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Chartering A Flight Makes Sense... Once Again!

Chartering A Flight Makes Sense... Once Again!

The Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce recently organized an "Intercity Visit" to Greenville, South Carolina and used Special Services Corporation for their travel needs.

Often city leaders choose to visit other communities to see their successes and hear about the lessons they have learned. Recently, Greenville was selected and visited by a group of Clarksville, Tennessee's community leaders. Clarksville is about an hour drive North West of Nashville.

"The mission of the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce is to represent the interests of the business community and its membership by advancing community development, promoting the business and economic environment, and improving the welfare of the community by enhancing the quality of life in the region", according to Melinda Shepard, Vice President of the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce.

"The "Intercity Visit" was made with those interests in mind. By observing the strategic plan of Greenville, SC the trip participants were able to develop and identify potential growth opportunities for Clarksville. Specific areas of interest included the city’s downtown revitalization, public-private partnerships and the parks & recreation system. The growth demands on infrastructure, housing and education were also discussed", wrote Shepard.

"The "Intercity Visit" participants included many of Clarksville’s community leaders and business developers. These individuals are very active and involved with many projects. This leaves them with demanding schedules. When making arrangements for travel, the Chamber considered these limitations and wanted to make their travel convenient, cost-effective and stress free. The answer was Special Services Corporation", expressed Shepard.

"The inconvenience of standard air travel, with its long lines, unreliable schedule and lack of privacy left the trip planners with the desire for something more. The comfort and ease of the Business Charter allowed all of the guests to feel at ease while traveling. The return on value was seen on the sheer time saved versus traditional air travel. This allowed for a longer visit and a better learning opportunity once our destination was reached", stated Shepard.

Clarksville's Chamber of Commerce chartered a flight through Special Services Corporation (SSC), whose corporate headquarters is located at the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU)," said Steve Wiley, Aviation Account Specialist for SSC.

"By utilizing a business aircraft, over twenty business and community leaders were able to conveniently travel from their hometown airport directly to their intended destination - Greenville, SC, saving valuable time and the cost was about the same flying on the airline", Wiley added.

"I figure they saved at least 10 hours of time by utilizing the charter and I overheard one of the passengers say that they had arrived in Greenville about the time an airline flight from Nashville would have been departing", stated Wiley.

"Upon landing, they were given a tour of the airport by Joe Frasher, GMU's Airport Director", said Wiley.

"The visitors were interested in GMU because Clarksville also has a general aviation airport. GMU's' use of some of its' land to build CrossWinds Golf Club, a public course on Villa Road, was of particular interest", Frasher added.

"CrossWinds has provided our community with a world class course were golfers can enjoy aviation in action", stated Frasher. "That is a unique and fun use of an airport's otherwise undeveloped land", Frasher added.

"After the GMU tour, they boarded a charter bus to take in all that Greenville has to offer", according to Wiley.

"It's flattering that Greenville was chosen. We are always proud to introduce visitors to our great city," stated Hank Hyatt, Vice President of the Greenville Chamber.

"During their visit, the group learned quite a bit about successful downtown revitalization as well as about managing infrastructure issues resulting from significant population and economic growth. In addition, the group stayed in local hotels and ate in local restaurants, which is, of course, good for our local economy. The trip was a success for both cities," added Hyatt.

"The Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce was completely satisfied with the travel experience and looks forward to partnering with Special Services Corporation in the future", according to Shepard.

Special Services Corporation has been providing business aviation services to the community since 1958. They provide aircraft charter, full-service aircraft management, aircraft sales and complete aircraft maintenance.

For more information about Special Services Corporation please contact Steve Wiley at 864-242-3383 or visit www.specialservicescorp.com

For more information about the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, please contact Hank Hyatt at (864) 239-3714 or visit www.greenvillechamber.org

For more information about the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce, please contact Melinda Shepard, (931) 245-4341 or visit www.clarksvillechamber.com

For more information about the Greenville Downtown Airport please contact Joe Frasher at 864-242-4777 or visit www.GreenvilleDowntownAirport.com

For more information about CrossWinds Golf Club see www.crosswinds-golf.com