Last week we showed you this great picture of the Reynolds Crew at the fashionable Cocoanut Grove on Wilshire, and asked if any of you knew anything about it. To our delight, we received this message from retired Reynolds Salesperson Ed Dilliard:
"We had a sales contest Called Operation Opinion Leader that ran for 90 days and we were matched up with 5 other stores. We got an extra 30 or 40 cars of all of the model mix, that we loaned out to the public full of fuel for a day or two. Our sales Mgr. Jim Hutchison had huge charts that looked like thermometers measuring demos versus sales, it was the best contest I can remember. The year was 1967 I believe.
Well needless to say Reynolds prevailed and the factory was so impressed by our performance, that they said we would be treated to a dinner at the world famous Cocoanut Grove, and we would be entertained by none other than Tony Bennett.
When we got to the Grove they had 2 huge tables set up with all the liquor that you could imagine in the center of each table. Our waiters circled the tables ready to serve you anything you wanted. Well we all had a lot of food and drink, I decided to go up to the stage and ask Mr. Bennett to sing I left My Heart in San Francisco, which he did! and then the waiters served us an imported dessert that was packed in styrofoam that they cut up and served it to us with a chocolate sauce, that we chewed and chewed until we figured out that it was the packing and could not be eaten. OH WHAT A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!!"
Thanks, Ed, for that charming tale. We knew it was a very special occasion from the expressions on everyone's faces. But I think we'll pass on dessert.
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