given an insulting meal of Balogna, cheese, and stale bread. Oh, yes, all the water you could drink,'' Fontaine Halsey, of Culpeper, Va., e-mailed to other derby families last week.
As for the picnic, it replaced a day trip to Geauga Lake. Evans said that change in the All-American's weeklong itinerary was made for two reasons: The park had closed and that's what the derby families wanted.
In the 2006 after-derby survey, families asked for a less expensive expedition and more time to bond with other families, Evans said. He said the derby was trying to listen to its customers.
But after expecting a fun day at an amusement park, ''it was a little bit of a letdown,'' said derby race director Gilmore.
Her 15,000-resident town of Culpeper, Va., loves the derby so much that the six-year-old race there has morphed into the largest local derby in the world, she said.
The community wants to build a permanent track to try to duplicate some of the thrill racers get at ''The Show'' or the ''Akron Experience,'' as the All-American is called.
''This is a wonderful gift that we've all inherited,'' the enthusiastic Gilmore said. ''It would be good if the people in Akron realized what they had before they lose it.''
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
Two weeks before the big race, the All-American Soap Box Derby is awash in controversy about sponsorship, management and even bologna sandwiches.
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