Month: May 2010

Clayton Homes Offers Military Personnel Exclusive Upgrades

Posted by Erin Freeman – May 28, 2010

Clayton Homes logo

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – (May 28, 2010) – While service men and women are away serving our country, they go months without many of the daily conveniences afforded by waking up each morning in their homes.  Recognizing this sacrifice, Clayton Homes is introducing the “Salute Our Troops” promotion, offering military personnel an option upgrade with a new home purchase between May 31 and July 4.

There are five different option upgrades available with a new home purchase.  New homeowners may choose the Energy Package upgrade, which includes a programmable thermostat and heat pump, while other upgrades include a 42” flat screen TV, Glamour Bath upgrade, or a Dream Kitchen Upgrade.  The final offer is a backyard entertainment package, featuring an 8’x 8’ back deck or a gas grill.

“We wanted to do something special to honor the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have sacrificed so much for our nation,” said Chris Nicely, Clayton Homes Zone Manager.  “This promotion is a way for our company to express our appreciation and say ‘thank you’ to all those who served and continue to serve our country, along with each of their families.”

The “Salute Our Troops” promotion is open to all active, discharged and retired military personnel, along with National Guard and Reserve Government employees.  The promotion is being offered between May 31 and July 4 at participating Clayton retailers in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

For more information about the “Salute the Troops” promotion, visit the web page at www.2SaluteOurTroops.com or the Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/36hqnpk.

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About Clayton Homes:  Clayton Homes is a national, vertically integrated housing company. Through its family of brands, Clayton Homes builds, sells, finances, leases, and insures a full spectrum of affordable housing and is the nation’s number one retailer of modular and manufactured homes.

Media contact
Mike Cohen, Ackermann PR
(865) 584-0550

Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless Expanding in New York and Texas

Posted by admin – May 28, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. – Cellular Sales, the nation’s largest retailer of Verizon Wireless, is expanding again.  The new Cellular Sales stores opened in Malta, N.Y., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and Austin, Texas.

Cellular Sales is a 17-year-old privately held company headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.  The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales – which attributes its rapid growth to unparalleled customer service – will operate more than 350 locations throughout the country.  For the past two years, Inc. Magazine has named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies. This year, the company was in the Top 100 for retailers.

For more information about the new Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless stores, visit www.cellularsales.com.

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Media Contact:
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
RLaney@AckermannPR.com

Wilderness at the Smokies resort provides free water safety training during National Water Safety Month

Posted by Erin Freeman – May 27, 2010

Sevierville, Tenn. –  Wilderness at the Smokies resort in Sevierville, Tenn. conducted free water safety training programs during National Water Safety Month in May.  The programs, which were available to school groups, community groups and church groups, taught the basics of water safety and rescue techniques.

Because of its commitment to water safety, and the highly trained staff at Wilderness at the Smokies resort, Wilderness at the Smokies management allocated facilities and the water safety staff to the training programs.

“Nothing we do here at Wilderness at the Smokies resort is as important as water safety,” said Dave McGregor, General Manager at Wilderness at the Smokies resort.  “We want our guests to have a great, relaxing experience at our waterparks – but safety will always be our top priority.  Our safety experts are simply the best in the business at what they do, and National Water Safety Month gave us an opportunity to share that with our community.”

Water safety traing at Wilderness at the Smokies Resort.

Each and every lifeguard at Wilderness at the Smokies is Ellis Trained and Certified – and they meet the industry’s absolute highest training standards.  Ellis Training involves some of the most rigorous physical and academic testing in the world – and it doesn’t stop at certification.  Ellis Certification requires that every lifeguard working at Wilderness at the Smokies goes through a safety audit and additional training every year. Over and above the stringent Ellis requirements, Wilderness at the Smokies randomly tests and challenges its lifeguards on a weekly basis to ensure the highest level of safety for our guests.

When you look at the 1,000 waterparks in the United States – and the approximately 80 million people who visit waterparks each and every year – the safety record is extraordinary.  Waterparks continue to provide the absolute safest place for families to play in the water together. Statistically, you are far more likely to be injured riding a bicycle or ironing your clothes than you are at a waterpark.  Compared to other recreational aquatic activities, both guarded and unguarded – including community pools, beaches, lakes, etc. – waterparks have the lowest risk of drowning.  As members of the World Waterpark Association (WWA), Wilderness at the Smokies supports any and all industry efforts to enhance the already amazingly safe environment we provide for our guests.

For more information about Wilderness at the Smokies resort, visit www.WildernessAtTheSmokies.com.  For more information about National Water Safety Month, visit www.WaterSafetyMonth.org.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless Expanding in Texas, Georgia and Relocating in Maryville, Tenn.

Posted by admin – May 24, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – May 24, 2010 – Cellular Sales, the nation’s largest retailer of Verizon Wireless, is expanding again.  The new Cellular Sales stores opened in Pasadena, Texas and Trion, Ga., and the Maryville, Tenn. store originally located at 2756 Alcoa Highway has moved to 1102 Foch Street.

Cellular Sales is a 17-year-old privately held company headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.  The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales – which attributes its rapid growth to unparalleled customer service – will operate more than 350 locations throughout the country.  For the past two years, Inc. Magazine has named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies. This year, the company was in the Top 100 for retailers.

For more information about the new Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless stores, visit www.cellularsales.com.

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Media:  Please find attached high resolution photo of Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless store.  For more information, or to speak to a company representative, contact Rick Laney at (865) 584-0550 or rlaney@ackermannpr.com.

Helping firefighters save pets from tragedy

Posted by admin – May 19, 2010

Firefighter Ted Jackman with rescued cat, photo courtesy of the Peterborough Examiner.

Chicago, Ill. – (May 19, 2010) – A fire is a traumatic experience. It can result in the loss of a home, a life or even a pet. And unfortunately, not all fire stations are equipped to save an animal’s life after it’s been rescued from a fire. Even if the animal is rescued, oxygen is often needed because the pet may still be in danger from smoke inhalation.

A new effort, called Project Breathe™, is underway to equip every fire station in America and Canada with the equipment to give pets life-saving oxygen if they are rescued from a fire. Invisible Fence Brand has been quietly equipping stations for over three years. But today, with a donation of more than 235 masks for every fire apparatus and rescue unit in the City of Chicago, the company is taking the effort nationwide and to Canada and calling on others to help.

“The trauma of a fire is devastating enough,” said Invisible Fence President and CEO Randy Boyd, “but the loss of a pet…a member of the family…makes it even worse. We realize that humans are the first-priority, but in many cases the pets can be saved if firefighters simply have the right equipment.”

Although the number of pets that die in fires in not an official statistic kept by the U.S. Fire Administration, industry web sites and sources have cited an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 pets die in fires each year, most succumbing to smoke inhalation. In most states, emergency responders are unequipped to deal with the crisis. The loss is terrible for the family, heart wrenching for firefighters.

“We’re hopeful citizens in the City of Chicago are comforted knowing that we have the tools necessary to help save their pet. We all-too-often see people who want to risk their own life running back into a burning home to get their pet,” said Chicago First Deputy Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff. “We can all recall a fire from the past when these kits would have helped save a pet.”

With Chicago joining the ranks of Cleveland, Memphis, Toronto and dozens of smaller cities, Invisible Fence Brand has now donated more than 5,000 pet oxygen masks.

 “But that’s just a fraction of what we need to equip everyone,” said Boyd. “Frankly, we can’t do it alone…so we are calling on others to help.”

To date, a reported 19 pets have been saved by fire departments equipped with the donated kits.

The company has set up a website, www.invisiblefence.com/O2, where people or companies can support the effort.

“We also partner with other groups, such as veterinary associations, to help equip some cities,” said Boyd.

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Invisible Fence® Brand pet containment systems are produced by Invisible Technologies, Inc. and have a 99.5% success rating, according to Invisible Fence Brand. For more information, visit www.invisiblefence.com.

Media Contact:
Mike Cohen
(865) 584-0550
mcohen@ackermannpr.com

Knoxville Gets Its Own ‘Music Row’

Posted by admin – May 19, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – (May 19, 2010) – Knoxville Habitat for Humanity and thKnoxville Habitat for Humanity Music Rowe Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation are teaming up with America’s talented musical artists to build a ‘Music Row’ in Knoxville. Only this ‘Music Row’ serves to provide local families with simple, decent and affordable housing.

Today, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn of country duo Brooks & Dunn participated in the dedication of the ‘Brooks & Dunn’ house, the first of the ‘Music Row’ houses made possible by the Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation. The home is located at 1717 LeFlore, formerly Bonny Ave., in Knoxville.

“The work of Habitat for Humanity is extraordinary and inspiring. It is an honor to be part of this project and have our names on one of Knoxville’s new ‘Music Row’ homes,” said Brooks & Dunn.

‘Music Row’ will be a collection of numerous houses built by Knoxville Habitat for Humanity on LeFlore Ave. in the Lonsdale community. The houses, each of which will be built during the next 10 years, are underwritten by the Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation from an annual benefit concert featuring a country music act. Brooks & Dunn performed at the first event in 2008 and the first house is built in their honor. Next year, a home will be built in honor of recording artist Martina McBride, who performed at the 2009 benefit.

Even though the homes are underwritten by the foundation, the homes are not given away. In lieu of a down payment, all Knoxville Habitat for Humanity homeowners are required to complete 500 hours of sweat equity, mostly in the form of budgeting and homeowner classes. In addition, the family pays a mortgage on the home that is at zero-percent over 25 to 30 years.

Besides a visit from country duo Brooks & Dunn, the dedication included remarks from Knoxville Habitat for Humanity’s president and CEO, Kelle Shultz and Charlie and Moll Anderson of the Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation.

Country duo Brooks & Dunn along with Charlie and Moll Anderson talk with new Habitat for Humanity homeowner Stephanie Davis and her family in front of their new home on ‘Music Row’ in Knoxville, Tenn.

Country duo Brooks & Dunn along with Charlie and Moll Anderson talk with new Habitat for Humanity homeowner Stephanie Davis and her family in front of their new home on ‘Music Row’ in Knoxville, Tenn.

“Today we’re celebrating new homeowner Stephanie Davis, thanks to the generosity of the Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation,” said Shultz. “When Brooks & Dunn hand Stephanie the keys to her new house it will unlock her dream of home ownership.”

“Home ownership has an incredible generational impact on families. According to a 2001 Harvard University study, children whose families own a home have better home environments, higher cognitive test scores and fewer behavioral problems than do children of renters,” said Charlie Anderson. “The positive affect that a steady, grounded home environment can have on a child is amazing.”

“We are thrilled to be a part of the ‘Music Row’ here in Knoxville. One of our Foundation’s key philosophies is to provide basic human needs, and shelter fits into that category.  Working with Knoxville Habitat for Humanity is a perfect way for us to focus on something that’s so important for all humans – a safe and healthy home,” said Moll Anderson.

About Knoxville Habitat for Humanity

Knoxville Habitat for Humanity is an independent, nonprofit, Christian housing ministry that partners with people of all beliefs. Knoxville Habitat for Humanity has been an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International since 1985 and builds simple, decent and affordable homes in partnership with people in need. Volunteers and future homeowners provide the labor in building the homes, while tax-deductible donations of money, land and materials are provided by individuals, organizations and corporations. In 2010, Knoxville Habitat for Humanity will build its 400th home in Knox County. For more information visit www.KnoxvilleHabitatforHumanity.com.

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For more information:

Mike Cohen, Ackermann PR                   Dan Hurst, Knoxville Habitat for Humanity

865-584-0550                                            865-293-8012

Titanic Museum Attraction welcomes 50,000 “passengers” in first three weeks of operation

Posted by Erin Freeman – May 12, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee –   The new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. has welcomed 50,000 “passengers” in its first 21 days of operation.  The world’s largest Titanic Museum Attraction, which is also the newest major attraction in the popular resort area surrounding the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is exceeding its business projections in all areas.

“What we have created is special in so many ways,” said John Joslyn, co-owner of the Titanic Museum Attraction.  “It is truly a museum – with hundreds of priceless artifacts from the Titanic, but it is also an overall experience for our guests.  They get to talk to crew members and maids who know the detailed story of the ship and her passengers.  Visitors are able to touch an iceberg and feel the 28-degree water exactly as it was on that fateful night.

“While you’re visiting the Titanic Museum Attraction, you truly become a passenger on board the Titanic.  It’s a complete experience that honors and respects the ship and its passengers by keeping their stories alive.  It’s a one-of-a-kind place that you have to experience to fully understand.”

Titanic Captain Edward Smith (Lowell Lytle) and Margaret "Molly" Brown’s great granddaughter Helen Benziger McKinney on the Titanic Museum Attraction’s Grand Staircase.

The Titanic Museum Attraction opened in April with a star-studded weekend-long Grand Opening hosted by Regis Philbin.  The event also featured numerous descendants and family members of those on board the Titanic and included a christening of the ship by Captain Edward J. Smith.

Titanic Museum Attraction is a half-scale, permanent, three-deck recreation of the Titanic.  The museum houses 20 galleries to display nearly 400 authentic, priceless Titanic artifacts that were either carried from the ship and into lifeboats by passengers and crew, or were found afloat soon after the sinking and quickly salvaged by rescue boats.

Inside the Titanic Museum Attraction, visitors find full-size recreations (built to actual Titanic blueprints) of Third-Class quarters, a First-Class suite, dining rooms and – the museum’s centerpiece – a $1 million exact reproduction of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase.  The First-Class suite in the Titanic Museum Attraction, which is dedicated to Isidor and Ida Straus who co-owned Macy’s Department Stores, was also the cabin used in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic as Rose’s suite.

In addition to being a world class museum in the truest sense of the word, Titanic Museum Attraction is also highly interactive and offers a hands-on experience for children, teenagers and adults.  The ship is anchored in water to create the illusion of Titanic at sea, and a two-hour self-guided tour gives guests the sensation of sailing on the original ship’s 1912 maiden voyage. Upon entry, each guest receives a boarding pass bearing the name of an actual Titanic passenger or crew member whose fate is revealed on the Memorial Wall at tour end. Along the way, powerful emotions surface as guests:

  • Walk Titanic’s Grand Staircase
  • Touch the frozen surface of an “iceberg”
  • Feel the chill of that fateful “Starry Night”
  • Study some of the largest, most detailed Titanic models ever built
  • Grip the ship’s wheel and follow the Captain’s commands
  • Tour world-class galleries and the rare historical artifacts they hold
  • Sit in a Titanic lifeboat and listen to actual survivors tell their stories
  • Send an SOS from the Marconi Wireless Room
  • Test their balance while standing on mini-decks built to show the ever-steeper slope of Titanic as she sank
  • Watch children eight years and younger explore the special interactive Tot-Titanic Play-and-Learn Room
  • Dive to Titanic’s wreck site via spectacular underwater camera footage

The Titanic Museum Attraction – which is conveniently located to all areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville – is now open every day from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. ET.  Tickets are available online at www.TitanicPigeonForge.com or by calling 1-800-381-7670 and visitors are urged to purchase tickets in advance.

Cedar Bay Entertainment, which owns and operates Titanic Museum Attraction, is a privately owned entertainment and development company headquartered in Branson, Missouri, the site of Cedar Bay’s first Titanic Museum Attraction. Since its April 2006 grand opening, it has welcomed more than 2,000,000 guests.

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Media Contact
Rick Laney
(865) 584-0550
rlaney@ackermannpr.com

Award-winning magician Terry Evanswood featured on WBIR’s Live at Five at Four

Posted by Erin Freeman – May 11, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. –  Terry Evanswood, who recently announced he has a new permanent home for his “Wonders of Magic Show” and “Hall of Magic” museum at WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge, was a guest on WBIR’s Live at Five at Four yesterday with Beth Haynes and Russell Biven.  Evanswood brought along a few priceless pieces of magic memorabilia and magically made Beth extremely strong (or Russell extremely weak).  Watch the entire segment below.

Video courtesy of WBIR.

No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge Finishes 7th at Darlington Raceway

Posted by admin – May 10, 2010

Darlington, SC  – Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, finished seventh in the Royal Purple 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Darlington Raceway on Friday night. The result ends an eight-race streak of top-five finishes for the team.

Keselowski now leads the Nationwide Series driver point standings by 55 points over second-place contender Kyle Busch.

Keselowski began the day with a 2.5-hour practice session, in which he posted the fourth-fastest time as he lapped the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval in 28.437 seconds, or 172.930 miles per hour. He improved upon that time in the afternoon qualifying session, despite the increase in track temperatures from practice, as he lapped the oval in 28.049 seconds, or 175.322 miles per hour. The effort secured the third starting position for the Ruby Tuesday team.

The 147-lap race featured nine caution flags for a total of 42 laps. The first yellow flag fell early on lap two. Having a bigger picture in mind, Keselowski took it easy and let the race come to him in the early going. As a result he dropped back in the field by ten spots within the first 20 laps, but he settled into a nice rhythm and posted laps as fast as the race leader.

When the second caution flag of the race was displayed, Keselowski radioed that he was tight coming off the corners. Crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver down pit road for two tires with air pressure adjustments on lap 26. As a result, the No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge picked up six positions and Keselowski restarted the race on lap 31 in the fourth position.

By lap 50, Keselowski had raced his way into the second position. Despite a handling condition that had moved to loose, he was able to make large gains in time on the leader. However, another caution flag flew on lap 57, which kept Keselowski from assuming the lead. He remained inside the top-five in the running order for the next 70 laps, but was unable to mount another charge for the lead.

When the seventh caution flag of the evening flew on lap 121, Wolfe had to decide whether to leave Keselowski on the track in order to keep his third-place running position, or bring him down pit road for four fresh Goodyear radials and adjustments. The team opted to pit, in the hopes of giving Keselowski what he needed to pick up his third Nationwide Series victory in a row. However, many of the other competitors elected to take on two tires and, as a result, Keselowski restarted the race in the 12th position.

When the race resumed under the green flag on lap 129, it was evident that Keselowski had a car that could contend for a top-five finish as he was able to quickly pass several of the cars in front of him. However, the team ran out of laps as two more caution flags fell before the race came to a conclusion.

Keselowski was able to keep his Nationwide Series record of 77 consecutive races without a DNF (Did Not Finish) alive by taking the checkered flag. 

Penske Racing teammate Justin Allgaier finished 17th after a late-race incident.

“This is a place that I’ve run and never got a top 10, so I’m pretty pumped right now,” stated Keselowski. “The guys that we’re racing in points, the 18 and 33, were in front and behind us, so the points didn’t change much tonight. I’ll just chalk it up to a decent night. We probably could have gotten a third-place finish out of the race if we didn’t pit and take four tires. We made the move that we thought was our best shot to win the race and in the end, all those cautions just killed us.”

The No.22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge Charger team will move to the state of Delaware for the Helluva! Good 200 at Dover International Speedway. The race can be seen live on Saturday afternoon, May 15 on the ABC television network beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT.  The event can also be heard live on MRN Radio, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128.

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About Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday, Inc. has company-owned and/or franchise Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 13 foreign countries.  As of December 1, 2009, the company owned and operated 670 Ruby Tuesday restaurants, while domestic and international franchisees (including Hawaii) operated 171 and 55 restaurants, respectively. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: RT).

 For information about Ruby Tuesday, please visit the company website at www.rubytuesday.com or on Facebook at www.facebook/rubytuesday.

About Penske Racing
In 2010, Penske Racing will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series with former Cup Series champion Kurt Busch and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, former three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. in the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge and Brad Keselowski in the No. 12 Penske Dodge. The team will also race in the Nationwide Series with Justin Allgaier, the 2009 series Rookie of the Year, in the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge and multiple race-winner Keselowski driving the No. 22 Discount Tire and Ruby Tuesday Dodge. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced more than 310 major race wins, over 370 pole positions and 22 national championships.

For more information about Penske Racing, please visit www.penskeracing.com.

Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless Opens 10 New Stores in Six States

Posted by admin – May 5, 2010

Knoxville, Tenn. – Cellular Sales, the nation’s largest retailer of Verizon Wireless, is expanding.  In the past month, the company opened 10 new stores in Texas, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Florida and Virginia.

Cellular Sales is a 15-year old privately held company headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn.  The company currently operates throughout the United States.  By year end, Cellular Sales – which attributes its rapid growth to unparalleled customer service – will operate more than 400 locations throughout the country.  For the past two years, Inc. Magazine has named Cellular Sales one of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies. This year, the company was in the Top 100 for retailers.

For more information about the new Cellular Sales Verizon Wireless stores, call (865) 588-3855 or visit Cellular Sales’ web site at www.cellularsales.com.

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Media:  For more information, or to speak to a company representative, contact Rick Laney at (865) 584-0550 or rlaney@ackermannpr.com.