For Immediate Release: CONTACT: Kathy King U.S. 66 Highway Association 918-978-1375 HISTORIC U.S. 66 HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION REBORN Oklahoma’s “Father of Route 66” Cyrus Avery’s 1927 Organization Reestablished Tulsa, OK, January 5, 2015 – Dormant since the 1970’s, the original and most influential Route 66 organization, the U.S. 66 Highway Association, is being re-established following the consolidation of the Route 66 Alliance and the National Historic Route 66 Federation. Originally, created in 1927 by enterprising Tulsan, Cyrus Avery, known today as the “Father of Route 66,” the U.S. 66 Highway Association dominated as Route 66’s singular national umbrella organization for nearly 50 years. Avery’s grandson, Cyrus Stevens Avery II confirmed today that Michael Wallis’s Tulsa-based Route 66 Alliance and the National Historic Route 66 Federation run by Executive Director David Knudson in California have consolidated their organizations under the U.S. 66 Highway Association’s re-established banner. The historic announcement will combine both groups’ resources under the Avery association’s auspices. In the decades since the U.S. 66 Highway Association was dormant, no entity had definitively established itself as the sole national clearinghouse of information for Route 66 enthusiasts. As a combination 501c3 and 501c4, the Alliance and Federation under the re-energized U.S. 66 Highway Association banner will accomplish that goal, creating a collected entity with international reach and influence. “We’re delighted that Michael and David will continue the family legacy,” Avery II stated this morning. “My Grandfather created 66 in Tulsa, Michael is a fellow-Tulsan, and both he and David have done well to carry my Grandfather’s vision forward these past many years.” David Knudson’s California-based National Historic Route 66 Federation is responsible for the 1990’s legislation that established the $10 Million funding bill aimed at preserving Route 66. Through it, the Route 66 Corridor Program overseen by the National Park Service was established. “We’ve been discussing partnering since late 2013,” said Knudson. “There’s a perception of division between our organizations, but we’ve always shared a mission statement of Route 66 preservation, promotion, and education. Creating unity to quiet the dividers while also reaching our global fan-base made sense.” As the voice of the sheriff in Disney/Pixar’s 2006 film Cars, Wallis has a fan base of his own. A three-time Pulitzer-prize nominee, he wrote Route 66: the Mother Road in 1990, the book commonly seen as a catalyst to Route 66’s nostalgic rebirth. He established the Route 66 Alliance in 2008 with co-founder Rick Freeland to ensure the road’s survival for future generations and he travels extensively each year promoting it. Says Wallis, “U.S. 66 is another piece of the puzzle for Tulsa to reclaim pride of ownership over Route 66’s heritage. Tulsa, my friends, has always been the ‘Washington D.C.’ of Route 66.” The U.S. 66 Highway Association also re-registered the names Route 66 Association and the Highway 66 Association, which it was sometimes referred to. “We’ll use those again too,” laughs Avery II. “Anything we were then, we’ll be again.” ##
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 22:16:16 +0000
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