[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 30 (Tuesday, March 11, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING BILL HARDMAN, SR., FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE STATE OF TENNESSEE 
           AND OTHER SOUTHEAST STATES IN THE AREA OF TOURISM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 1997

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mr. Bill Hardman, 
Sr., and his service to the State of Tennessee and other Southeast 
States in the area of tourism.
  Mr. Hardman, who has served as the president and CEO of the Southeast 
Tourism Society [STS] since its inception in 1983, is relinquishing his 
duties on March 15, 1997. He will be greatly missed.
  Mr. Hardman is a legend in the tourism industry. He began his career 
in 1959 when he became Georgia's first tourism director, a position he 
held for 12 years. One of Mr. Hardman's first projects was to construct 
welcome centers at Georgia's State borders. The State was the first in 
the Southeast other than Florida to form a welcome center program. 
Before he left, he had planned and coordinated eight welcome centers. 
Following his successful program, other Southeastern States began 
constructing welcome centers and today, all Southeastern States have 
strong welcome center programs.
  Mr. Hardman instituted the first Governor's Conference on Tourism in 
the United States in Georgia and other States followed. In 1965, he 
created and served as the first president for the Southern Travel 
Directors Council, which later became known as Travel South USA. He 
developed a high impact advertising program in television, radio, and 
newspaper and attended trade shows for the State of Georgia all over 
America and Europe.
  Mr. Hardman was involved in Presidential Inaugurations and entered 
Georgia floats in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon inaugurations. He was 
instrumental in obtaining favorable legislation for tourism in Georgia. 
For several years, he had Georgia floats in the tournament of Roses 
Parade. He won a number of awards including the Sweepstakes Award. 
Hardman organized the Jimmy Carter Inaugural Special train to 
Washington for the inauguration of his home State President Jimmy 
Carter. The special train sold out in 2 days and several cars on the 
regular train from Atlanta to Washington were sold to the Jimmy Carter 
group.
  Mr. Hardman left his State of Georgia employment in 1971 to go into 
his own business, a travel agency, travel advertising and promotion 
accounts, attraction development, trade show management and other areas 
of the tourism industry. In 1983, he got the idea for a regional travel 
organization. In September 1983, 21 people from 7 Southeastern States 
met in Atlanta to determine if there was a need for such an 
organization. The result was the formation of the Southeast Tourism 
Society, which currently has a membership of 450 people representing 10 
Southeastern States. STS is the strongest regional travel organization 
in the nation. The purpose of STS is to market and develop tourism and 
travel to and within the Southeastern States of Alabama, Florida, 
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
  Mr. Hardman currently serves on the White House Conference Travel and 
Safety Committee. He has won numerous awards including the coveted 
Travel Industry Association of American Knight of the Golden Horseshoe 
Award in 1973.
  Mr. Hardman's organizational and people skills have been the key to 
10 States working together as though there are no State borders and 
working for the good of the region as a whole. The Southeast States 
enjoy an abundance of tourism, due, in part, to the efforts of Mr. 
Hardman. He is a good friend, not only to the States represented by 
STS, but also to me personally. Tennessee has been served well by his 
many successes. But, I don't expect him to sit idly by, so I hope we 
will be hearing from him often. Mr. Hardman will certainly be missed in 
his position at STS. I wish him the best of luck.

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