Incentivized giving is always desirable. It causes people to do things that they may not normally do. That is the whole point of this and I’m surprised that some people just can’t see that.

*
Yes, thee are plenty of bell ringers out there for the Salvation army collection spare change.
My wife and I take items to the local Salvation Army Store, all year round.
Toys for Tots collection boxes all around town. Shopping malls & big box stores.
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So what did YOU donate Sir-Scott?

I enjoy the vfw and appreciate all the work that's been put into it and it don't matter to me what the reason or the season it is if the doors are gonna be open I'm gonna try to make sure my fat ass is gonna waddle thru em and play me some pinball i think its very fortunate to have all these pins in one place and hope he can open the doors more in the future

You have no idea the amount of charity work Scott does year round including time, talent and treasure. He just does it quietly and not with a "look how great I am" attitude.

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He could be more quiet with less attitude.

I don’t think anybody cares what Scott does or does not do. That’s really not the point. The point is that he bags on what other people are trying to do to be helpful. that just makes him look small, regardless of his efforts in other areas and at other times. There’s really no point in it and No one seems to understand the reasoning

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I just got back to the States this morning.

I donated $200 to the Avon Foundation in Pinsides name:

https://www.avonfoundation.org/

Thanks again Clay for the invite to your event! had a great time!

what was the finally lb count for this year. hope we beat last years numbers!!!

I heard the toy donations was way up and the food donations slightly down

For the food, yes, weight down slightly. By value, up.

We (ok i mean Todd) dropped the food off at the Ann Arbor Food Gathers today. Here's the stats over the last 4 years we have been doing this....

2014 - Slightly less than 700 pounds of food
2015 - Slightly less than 1300 pounds,
2016 - 1693 lbs
2017 - 1344 lbs

That's over 5000 pounds of food since we started this!

For this year we were slightly down in total food weight, but the quality was way up. There were lots of proteins (opposed to cans of green beans, i mean who eats green beans for dinner?) Also we combined with Toys for Tots too, and Scott Randall (local radio station DJ "screaming scott" at WRIF) filled his F150 bed with toys. Toy giving was definitely up. And overall quality of toys and food was much better this year.

I think combing the two events (Toys for Tots and Food Gathers) may not be the best approach to maximize intake. But Toys for Tots has a cut off of like December 10th, so it's difficult to do two different events in that time frame (Black Friday being day after Thanksgiving.)

Anyway next year we'll re-think this (yet again) and surely come up with some improvements/ideas.
thank you to all that participated.

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Thanks again for hosting!!!!

Hello, just curious if anyone has any populated playfields they would consider selling? They don’t need to be functional. I use them for wall art and tables. Thank you.

In case anyone is looking to play in a fun laid back league come out to M-Brew in Ferndale on Wednesdays by 7 pm. The nice thing about this league is that each night is its own separate tournament so there is no commitment, come when you can, skip when you can't. We have a wide range of skill levels that come out so even if you've never played competitively before this league is an easy fun way to get started.
The is cost is just $1 (ifpa endorsement fee) plus regular coin drop. M-Brew offers beer specials to the pinball players on tournament nights as well.
For more information visit our facebook page or send me a DM
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1544153332507684/
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Added over 6 years ago: The $1 IFPA endorsement is now paid by M-Brew

ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!

Man I wish I didn't have a family or job so I could have some fun there

Can't your kid reach the flippers yet?

We need your skills there!

Haha no we're a ways off of that! She's still at the crawling on the glass age

Yes. Mbrew needs more players to join in on the fun. Play pinball, drink, eat, and enjoy.

Awesome - I look forward to checking this out. Thanks for posting...

Yes, I agree.
Rob could show some of the new blood what’s up!
I’m always up for some good competition

I'm gonna have to make it one of these Wednesdays.

Just a bit far from Hell, but one of these Wednesdays I'll show up to see what all the fun is about.

Where's the cheapest place to buy playfield glass? Looking to get 5 or 6 pieces if the price is decent

Abel Electronics in St Clair Shores sells it. If you call them and let them know you want 5-6 sheets maybe they will give you a discount.

The Ann Arbor MI pinball show is coming fri-sun May 4-6, 2018. Tickets are pre-sell, and limited. Just a heads up, they are selling very fast. If you want to go to the show, get a ticket (now or soon.) For example, the Friday EM tourney is already sold out and Saturday is more than 1/2 way to sold out. We limit tickets so there's always games to play with no lines and no over crowding.

400 games on free play. One of the biggest shows in the country by game count. Tickets and information available at
http://www.vfwpinball.com

I just got a couple sheets of glass from Burke Glass in Hazel Park. They told me $35 a sheet, but I bought 2 pieces of translite glass also and that drove the price down to $32 each. I was happy.

Got my tickets for the VFW. Fourth year I've bought tickets, and I haven't made it yet.. But this year for sure! I'm not having a spring party, so my spring is freed up. Looking forward to it for sure!

We'll have glass for sale at the Ann Arbor show. But glass has gotten expensive. unless i can find a better source, it's $40 a sheet (like Abel's pricing.) I used to buy them for $12 each not too long ago, but apparently those days are over.

Good God man get your ass in gear this yeaf

I'M WORKING ON IT! Geeze Louise!

Dammit! I somehow I missed that tickets were on sale. I've played the EM tourney the last three years. If anyone has to back out, I will buy your EM tourney ticket. Anyways, in for Friday and Saturday. Can't wait for this annual rite of Spring in Michigan!

Tickets went on Sale Jan 1.
There might be Saturday night tourney, keep a watch on the 2018 VFW thread

Anyone in the Michigan area have a populated Jungle Lord playfield? Let me know.
Thanks,
John

Good news!

M-Brew Pinball Tournament endorsement fees are now sponsored by M-brew!!!

Also, M-Brew will begin some awesome weekly prizes

We recently revamped our lineup at Game On in Midland and plan on running several events a month.
https://pinside.com/pinball/map/where-to-play/10157-game-on-midland-mi

Our first event is Sunday
https://www.facebook.com/events/327591771077049/

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!
Or probably just me, with my luck. Or maybe VFW will get hit, since I already have my ticket.
Anyway, everybody duck!

https://www.redstate.com/kiradavis/2018/03/12/wayward-chinese-space-station-crash-michigan/

Meh, Skylab was supposed to crash here in '79 as well. I think some of it landed in Oz.

I can't believe any article that misuses an apostrophe.

We had a big turnout this past week at our Wednesday M-Brew tournaments, 27 players.

Big thanks to M-Brew who not only has been sponsoring our $1/player IFPA fee but has been contributing some great prize giveaways. This week we gave away a Jersey Jack Dialed In translite, a JJP Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirt, a Bell's Brewery T-shirt, and a Growler filled with a beer of the winners choice.20180314_191252 (resized).jpg20180314_202247 (resized).jpg20180314_205130 (resized).jpg20180314_210850 (resized).jpg20180314_221858 (resized).jpg

Stern Iron Maiden Launch Party for M-Brew will be on Wednesday, May 2nd.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2051882188159648

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https://www.facebook.com/events/178907909496183/?ti=as

For those of you that don't know Rock City Music Company in Livonia has 4 pins on location in their store. Kiss (Bally and Stern), Whitewater, and Iron Maiden. I'm helping them run an Iron Maiden Launch party on Sunday, August 5th. Come out for some fun competition.

https://www.facebook.com/events/286285721918109/

Date: Sunday, August 5th. Qualifying begins at 11:15 and will end at 2:30 or later. A player can put up qualifying scores anytime during that period. In other words, you don’t have to be there right at the start, although that will allow the player more time to qualify.

Fee: One time $5 entry plus normal coin drop ($1 from the fee goes to the IFPA the rest gets paid out to the players.)

Format: Best game unlimited qualifying on 4 machines. Play the machines as much as time allows during the qualifying period. Only the players best score counts. When qualifying is over the top 8 or half (whichever is less) will make it into the A-division finals. The next 4 players not ranked in the top 1000 WPPR are placed into the B-division.

Finals: One 4-player game on Iron Maiden. Top two scores advance. When four players remain, final scores will determine placement.

Games (subject to change): Iron Maiden, Whitewater, Bally Kiss, Stern Kiss

Prizes: Random prize giveaways will be selected during the tournament, including Stern translites (retail value $99.99).

A-Division: 1st Place- 40% of entry pool + Iron Maiden Translite + Trophy
2nd Place- 30% of entry pool
3rd Place - 10% of entry pool
B-Division: 1st Place - 20% of entry pool

Ann Arbor pinball museum mini-pinball show on Saturday Sept 29th. One day show. come check it out and play over 400 pin games. Limit tickets so get your reservation at http://www.vfwpinball.com

So I'm headed down to Ann Arbor the last week of July for some training at the University of Michigan, and my evenings are free. I'd love to visit the pinball museum, except, well, the damn thing is only open two days a year for reasons.

Anyone have an inside connection? I'd love to have a stroll down the aisles.

No inside track, but if im home youre welcome to stop by my place. 45 min away tho!