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From the Front Office
See Page Four
VOL. X, NO.
1948 — CELEBRATING OUR TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY — 1968
FEBRUARY, 1968
BNA - MEM Service Is Inaugurafed
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PRESIDENTS COME FIRST as evidenced by Mr. Davis'
arrival in Memphis on the first Pacemaker flight. Cut
ting the inaugural ribbon are Assistant to the Mayor
Harry King, at left, and Carl Carson of the Chamber
of Commerce on the right.
BIG SMILES AND BIG SCISSORS v/ere the order of the day as Pied
mont's first scheduled flight touched down in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mayor Beverly Briley, center, assisted by Metropolitan Airport Director
Homer Anderson, at left, prepare to v/ield the ribbon cutters.
The story of Piedmont’s entry into Nashville
and Memphis, Tennessee, is a long one.
The original application for service by Pied
mont to the City of Nashville was filed in the
fall of 1955. This initial proposal was denied, as
was a second try made several years later.
The action on the Company’s third, and final
ly successful application, was initiated in 1965, at
which time the City of Memphis was included in
the plan.
After many years and much effort on the part
of both Piedmont and the civic and aviation lead
ers in Western Tennessee there was ample rea
son for celebration on the day service was in
augurated.
It was a red letter day from most any point
of view. Ceremonies befitting the occasion in
cluded ribbon cuttings by city officials for the in
augural flights to both cities. There were smiles
for the photographers and comments for the
newsmen.
A luncheon at the Memphis Summit Club for
area city, county and business leaders was the
highlight of the day’s events. President Davis
expressed the Company’s delight in starting serv
ice to Western Tennessee and outlined the initial
plan of operation.
The direct daily flights to Nashville and Mem
phis are operated with the FH 227B’s, from Ashe
ville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro/High
Point, Raleigh/Durham, Greenville/Spartanburg,
Roanoke, Richmond and Norfolk.
Off to the Opry
Welcome fo Music City, U.S.A.
Since Piedmont’s inagural of service to Nashville we’ve had nu
merous inquiries and requests for information about the Grand Ole
Opry. We hope the following article will he\p those of you who are
planning a trip to Music City.
Each Saturday night for over
forty years, country music fans
have faithfully turned their ra
dio dials to channel 650 for
WSM’s Grand Ole Opry. Owned
and operated by the National
Life and Accident Insurance Co.,
this Saturday night spectacle is
the only radio program in the
world that has never had a sum
mer replacement, never had an
intermission and never missed a
performance since its inception
on November 28, 1925. Further
more, it features the largest cast
of any radio show and plays be
fore the largest and most recep
tive audiences in the world.
The influence of the Opry on
Nashville is unmistakeable. This
one single event brings over a
quarter of a million persons to
Music City annually. This flood
of people fills motels, restau
rants, parking lots and shops. It
is the single most outstanding
feature of this city.
Average Fan
The “average” Opry fan drives
more than 500 miles each way to
see the show. Chances are that
he comes from a midwestern
city of more than 10,000 and
works in a factory. This “aver
age” visitor is probably attend
ing the event for at least the
fifth time and has brought along
his entire family. He either ar
rived late Friday night or early
Saturday morning, and probably
without hotel reservations or re
served tickets. Later in the day,
he will stand in line at least an
hour just to gain admittance to
the auditorium where he will
remain seated, reading his Opry
books and line-up cards, for an
other two hours until show time.
While wating, he is joined by
eager fans from every walk of
life. On any given Saturday
night, at least 35 states and two
foreign countries will be repre
sented in the audience.
For those who wish to visit
our city and see the “greatest
show on radio,” we suggest that
you secure reserved tickets well
in advance. Tickets may be ob
tained by writing: Grand Ole
Opry Ticket Office, 116 5th Ave.
N, Nashville, or by phoning 615—
747-9^88. Reserved tickets are
$3.00, General Admission $2.00,
and children (age 3-11) $1.00.
One ticket allows you to see the
entire Saturday night show from
1900-0000, through June. How
ever, beginning the first Satur
day in June and continuing
through the last Saturday in Sep
tember, you must request your
choice of the first show (1930-
2130) or the second show (2200-
0000). If you obtain tickets for
both shows, you will still be re
quired to leave the auditorium
after the first show and return
for the second. Tickets for sum
mer shows are usually sold out
three to four months in advance,
so write early. All reserved seat
tickets must be picked up at the
ticket office at least thirty min
utes prior to show time.
Make Reservations
It is also wise to make hotel/
motel reservations well in ad
vance. If you are driving, we
suggest (1) the Capitol Park Inn
(254-1651), 400 5th Ave. N; (2)
Holiday Inn (254-1921), 710
James Robertson Parkway; (3)
Continental Inns (244-6690), 300
3rd Ave. S; or (4) the Down
towner Motor Inn (254-1401),
227 7th Ave. N. Rooms generally
run $10.40 for a single and $15.60
for a double. Prices are subject
to change. Sorry, no airline dis
counts at this time.
For those who wish to fly
down, the airport limo, available
on demand, will take you to
either 1 or 2 above for $2.00.
Both are within walking dis
tance of the Opry House for the
(Continued on Page Two)
Board Grants
SDF-CVG Route
One of Piedmont’s nicer birth
day presents came from the
Civil Aeronautics Board in the
form of the final authorization
for service between Louisville
and Cincinnati.
Tentative approval from the
Board had come in late Decem
ber last year. But Lake Central
Airlines appealed the ruling
which delayed the final order.
The new service will not only
be more economical for the
Company but also should prove
more efficient for passengers.
Flights will no longer have to
be divided at Lexington to go
two different ways. The new
route will allow for express ser
vice between the Carolinas and
Virginia and Louisville and
Cincinnati.
A total of seven daily flights,
to be operated intially with Mar
tin 404’s, will be included in the
April 1 schedule change.
Congress Says
Happy Birthday
Representative Nick Galifiana-
kis of North Carolina’s 5th Dis
trict noted Piedmont’s 20th An
niversary by praising the Com
pany’s record in a brief state
ment and inserting a history of
Piedmont in the Congressional
Record.
He said Piedmont “continually
sets the pace among local service
carriers” and provides more ser
vice for more people with less
federal subsidy than any other
regional airline.”
“This was emphasized in 1966,”
he said, “when Piedmont became
the first regional airline to show
a profit without benefit of
federal subsidy ... an unprece
dented achievement among the
local service carriers.”
Anders and Asher Appointed
To Fill New Positions In Sales
Roanoke Cit;/ Sales Manager
Lionel F. Anders' has been nam
ed to fill the newly 'Treated posi
tion of District Sales Manager
for Piedmont in Memphis, Ten
nessee.
A native of Little Rock, Ark
ansas, Anders joined Piedmont
as a Utility Agent in Roanoke in
1953. He subsequently served as
Lead and Chief agent there be
fore joining the Sales Depart
ment in 1962 as Roanoke City
Sales Manager.
As District Sales Manager in
Memphis Anders’ territory will
include that city and the area
west of the State of Tennessee.
Anders is married to the form
er Jean Brillhart of Roanoke.
They have three sons and a
daughter.
Lionel Anders
Bill Asher
William R. Asher has been
named Sales Representative for
Piedmont in Washington, D. C.
Asher, who is a native of
Louisville, Kentucky, joined the
Company as an operations agent
at SDF in 1966. Prior to joining
Piedmont he served in the U. S.
Air Force and attended Bellar-
mine College and the University
of Louisville.
In Washington Asher will as
sist District Sales Manager O. E.
Halsel. His appointment is effec
tive March 1.
While in Louisville Asher was
Vice President of the Lakewood
Hills Country Club and Presi
dent of Shopper’s, Inc.
Mrs. Asher is the former Mar
lene Marie Fisher of Kenswick,
Iowa. They have one son.