Operator shakedown

By Ty Hughes

Harvest Darts in bloom

In a surprise move, a couple of our beloved Operators have recently relinquished the reigns of their dart operator business into the care of some very capable and experienced candidates.

Harvest Darts’ Sean McGee has officially handed over his dart route, in whole, to Gary Tinder, aka “GT”, who has already been placed into service. Many of you who have come to love and appreciate Sean’s personable service of your dartboards and dart programs have already been contacted by GT and are aware of the changeover. Sean’s caring and personal touch has rocketed his business to the top of the Medalist operatorships nationwide. His influence in the lives of dart players from Seattle to Everett and beyond is deep and everlasting.

The Medallion caught up with Sean recently and posed some pressing questions in hopes of clarifying his intentions and more.

Sean, how many years have you been involved in darts and when did you start Harvest Darts?
I started throwing steel tip darts in college around 28 years ago. I remember seeing my first Arachnid soft tip board and laughed, thinking nobody would play it. Chuck LeMasters got me into the business in 1991 when we went into a route in Wenatchee (LeDarts East). After a couple years, we bought GT’s route in Skagit and Whidbey Island, which I took over shortly afterward and Harvest Darts was born.

What events led up to the decision to pass on your highly successful dart business?
I wasn’t even thinking of selling the route when GT approached me about buying part of it because he wanted to get back into the business he loves. I couldn’t afford to keep Tom, Jim and Daryl with selling part of my route and wouldn’t want to lay off any of them after all their loyalty and friendship. By selling the whole route, GT could keep Tom, who is a good friend, and I would keep Jim and Daryl. I had grown the jukebox and video game part of my route lately because of the promotion group, Club Lucky, of which I’m a member. This enabled me to afford to sell it. The reason I did sell is because darts took up a lot of time, nights and weekends, and my kids, Jessica and Zack were growing up too fast and I wasn’t spending enough time with them. I’m actually the assistant coach of Zack’s baseball team now, which is something I could never commit to in the past.

Will you continue to be involved in the dart community? Will we still be seeing you around?
Michelle and I are still throwing darts two nights a week and I will continue to. I love the game and the people too much and you will definitely see me a lot.

What will be the scope of your business from this point forward?
I will move forward with my jukebox and video game business at a slow, steady pace and am also getting into some ATM business.

What will be the status of Jim Hestkind, Tom Williams and the rest of your business partners?
Jim, Tom and Daryl have not only been great, loyal employees, but also good friends. They will always have a job, and who knows, maybe take over the business someday.

How do you feel GT will do in your place with respect to promotions and relations?
I wouldn’t have sold the darts to just anyone, not even for a lot more money. The people and dart route are my baby and I definitely want to see it succeed and grow again. GT, Fish and Chuck LeMasters were my mentors and know what they are doing. GT will not only maintain the route, but I am sure he will grow it again to where it once was and should be.

What aspect of the business will you miss the most?
I will miss my relationships with the dart players and bar owners the most. Unfortunately, some of my bars only had dart boards, so I won’t see them as often, but I’ll still be playing there and seeing them from time to time. As far as the players, I’ll continue to throw and see them around.

Are you aware of your binding influence among both players and owners throughout the Puget Sound area?
I never considered my importance, I just had a good time and enjoyed what I did.

Is there anything specific you’d like to say to these people upon your departure?
I really want to thank everyone for their support through good times and bad. The dart community really showed their hearts when Michelle had her accident for which I am very thankful. I also do want to thank Michelle, who is half owner of course, for her years of support and help. Although being out as much as I have been has been tough at times, Michelle understood it was part of our business and necessary. Thank you all and I look forward to playing you soon.

Sean, we certainly wish you and Michelle the very best of everything in the future, both personally and professionally. Your presence and personality will surely be missed, but hopefully this will not be the last we’ll see of you in the days and years to come.

GT comes with many years of experience of his own within the industry. In fact, Sean’s route was his originally GT’s before he went on to own a couple bars of his own, largely paving the way for Sean’s success. GT’s enthusiasm, energy and knowledge of the sport is nothing short of amazing. Each of these characteristics will lend to positive changes and upgrades to one of the country’s largest player-base per capita within the United States. I think the effects of having GT managing the darts in the Northend will bring measurable growth and a renewed sense of excitement for the game as a whole.
Sitting down with GT last month, we tried to get an idea of what his immediate and long term plans are for the state of darts from Seattle to Everett.

Gary, how do you feel about the idea of taking over Sean’s already successful dart route?
I feel really good about it! I’m excited to take on the challenges ahead of me.

When did you introduce yourself to organized darts and what kind of changes have you witnessed over the years?
As an employee of tournament games since 1981, I became the first dart operator in Washington State, putting dart boards on the street in June of ‘81. I’ve witnessed many changes over the years - from equipment upgrades and the overall increase of dart player ability and then sadly to the decline of open play.

Have you given much thought to your plan of attack as far as taking the sport to a new level in your territory?
Personal contact with bar/restaurant owners, dart coordinators and players is first on Tom William’s and my list.

It’s no secret that we’ve seen a decline in player participation over the last couple years. How do you plan to attract new players to the game?
Coordinating efforts and creating enthusiasm once again for open play and tournaments especially designed for newer players and of course not to forget tournaments for experienced players.

How do you think your experience will lend to your new position as dart operator?
Personal relationships with location owners and players which have been maintained over 27+ years will help a lot. I am very fortunate to have Tom Williams working with me in these endeavors. Tom has 25+ years of experience to lend to the building GT Darts.

What are your short term and long term goals for the route and how will these affect the average players?
Increase team/player participation in the short term and then hopefully to gain credibility so as to maintain a long-term relationship with players and locations.

Are there any noticeable changes we can look forward to go into effect right away?
Board maintenance and overall appearance of the sets. Supplies readily available.

What would you like to convey to your dart players, old and new, and also to the location owners pertaining to your new role?
I’m happy and excited to be back among you all. Do not hesitate to give me a call if you should have questions, concerns or helpful suggestions.

GT, we’re behind you all the way, buddeeeey! Our hope is that you can make inroads to change and growth for our most excellent sport. You could prove to be our dart savior – no pressure.

Datascore changes shape

Meanwhile, over on the Eastside (Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, etc.) there is yet another newsworthy bit coming out of the Datascore camp. Our friend, Steve Fisher, aka “Fish”, has also stepped down as dart operator after almost two decades of service to the local dart community. What is going on?!

Taking over his route on the Eastside is yet another highly competent and current operator, Mr. Gary Rouse of Target Darts NW. Gary currently owns and operates his own successful dart route out of Seattle, Washington.

Fisher, who maintains an extremely close relationship with his faithful constituents, has been cultivating these friendships for many years. Player loyalty to Datascore, more accurately, “Fish” himself, is probably stronger than any other out there.

Datascore players are so loyal to Steve that they’d probably walk barefoot through a pit of burning coals for the man. He is something of a celebrity on the Eastside and his departure as their operator has got to be a sore subject for many players and location owners alike. We cornered the man, the myth one afternoon to pick his brain about the changes in his life, his business and the route itself.

Steve, when did you first embark on your career as dart operator?
Twenty four years ago, April of 1984. I graduated from Mercer Island high school in 1974 and we all thought the world would end in ‘84 based on George Orwell’s book 1984. I had been playing in Gary Tinder’s leagues and I gave him a six pack of Rainier Light for some help and advice when I bought my first dart board.
My first location was the Meet Me Here Tavern on Aurora Avenue.

How do you explain the tight relationships you’ve garnered with your players over the years?
I had many mentors in my early years; people who inspired me to try to, in a sense, emulate their unique abilities, characacter and humor, to just enjoy friendships and relationships with everyone. Players, location owners, operators - we are all just people and there are underlying values that we are all responsible for in our relationships, regardless of those categories. I honestly think that the simple thing we have all gotten out of darts (the majority of the time) is a nice party atmosphere. I have been a fan of all sports and games all my life and applied my understanding of sports to the fun of going out to the bars and meeting people, with darts being the central organizing factor. I think a goal of creating mutual respect with the players is critical in trying to deal with many of the issues that can be somewhat difficult otherwise.

What has been your philosophy toward the sport and how has it evolved since taking over as operator?
It’s a great game. I think sportsmanship is a key element that can be difficult unless the people involved set good examples for each new generation of players coming in. Rules are important, but they are nothing compared to the importance of good sportsmanship and the positive attitudes of the players themselves. In some ways though, time stands still as I can have the same fun going to play a league match or tournament today as I did when I first played for Gary Tinder in 1981. The sport hasn’t changed that much when you just get down to the idea of being able to go out and have fun.

How do you account for the general decline of player participation as of late?
Well, we have all watched the impact of many things, which can make it more difficult to recruit players. We are still relatively strong under the circumstances, and do as good a job as we can. But the simple truth is that in many cases, the bars are just not as busy as they were in the heydays of the 80’s and 90’s. This does not mean that some are not still doing well, but darts thrive in bars that take the time to know their customers by name and organize events. Darts are competing with other things for the attention of the bar owner and his or her time. I’m not sure though, that the decline in player participation is not just in keeping with an overall decline in what you could call “bar” participation. Patterns have changed because of the drinking laws, the smoking laws, the increase in Indian casinos (unfairly) taking a huge share of customers, the traffic is increasingly becoming a huge problem in this area and the increase in gas prices has had a huge impact on the spending money available for entertainment. Not to mention all the people staying home and just playing “Guitar Hero.” Those people need to get OUT and see the real world and meet some real people!

What, in your opinion, can your successor do to maintain and grow the sport on the Eastside?
I think in some cases there is an unfair myth that attributes too much of our success and failure to Medalist or the Dart Operator. The organizers do not have some magic wand that can make up for some of the problems mentioned above. We are all aware of them and we adjust to them, but the ultimate growth of the dart program has always been more a function of the locations’ individual efforts and then of course the players themselves. The operator can only provide the tools and make sure the equipment is as good as it can be, fix it when necessary and create as much excitement and optimism towards the future as possible. Gary Rouse is an extremely honest and hard working person who has already proven his ability to do a great job, and he has a good team in place to make things happen. The things that myself, Todd, Frank, Lisa, Holly, Bob, Lucky, T-Racey and the many coordinators over the years accomplished do not go away over night. The tradition and memories continue to impact and will continue to impact the future for the better.

What will be your role in the community after stepping down as dart operator?
I am still planning on being involved in darts. I am also still going to be involved in my DJ activities; I currently DJ on Friday and Saturday nights and I may put some events together that combine darts with my DJ system for a tour of tournaments. During the regular work week however, I am now a licensed mortgage broker for Metropolitan Mortgage and will be focusing on that.

Will we be seeing your friendly face at any dart tournaments in the future?
Of course.

Tell us what the capacity of Todd Hamilton’s status will become?
Gary and Todd have a good relationship and Todd is a great asset to darts and all of the Datascore locations.

Do you have any parting words of encouragement for your dart players and/or location owners?
Yes, if you know anyone who needs to refinance their mortgage or wants to get pre-qualified to buy a house, have them call me at (206) 818-5041. I work for a company that does not spend it’s money on advertising and depends on referrals to create business. Once your loan is closed, we can go get a beer and play some darts!

Steve Fisher’s regular involvement will be sorely missed in the days to come, but I have a feeling that his presence and influence will not be easily extinguished. The friendships he’s built over the past decade will live on through the memories of his faithful players. The impact of his antics have surely been an integral part of his wide popularity among the people on the Eastside.

Gary Rouse is a man of a different tact. His professionalism and tenacity define him as a business owner. The future of darts on the Eastside is in good hands with Gary and Target Darts NW. Growth and expansion will surely follow Gary’s taking over the Datascore route. Though it may take some time for players to acquaint themselves with the ways of Gary’s approach, the end result promises to be a positive one.
Let’s start by introducing Gary to the player base on the Eastside with this short one-on-one interview with the man in the hot seat.

Gary, what sort of plans do you have for continuing the unity among players on the Eastside?
Unity among players anywhere is developed over years of friendship by way of the dart league program and the locations in which players choose to hang out and play. I love the game of darts and every time I go to play league, I look forward to meeting new people and seeing people that I have known forever.

What kind of differences do you foresee with respect to the Eastside market versus your current Seattle-based market?
For me the biggest challenge with the different markets is the time it takes to get to know all the different people. I have been playing darts since about 1994 and have been working the Seattle route since 1998, but I am still meeting new people, which is one of the things that I love about darts and the community it brings together.

Are there any immediate changes players and location owners can expect after your taking over the route?
I believe Steve and I have worked very well together over the years and run our businesses in very similar ways and we worked hard together to make this transition as seamless as possible.

Do you plan to uphold some of the more popular dart-related events started by Datascore?
I believe we should always be looking for ways to promote darts and Steve has been one of the best at creating successful promotions. I will continue to look for ways to maintain the overall health and growth of these dart programs.

Is there anything in particular you’d like to say to all the players and owners on the Eastside relative to your new role as their operator?
I just want to say that I am excited and looking forward to meeting everyone and playing some darts!

Thanks guys. We at the Medallion are enthusiastic about the coming changes to the darting landscape of the Pacific Northwest. Change is positive and inevitable. We stand behind our local operators one hundred fifty percent and wish them only the best in the years ahead.

The Medallion deeply appreciates the loyalty and support of our widespread readership. We look forward to many more years of publishing your local dart related news and remaining as your number one choice for indoor sporting events throughout the great state of Washington!