Ortiz, Stengel Inducted Into IAAPA Hall Of Fame As 'Living Legends'

ORLANDO - During the annual What's New Theater, the opening session of the IAAPA Convention and Trade Show, Roy Gillian, chairman of the IAAPA Hall of Fame Committee, officially inducted two living members into the Hall of Fame.

This year, the committee decided to present two Living Legend Awards and no posthumous awards for 2003.

The first inductee, Dr. Roberto Ortiz, was too ill to travel from his home in Costa Rica to accept the award, but his daughter accepted it and read a warm, heart-felt letter from her father.

Ortiz, a world-renowned children's physician, founded Parque de Diversiones in San Jose, Costa Rica, in 1981, as a way to help fund his efforts to build and maintain the country's National Children's Hospital. Today the 42-ride park raises more than $300,000 annually to help fund special programs at the hospital.

Werner Stengel was present to accept his award, which came as a total surprise to him. He was tricked into coming to the ceremony, he told AB, by his family who knew that he was to be honored.

Stengel, of Munich, Germany, has been active in the amusement industry for nearly four decades, having begun designing amusement rides in 1964. Along with coaster builder Anton Schwarzkopf, who he worked with closely during his entire career, Stengel created the first vertical looping coaster, which is still in operation as the Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain, in California.

His engineering skills have been incorporated into 260 coasters during his career. He is also known for designing and engineering several other rides, including the Polyp, Enterprise and Bayernkurve.

(c) Amusement Business, 1. Dezember 2003 von Tim O'Brien

Now I will raise the safety bar and a ghost will follow you home