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 Our History
In the Beginning…..In the early months of 1967, F.P.I.S. founder William V. Miller - "Bill" to all of his friends - was a marketing and advertising salesman for an Orlando-area television station (WFTV Channel 9). In his work for Channel 9, he had developed a friendship with the owner/franchisee of one of Central Florida's first resorts, located on Lake Monroe in Sanford. Bill was invited to develop an ad campaign for the hotel; true to his nature, Bill went "all out" for his friend, delivering a package proposal that included radio, television, newspaper and brochure advertising. Bill's friend was reasonably impressed, but had virtually no brochure advertising experience. Bill was asked a question he wasn't prepared for - "What are we going to do with these brochures, Bill?" Bill was already $500 (in `67 dollars!) invested into making this campaign work - to win the contract, he promised to distribute them along the highways leading to Central Florida. Bill Miller's mother lived in Richmond, Virginia (Bill was born and raised on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay). During the next few months, while on trips back "home", he personally distributed the Holiday Inn brochures to every fruit stand, gift shop and gas station that would take them. Bill's work for Channel 9 also introduced him to a Central Florida tourism pioneer - Dick Pope, who had founded Florida's Cypress Gardens some 30 years earlier. During one of Bill's distributing trips back home to Virginia, it occurred to him that Dick Pope might want his Cypress Gardens brochures distributed, too. Before long, Bill was distributing for his first attractions client. Coincidental to these business arrangements, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was building a road - a toll road that was originally named the "Florida Parkway". The Florida Parkway was designed as a limited-access highway that would help travelers get from Interstate 75 near Ocala to Miami. Interstate 95 had a number of uncompleted sections, and would not provide its uninterrupted travel route from the U.S./Canada border to Miami for almost another 20 years! The "Parkway's" limited access was extremely limited - fewer than 20 entry-/exit-ways were originally planned and built. To accommodate the needs of travelers using this road (gasoline, repair services, food, refreshment, restrooms, etc.), 8 service plazas were included in this design. Bill saw an opportunity here - while most traveler needs had been anticipated in the design of the Parkway, he noticed that access and/or provision of travel information wasn't anywhere in the plan. Now, Bill's work in the advertising world had also included political campaigns - and he had sold ads to, worked with, and knew Claude Kirk, who was Florida's governor from 1966 - 1970. Bill contacted the Governor, and described his plans to provide brochure distribution through the service plazas. Governor Kirk liked Bill's idea; armed with the governor's suggestion that he submit a proposal to FDOT, Bill wrote that proposal and also incorporated a business with the state of Florida. In August, 1967, Florida Parkway Information Stations was born, and was awarded the first distribution contract for the service plazas on the new road. Less than a month later, FDOT officials changed their mind about the name of the road, and renamed it the Florida Turnpike! To eliminate any confusion - and also to enable the company to expand its efforts outside the state of Florida - the company was renamed "F.P.I.S., Inc." shortly thereafter. The 70'sThe Seventies were an era of incredible growth for Bill, F.P.I.S and the tour and travel industry. Beginning with the eight service plazas on the Turnpike, F.P.I.S. next began providing brochure service to locations throughout Central Florida in anticipation of Walt Disney World's opening in 1972. The interstate locations in Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia that Bill had formerly served with just a handful of brochures were soon outfitted with F.P.I.S. brochure displays that offered travelers dozens of vacation and travel experiences. Because Virginia's tour and travel industry was already some 30 years along in development, the Commonwealth State initially provided F.P.I.S.' largest client base and revenue stream. The company also expanded its reach into South Florida, providing Dade and Broward Counties with their first-ever reliable and professionally organized distribution service. On the west coast of Florida, distribution services were provided in an area stretching from Naples to Bradenton. Our rapid early growth did bring the Company into some contact with one or two unscrupulous individuals that claimed to be brochure distributors. Recognizing the need for our clients to be able to distinguish the "good guys" from the bad, Bill led F.P.I.S. into becoming a founding and sustaining member of the Association of Professional Brochure Distributors (APBD) in 1973. Today, the APBD stands as one of the only trade-groups for distributors of any kind whose admission standards include verification of ethical business practice and confirmation of services touted by its prospective members. F.P.I.S. also led the way in gaining recognition for businesses providing goods and services to the hospitality industry by helping to create and establish the Allied Membership categories in both the Florida Attractions Association and the Virginia Travel Council (now a part of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Council, or VHTA). The Allied Membership component of these organizations would come to be used as a template in virtually every tourism organization born later.
Betty's efforts allowed F.P.I.S. to expand its promotion efforts for the tour and travel industry both within and beyond brochure distribution. During the 1970's, the Company also developed sideline businesses that gave Williamsburg, Virginia its first self-guided-tape tour and the Southeast United States' first organized broadcast medium for travel information in the form of the Motorist Assistance Program - MAP - Radio Network. All of this growth led F.P.I.S. to move from its original shared-office space (our co-tenant was Accurate Aluminum, which also provided component parts for F.P.I.S.' displays) near downtown Orlando to a larger facility on LaQuinta Trail, near Florida's Turnpike. The burdens of traveling throughout F.P.I.S.' ever-growing coverage area inspired Bill Miller to buy a Cessna single engine airplane in the summer of 1976. To our knowledge, F.P.I.S. is the only brochure distributor in North America to have ever sponsored a corporate aircraft. The following year, a motor home would be added to Company fleet. In 1978, F.P.I.S., Inc. became a true family business when Bill Miller married Betty Ellis. The marriage took place at dawn on a misty summer's morning, and was conducted by Bill and Betty's friend, Judge Bernard Muzynski in a hot air balloon that rose above the Maguire / West Orange Airport, where F.P.I.S.' plane was hangared. The emphasis on family has been a constant at F.P.I.S. - Betty's father built brochure displays for the company from 1976 until his death in 1980, son Lee built displays from 1980 until 1990 and is today our Warehousing & Facilities manager, daughter Sandi was our Secretary/Receptionist from 1980 - 1986, and daughter Linda has been Corporate Secretary since 1980 and is today our Director of Training and Development. This strong emphasis on family has translated into the Company's philosophy on both employee- and client-relations: all employees and clients are treated with a respect and concern similar to that you would find given to the most beloved person in your family. F.P.I.S. continued to grow, and in the spring of 1979, moved to its (still) current home in Ocoee, Florida. Here in Ocoee, F.P.I.S. again provided another brochure distribution first - the purchase of an early-version personal computer, and the in-house (by Betty) design and implementation of company/industry-specific software. Betty's work on our software saved the Company over $15,000 that year, and the programs operated for 20-plus years without a major modification. F.P.I.S. in the EightiesThe decade began with Bill Miller serving as Owner, President and Treasurer, and wife and co-worker Betty serving as Vice President and Corporate Secretary. The office staff had grown to four people. In June of 1980, Michael Middleton, then husband of Betty's daughter Linda, was hired on as an Executive Assistant. The summer of 1980 saw two major developments - the creation of F.P.I.S.' North Carolina Outer Banks service area, and Bill Miller's taking up the sport of gliding - flying a plane that has no engine. The creation of the Outer Banks route was a whole family effort that was weeks in the making and required a full month's stay in Kitty Hawk, NC. Bill and Betty were both doing sales, Betty and Michael created the necessary paperwork and files, and Bill and Michael collected advertising client literature and installed displays. By the end of July, an entire route of over 100 display locations had been established to serve 21 ad clients. A new F.P.I.S. service area had been borne from scratch. August of that year saw Michael trained in the Bill-Miller-Method of hiring and training F.P.I.S.' field service partners, as new staff-members were hired on in Richmond and Virginia Beach. The fall of that year had been uneventful, save Bill's having received his Glider Pilot's Certification and License, and his having purchased a high-performance glider from a private owner in Atlanta. On November 1, 1980, Bill was attempting his first flight in the new glider. FAA certification of the aircraft had taken over a month, and he was anxious. On November 1, 1980, Bill Miller died, when the glider suffered a malfunction and crashed shortly after take-off. The months that followed Bill's death were truly grief-stricken ones. In addition to the loss of her life- and business-partner, Betty now had to contend with competitors who attempted to turn F.P.I.S.' loss into their advantage. Betty Miller (who did remarry in the late 1990's, and is now known as Betty Pratt) had learned much from her husband, however, and added her own resolve to the pioneering, creative and adventurous spirit that Bill Miller had given F.P.I.S. Following Bill's death, Betty became (and remains) F.P.I.S.' sole owner and President, and performed a majority of F.P.I.S.' sales and client-relations work for the next 15 years. Betty's wide-ranging experience also benefited many of the organizations that F.P.I.S. supports to this day, as she served as President of the Association of Professional Brochure Distributors, Secretary of the International Resort Area Chamber of Commerce, and also chaired and/or served on a number of association committees. Also in late 1980, Michael Middleton was named Vice President / Treasurer, and daughter Linda Higgins was appointed Corporate Secretary. Betty, Michael and Linda continue to lead the F.P.I.S. Executive Team in command today. After establishing her executive team, Betty next moved to personally contact and assure each and every one of F.P.I.S.' clients that their hard-won trust in our services would be both maintained and improved. To buffer the Company against any cash flow loss that might result from competitor action, the plane and motor-home were sold and a two-year- long sublet-tenant (with a company that manufactured the floats for Walt Disney World's® Electric Light Parade®) was brought in to F.P.I.S.' Ocoee facility. Proceeds were put into a reserve fund, which exists to this day. All of these actions have served - then and now - to reinforce our on-going commitment to provide cost-effective yet outstanding service to our clients. The balance of the 1980's saw F.P.I.S. keep pace with the growing number of hotels and other display locations that opened within existing coverage areas. It also saw F.P.I.S. expand into two additional coverage areas. The first expansion came with the creation of a coverage area that was originally designed to serve the information needs of people attending the 1984 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. Then, in 1987, another 125 display locations were brought on board in the form of F.P.I.S.' Western North Carolina / Interstate 40 service area. F.P.I.S. in the NinetiesThe late 1980's brought America many new paradigms, economics being chief amongst those. The downsizing of corporations and ironic, but continued, growth in the travel and tourism business brought F.P.I.S. a challenge it hadn't faced in almost 10 years: an onslaught - more like a torrent - of competitors. By 1995, F.P.I.S. found itself with competitors in virtually every market it served. F.P.I.S.' response, from the beginning, was to withstand, yet embrace, this competition. And we have learned much - and innovated more - by embracing it. The learning and innovation have both combined to afford F.P.I.S., Inc. the ability to continue to lead the industry in virtually all categories! The 1990's saw F.P.I.S. continue to keep pace with the growth of ad clients, display locations and technology, as well as competitors. All of these ingredients helped us to also innovate and implement several programs (some of which have been duplicated but never surpassed by other distributors) that have benefited all of our partners -
F.P.I.S. TodayToday, F.P.I.S. distributes over 30,000,000 brochures annually for more than 600 advertising clients through a network that includes over 3,400 display locations segmented into 29 service areas in 10 southeastern states. Our total service area provides entry/penetration into over 400 SMSA's. 27 service partners accomplish our distribution; they are helped in this effort by the work of 22 support personnel. Company-wide, we will provide over 20,000,000 client material handlings this year. Our 31 service vehicles and 6 sales vehicles will log over 1,000,000 miles this year in delivery of brochure service. Above all else, we provide our client partners with unparalleled service, unmatched experience, uncommon promotional and material-handling ideas, and (almost) unheard of concern for their every success. If you're not already working with F.P.I.S., call us today and let us show you the F.P.I.S. difference! ©2003, Michael Middleton for F.P.I.S., Inc. All Rights Reserved
- This Article May Not Be Reprinted in Whole or Part Without Permission
of the Author or F.P.I.S., Inc. |
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FPIS, Inc. Brochure Distribution & Travel Marketing 220
Story Road Ocoee, Florida 34761 |
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