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November Debut Earmarked For Portage Plex Goodrich Plans 16 For Indiana PORTAGE, Ind. – Goodrich Quality Theatres broke ground June 13 on its 16-plex in Portage, Ind. Located on U.S. Highway 6, the new site will be a part of the Grand Pointe Plaza development and replace the existing Portage 9-plex. Slated to open Nov. 17, the new site will offer stadium-style, high-backed seating, a two-story Imax auditorium, a gaming area and secondary lobby on its mezzanine level. The new 3,100-seat facility will employ five full-time managers and about 70 part-time employees. The Imax auditorium seats 450, others seat 300. The multi will feature free spring and fall matinee shows, free drink refills, 25-cent popcorn refills, free soda if there is a wait longer than six minutes at the concession stand and the circuit’s frequent moviegoer program. “We look forward to offering the awesome Imax experience to the northern Indiana region,” said Matt Johnson, assistant operations manager for Goodrich. “The standard Imax fare, combined with the increasing popularity of the large-format presentation of mainstream film in Imax, makes having such a facility combined with a 35mm multiplex an exciting and formidable entertainment complex.” With the new site, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Goodrich Quality Theatres operates 265 screens at 31 sites in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.   May Coronation In New York Regal Crowns Queens 8-Plex NEW YORK – Regal Entertainment Group (REG) launched its new Queens 8-plex with three days of pre-opening events leading up to its official May 19 grand opening. Located at the intersection of Cooper Avenue and 80th Street, the new site is a part of the Shops at Atlas Park development. The 1,600-seat 31,000-square-foot multi offers stadium-style seating with retractable cupholder armrests. To celebrate its opening, the site played host to three days of $2 movies, $2 popcorn and $2 soda, with proceeds benefiting the March of Dimes, Musicians on Call, and Variety, the children’s charity. On opening weekend, the first 200 ticket purchasers received a free t-shirt. Through May 25, patrons received free popcorn and soda with each paid admission. “Regal Cinemas Atlas Park Stadium 8 is a state-of-the-art cinema which will provide moviegoers the latest in theatre amenities and technology,” said Dick Westerling, senior vice president of marketing and advertising for REG. “New York City is a very important market to Regal and we’re thrilled to be part of this exciting new retail and entertainment development.” Based in Knoxville, Tenn., REG operates the world’s largest cinema chain, with 6,415 screens at 546 sites in 40 states and the District of Columbia.   May 9 Bow For Chelsea Clearview Reopens Manhattan 9-Plex NEW YORK – Clearview Cinemas re-opened on May 19 its Chelsea 9-plex, located on West 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The circuit’s extensive renovation of the facility included refurbished auditoria featuring rocking seats, redesigns for the lobby and concessions areas, and an on-site café. “Clearview has made an important investment in the Chelsea Cinemas theatre in order to create the perfect environment for moviegoers,” stated Clearview Cinemas senior vice president and general manager Doug Oines. “We are excited about the changes we have completed and look forward to our customers experiencing them firsthand at this grand re-opening.” Clearview Cinemas, a subsidy of Cablevision Systems Corporation since 1998, is based in Bethpage, N.Y., and operates 265 screens at 53 sites in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.   Pioneer Cinema-Eatery Cinema Café Turns Twenty VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Cinema Café, which operates four cinema-eateries in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first location with a month-long celebration that kicked off May 18. Between May 18 and June 18, the chain’s original location in the Pembroke Meadows Shopping Center in Virginia Beach offered $1 movie tickets, $1 small popcorns and $1 small sodas for all customers. A $200 food voucher and a 1-year movie pass were the prizes in a short-essay contest. The facility also played host to special screenings of “Platoon,” “Top Gun,” “‘Crocodile’ Dundee” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” – all released in 1986, the year of the circuit’s founding. “Cinema Café is the first and only company to embrace the concept of movies and casual dining in the Hampton Roads area and has been for 20 years,” said circuit owner John Walker. “We have been committed to our customers and the communities that we serve and will continue to serve for years to come.”

Sibling Exhibitors Named Statesmen of the Year Stembler Brothers Honored At ShowSouth BRASELTON, Ga. – Siblings John H. Stembler Jr. and William J. Stembler will be honored Aug. 22 as ShowSouth’s “Statesmen of the Year.” A veteran motion picture executive who formed his own chain of cinemas in 2003, John is widely recognized as a founder of and driving force behind the long-running ShowSouth convention, which traces its origins back to the early 1970s.  Last year ShowSouth attracted the greatest number of delegates in the gathering’s more-than-30-year history. Long partnered with his brother in Georgia Theatre Co. (GTC), John sold his interest in that circuit three years ago and has since established Zota Theatres, which he oversees as chairman.  Zota currently operates 34 screens at four sites in the Florida municipalities of  Brooksville, Tampa, Vero Beach, and Palm City. An alumnus of both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Georgia Law School, John followed a 1965-67 term as a U.S. Naval officer with a 2-year stint as a booker in the San Francisco branch of United Artists Distribution. He subsequently returned east to join GTC, soon rising there to vice president of concessions. A Rotarian of more than 30 years and a board member of the Boy Scouts of America, John is well known for his efforts on behalf of Variety, the Children’s Charity, and served as chief barker of Tent 21 in 1978. His face grew familiar to television viewers in the Atlanta area as he routinely co-hosted WXIA-TV’s local Variety telethons. William Stembler, honored last year with ShowEast’s Show “E” Award, traces his exhibition career to 1963, when he took a job ushering for GTC. By the time he rejoined the family business in 1973, he had received a business degree from the University of Florida, served as an officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Reserves, earned his law degree from Athens’ University of Georgia Law School and worked for almost two years as an enforcement attorney for the Atlanta office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Serving at first as GTC’s general counsel and head of its construction department, he ascended to the company’s presidency in 1983. Following the 1986 sale of GTC to the UA Theatre Circuit, both Stembler brothers took positions with UA, but resigned two years later to oversee, among other things, a new sub-run circuit dubbed Value Cinemas. The Stemblers’ Georgia Theatre Co. II emerged separately out of UA’s desire in 1991 to divest some of its screens in smaller markets. Subsequent to GTC II’s acquisition of these UA venues, William concentrated on new construction and company financials while John oversaw concessions and promotions. Currently a member of NATO’s finance and executive committees, William served as chairman of the 1987 edition of NATO’s convention, and as chairman of NATO itself from 1996 to 1998. He continues to serve as chairman and CEO of GTC, which today ranks as one of the nation’s 20 largest cinema chains with 272 screens at 28 sites in Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.   Scholarship Funds Mid-Atlantic NATO Distributes $25,000 HAMPTON, Va. – Mid-Atlantic NATO announced on May 24 the recipients of its $25,000 scholarship program, which benefits cinema employees in – or headed for – college. Awards to high school seniors include: $3,000 to Shanice C.M. Barnum of the Regal Ballston Commons Stadium 12-plex in Arlington, Va. The $2,000 Mable G. Gordon Memorial Scholarship to Awo Nur of the National Amusements Reston 13-plex in Reston, Va. The $1,000 Sam Bendheim III Memorial Scholarship – funded by Regal Entertainment Group – to Christian W. Gregory of the Consolidated Commonwealth 20-plex in Midlothian, Va. $1,000 each to Samantha L. McDuffee of the Regal Harrisonburg 14-plex in Harrisonburg, Va.; Leanna K. Maynard of the Consolidated Valley View Grande 16-plex in Roanoke, Va.; and Anna M. Kingsbury of the R/C Surf ‘n’ Sand 8-plex in Virginia Beach, Va. $500 each to Julie E. Ehrmann of the Regal Aquia 10-plex in Stafford, Va. and Nicole R. Ames of the Regal Salisbury Stadium 16-plex in Salisbury, Md. Scholarships for theatre employees currently attending college include: The $3,000 Jerry Gordon Scholarship to April G. Whisenand of the Regal Westminster 9-plex in Westminster, Md. $3,000 to Elizabeth E. Hayes of the R/C Surf ‘n’ Sand 8-plex. The $2,000 Jim & Ted Pedas Foundation Scholarship to Ke’chell M. Collick of the R/C Surf ‘n’ Sand 8-plex. The $2,000 Paul Roth Memorial Scholarship to Leslie E. Shaip of Georgia Theatre Co.’s Danville Stadium Cinemas 12-plex in Danville, Va. The $2,000 Cohen Family Scholarship to Natalie E. Wright of the Marquee Cinemas Southpoint 9-plex in Fredericksburg, Va. $1,000 each to Elisha D. Chambers of the Consolidated Majestic 20-plex in Silver Spring, Md. and April L. Hankerson of the Regal Salisbury Stadium 16-plex. $500 each to Ashley L. Hankerson of the Regal Salisbury Stadium 16-plex and Katherine L. Filbert of the Regal Hunt Valley 12-plex in Hunt Valley, Md.