Holiday inn® of atHens

Special Edition Fall 2010

Our First 50 Years and Beyond

1960 - 2010

The Next Generation

Committed to Excellence

Then and Now

Our First Night iN AtheNs

AwesOme AlumNi

Best Guest

I spent my very first night in Athens,GeorgiaatthebrandnewHolidayInn®.How50briefyearsfliesbyquickly.

Iwillalwaysrememberourintro-duction toAthens as amilestone inourillustriouscareerattheUniversityofGeorgia and as activemembersofthis great community. On behalfofVince and all theDooley’s,wecongratulate the Benson FamilyandthestaffoftheHolidayInn®,andwish all of you continued success,alongwith50moreyearsofgracioushospitality.

Lewis Shropshire, CEO of Motel Enterprises, has run the operations side of theMotelEnterprisespropertiessince1970.OneofthemostactiveandinfluentialbusinessmenintheAthensareaforover40years,Mr.ShropshirehasservedoncountlesscharitableboardsandhasservedinleadershiprolesofalmosteverycivicorganizationintheClassicCitythroughtheyears.

Lindsey Callahan was wellknownasthefinestmaitredinAthensfordecades.OurguestsalwaysaskedforLindsey.Hesetthestandardforhowwewanttotreateveryguestoneveryvisit.LindseypassedawayinJuneof2010andwillbegreatlymissedbyallwhoknewhim.

Holiday inn® of atHens… our first 50 years and beyond2

For over 30 years,Mr.JTAndersonhad lunch at theHoliday Inn®almosteveryday.Nottointerrupta daily custom, Mr. Andersoncelebratedhis80thbirthdaywithaverygratefulstaff…whichinclud-edMr.Shropshireinagorillasuit.

Many of our community’s businessandcivicleadersyouknowtodayonceworkedattheHolidayInn®.Wecouldn’tbeprouderofourAlumni!

NotableAlumniinclude(but are not limited to)ReubelinNorrisExecutive Director of the United Way of Northeast Georgia

ChristopherJordanCox Radio

Dr.BobBrewster,DVMBarber Creek Veterinary Hospital

MaureenBakerDirector of Sales, The Classic Center

BurtLumpkinHilltop Grille

Dr.JackieWilsonAthens Technical College

DarrylMagrinoExecutive Chef, Iris Place

“”

ThesuccessoftheHolidayInn®andourthreeotherhotelpropertiesandall that it’sbrought

to theAthens tourism industrycanbedirectlyattributed to thehardworkanddedicationof

LewisShropshire.Lewishasgivenalmostalifetimeofservicetoourcompanyandhispassion

forthiscommunityandforgivingourgueststhebestpossibleserviceoneachandeveryvisitis

unmatched.OurfamilyandtheentirecommunityoweLewisanincredibledebtofgratitude.

—LarryBenson

everyONe Asked FOr liNdsey

Since 1960,businesses,universitygroups,civicandsocialorganizationshavelongregardedtheHolidayInn®astheplacetomeetinAthens.

takinG Care…

A tribute: lewis sHropsHire

Reubelin Norris

yesterday... today.... tomorrow... looking forward to the next 50.

• Holiday Inn® Athens has hosted more than 2,100 weddings

• 3,674,239 guests have stayed at Holiday Inn® Athens

• Holiday Inn® Athens has seen 286 UGA home football games

• More than 9,000 local residents have been employed by Holiday Inn® Athens

• Holiday Inn® Athens has contributed $7,898,500 for local tourism projects

• Holiday Inn® Athens has contributed $4,048,000 in local property taxes

• Holiday Inn® Athens has contributed $9,709,018 in local and state sales taxes

BY THE NUMBERS

Mr.EdBensonandagroupoflocalentrepreneursopenoneofthefirstHolidayInn®franchisesinthecountry

LewisShropshirebecomesGeneralManagerofMotelEnterprises.

HolidayInn®opensNorthTower,70upscale,oversizedroomsaimedatthebusinessmarket.Expandsmeetingroomstototal15,000sqft.ofmeetingspace.Enclosestheswimmingpoolandaddsthespa.

HolidayInn®opensitsExecutiveTower,48upscaleroomsandsuites.

HolidayInn®adds100roomcentraltowerwithconferenceroomsandrestaurants.

UGA Football’s National Championship campaign

Athens and Clarke County governments merge

1960

1970

1994

1984

1973

1980

1989through the years…

redFeArN grille

our next 50 years

sHininG stars

A New erA: will Benson

Will Benson represents the 3rd generation of leadership at theHoliday Inn®ofAthens.In2007,WillwasnamedPresidentofMotelEnterprisesandhasworkedextensivelywithMr.ShropshireoverthepastseveralyearstodevelopthekindofknowledgeandleadershipthatwillleadtogreatsuccessforHolidayInn®intothenextgenerationandbeyond.

Our Executive Chef, Melanie Hanke, bringsyears of experience, aflair for creativity andanintensedesiretogiveeach and every guestthebestpossiblediningexperience.

Today, The Holiday Inn® remains oneofAthens’bestdestinationsformeetingsandconferences.

Holiday inn® of atHens… our first 50 years and beyond 3

“”

serviNg it up with ClAss

At Holiday Inn® Athens,ouremployeesworktogetherasateamtoensurethegreatestqualityvisitforourguests.Weknowhowimportantourstaffhasbeenoverthelast50yearsandwewouldliketothankthemfortheirservice.

As legend has it, Daniel Huntley Redfearn came toAthensas a freshman fromFloridain1910anduponseeingtheArchtoNorthCampusvowedhewouldnotwalkunderthefamedcampusgatewayuntilhehadgraduated.

Atthetime,afreshmanhazingritualcalledforallfreshmentorunundertheArchinonlytheirunderwearbeforethebigrivalgameagainstthatteamfromAtlantaoftenreferredtoasthe“NorthAvenueTradeSchool.”

Redfearn did runwith his fellow freshmen, but ran around theArch instead ofthroughit.Redfearn’sactionandhisvowdrewtheattention of one of his professors who shared thestorywithhisclasses,andthetraditionoffreshmannotwalkingundertheArchbeganandcontinuestoday.

Located inside theHoliday Inn®,RedfearnGrille iseasilyaccessibleforbothguestsandthepublic.Redfearnboasts locally inspired cuisinewith a Southern charmfromourrenowned,awardwinningChef.

Redfearn’s expansive bar provides relaxation andfun forweary travelers looking foracocktailafteralongday.

We look forward to providingtheverybestlodgingproductandserviceintheAthenscommunityforthenext50years.Wewillcontinuetoofferthe

peopleoftheAthensareatheopportunitytodevelopvaluable skillswhile earninga competitivewage.Wewillalwaysshareourgoodfortunebygivingbacktoourcommunity.

—WillBenson

Find us on Facebook under “650 Beds ofAthens.”Throughoutthefall,we’llbeofferingsomeincredibleratesandpricestoourFacebookfansincelebrationofourfirst50years.

of Business

LewisShropshire43 Years

PennyLester21 Years

GaryMitchell15 Years

KimBarnett12 Years

JennyGordon26 Years

JaniceGresham21 Years

MinnieBoswell14 Years

CraigJackson28 Years

DonaldChapman15 Years

DennisHill13 Years

yesterday... today.... tomorrow... looking forward to the next 50.

MotelEnterprisescompletes$2.5millionrenovationoftheformerRamadaInnonBroadStreetandreopensitastheHolidayInn®Express.

Opensthe185roomHiltonGardenInn®

WillBensonnamedPresidentofMotelEnterprisesInc,TheAthensHotelCompanyandtheClassicCityHotelCompany.

HolidayInn®istotallyremodeled.Newrestaurant,RedfearnGrille,opensinsideproperty.

HolidayInn®opensNorthTower,70upscale,oversizedroomsaimedatthebusinessmarket.Expandsmeetingroomstototal15,000sqft.ofmeetingspace.Enclosestheswimmingpoolandaddsthespa.

The Classic Center is opened on Thomas Street. Olympic Soccer played in Athens

UGA and MCG announce plans for partnership in medical school campus on current site of Navy School

1998

2006

2007

2010

1996

2009

…to tHe residents and visitors of atHens, GeorGia for a Great first 50 years! we look forward to tHe next 50 and Beyond.

Holiday inn® of atHens… our first 50 years and beyond4

seNd us yOur memOries… we’ll help yOu mAke sOme New ONes.

wiN with hOlidAy iNN®!

Since we opened in 1960, our guests have made countless memories right here at our downtown Athens, GA location and we want to hear about them!

Send us your stories and/or pictures and tell us about your memorable moments made during your stays with us!

To thank you for a great first 50 years, the Benson family will pick the 5 best stories and treat the winners to a game weekend in Athens November 26-27.

Each winner will receive a Friday and Saturday night stay at the newly renovated Holiday Inn®, the closest hotel to the stadium, PLUS a pair of the Benson family’s personal tickets. The grand prize winner will even receive a pair of suite tick-

ets to the game!!!

For details, visit www.hi-athens.com

(L-R) Larry Benson Ed Benson Will Benson

197 E Broad Street Athens, Georgia 706.549.4433 www.hi-athens.com

tHank you

Holiday Inn® Athens, Holiday Inn® Express Athens, Hilton Garden Inn® Downtown Athens, and SpringHill Suitesby Marriott Athens are locally owned and operated by Motel Enterprises, Inc. A division of Benson’s Inc., Athens Georgia.