2007
Golden Ticket Awards - The Best of the
Best!
View
the complete list of winners!
Click here to download 2007 Golden Ticket
Awards Bonus Section PDF file (14
mb)
Park, individual, supplier each
recipents of
2007 Publisher’s Pick
Dollywood ------Milton
S. Hershey------National
Ticket Co.
Carefully
thought out theming makesDollywood
special
Since
1986, visitors from around the world have
become well acquainted with the Dollywood
name and experience. However, the entertainment
park actually traces its roots back to 1961
when Rebel Railroad first opened on the site
that, over time, expanded and grew into Dollywood.
Rebel
Railroad was a small-scale attraction operated
by the Robbins Brothers from neighboring
North Carolina. The five-mile long Rebel
Railroad featured a coal-fired steam train
named Klondike Katie, a general store, a blacksmith
shop and a saloon for visitors to enjoy. The
Robbins Brothers had created a winning formula.
That
formula led to ownerships by Art Modell of
the Celevland Browns, then to Jack and Pete
Herschend of Silver Dollar City fame. In
1986, the Herschend brothers soon welcomed
a much-loved and recognizable East Tennessee
superstar to the park when Dolly Parton joined
the family in the theme park business, lending
not only her childhood memories for future
ride development, but her name as well, for
the park’s rebranding into
Dollywood.
Today,
Dollywood’s carefully
thought out theming of everything from
rides to it’s buildings
and shops make this theme park a special
park to visit. No cartoon or movie themes
are needed here to tell a story or entertain
its guests. After all, isn’t that the
purpose of the theme park, to entertain its
guests through theming? Dollywood does it
right, and for that, they are selected as
AT’s Park of the Year.
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Milton
S. Hershey, the man behind a town, park
and school
From
the moment he laid out his community, Milton
S. Hershey planned to build a park, making
an early commitment to create a more pleasant
environment for workers and residents than
the typical factory town of the time.
Even
though Hershey’s
Mennonite mother thought his idea was frivolous,
he proceeded to survey a site along Spring
Creek in 1903. On April 24, 1907, Hershey
Park opened; a baseball game was played
on the athletic field. Milton Hershey and
his wife, Catherine,
watched the game from the grandstand.
Hershey
Park’s original appeal was its simplicity.
An ideal spot for picnicking, boating and
canoeing, the park was landscaped with graceful
trees and wooded groves that provided a shady
retreat for thousands of people without being
crowed. The park’s first ride, a merry-go-round
opened on July 4, 1908.
His
vision for the town did not stop with the
park. Unable to have children of his own,
Milton Hershey established the Milton Hershey
School Trust, whose sole beneficiary is the
1909-founded Milton Hershey School, a private,
coeducational home and school for 1,600 children
from families in financial and social need.
All expenses for the children are provided
free of charge to enrolled students.
Today, as Hersheypark and the Hershey’s
Chocolate Kiss celebrates its 100th
anniversaries, AT salutes our Person of the
Year, Milton S. Hershey.
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100
years strong,National Ticket Co. not
slowing down
After 100 years, paper tickets are still selling
strong.
But
that’s not keeping National
Ticket Company from sitting still as
the company celebrates its 100th anniversary
this year.
The
company is in the early stages of getting
into the radio frequency identification technology
called RFID. They are already offering wristbands
and soon will be offering paper and plastic
cards.
Still
yet, the tradition and achievements remain
strong in a company that was founded in 1907
by brothers Alphonsus E., William A. and
John J. Conway along with a local clothing
merchant Nicholas R. Ludes in Shamokin, Pa.
The four were equal partners
in the company. Today, offspring of the original
founders still work for the company.
In
1938, National Ticket became the first company
in the area to provide life insurance coverage
for its workers. Five years later it added
health and accident coverage. The company
has also rewarded employees for their loyalty
and hard work with benefits, competitive
wages and annual celebrations which started
in the mid-1930s.
With
a worldwide customer base in excess of 5,000
customers, National Ticket Company continues
to meet the needs of its long time amusement
and entertainment customers, and new ones
as well.
Congratulations
to National Ticket Company on 100 years of
outstanding ticketing service, AT’s
choice for Supplier of the Year.
View
the complete list of winners!
Click here to download
2007 Golden Ticket Awards Bonus Section PDF
file (14
mb)
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