Page 100 - Cityview_Jan_Feb_2014

30 years

The Early Days (1984-2000)

T
he idea that became
Cityview magazine began

not with a spark—but
with a full-fledged fire. Specifically, it

was the fire that completely destroyed

the building that housed Dale Insula-
tion, a company run by John and Nancy

Lyle, as well as six other businesses, in
1983. The arsonist was caught, and the

fire received a great deal of attention in
both print and television news.

However, Dale Insulation managed to

keep its figurative doors open through
help from its parent company in Nash-

ville, warehouse space donated by local
grocery store chain H.T. Hackney, and

rapid shipment of new inventory from

supplier owens Corning—only to find
that their competitors were stealing

Dale’s customers, who didn’t know
Dale was still open.

“There was a real need to tell our about what we were doing and what we and asking to be included. These were

story,” says John Lyle. He and his wife were trying to accomplish,” says Lyle. not only home improvement-related
Nancy ultimately decided to tell it They also sold profiles to several other businesses, but banks, nail salons, and

themselves. They published a short home-related businesses in town. more. “And it worked,” says Nancy.
magazine called The Home Living Much to the Lyles’ surprise, their “The advertorials got response.” They

Guide and mailed it to 40,000 homes magazine was very popular—and more decided to continue to publish, chang-
around Knoxville. “We told the story
and more businesses were calling them
ing the magazine’s name to Cityview.

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cityviewmag.com january february 2014