Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 20, 1995 TAG: 9502200083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Allen appeared as part of a three-hour afternoon segment on QVC Inc. that was beamed to viewers from the College of William and Mary's Wren Building.
``If we were trying to get a commercial [on the air] that reaches so many people, it would cost us many thousands of dollars,'' Allen said afterward. ``It's a great way to sell Virginia.''
The segment was the sixth stop on QVC's yearlong ``The Quest for America's Best: The 50 in 50 Tour,'' which is featuring products from each of the 50 states.
A capacity crowd of 150 fans, some of whom had driven for several hours and stayed overnight to attend, had seats inside the Wren Building; others had to be turned away.
Among the products selected for the broadcast were a gutter guard from Gutta Guard USA in Petersburg; handcrafted chests from Olde Virginia Wreath Co. in Crewe; a soft-sided ``iceless'' cooler from Radiant Technologies in Richmond; peanuts from the Virginia Diner in Wakefield; and ham from V.W. Joyner & Co. in Smithfield.
``The exposure that we got here is, hopefully, going to be a springboard for us,'' said Gutta Guard entrepreneur Dave Filippi. ``We've been looking for an opportunity like this.''
QVC chose the products from 200 displayed in December at a trade show in Richmond.
QVC is the world's largest electronic retailer. It reaches 50 million U.S. homes.
by CNB