The Spirit of Goodyear blimp flies Thursday past The News Courier sign on Green Street in Athens. The blimp made a stop in Athens to congratulate Clem Tire for 60 years of service before its next stop in Albertville.

 

An unusual sight appeared Thursday in the skies over Athens as the Spirit of Goodyear blimp flew over the city shortly after 2 p.m.

The reason for the appearance wasn’t a major sporting event, but instead an opportunity to thank an Athens business, Clem Tire, for 60 years of Goodyear tire sales.

The blimp, which circled slowly and appeared to move up and down briefly, represented a “tipping of the hat” to the business, according to Ed Ogden, public relations manager for the Spirit of Goodyear.

“They’ve been in business with us for 60 years, and we’re circling some of our stores with a ‘Congratulations’ sign,” he said, adding the blimp was scheduled to fly over stores in Madison and Huntsville before making a stop at Wilks Tire and Battery Service in Albertville. “We took a slight detour and wanted to stop by (Athens) and give them a congratulatory message.”

Tom Clem of Clem Tire said the last time a blimp had flown over the store was in the late 1960s after 25 years of service.

“They told us late (Wednesday) afternoon it would be here,” he said, adding that customers went outside to take photos.

He said the fly-over meant a lot to him, but even more to his dad, Melvin Clem, who founded the store. The senior Clem was on hand at the store, located at 907 U.S. 72, when the blimp flew over on Thursday.

Clem Tire operates a store in Madison and one in Huntsville, but the store’s roots are in Athens. The original location, Tom Clem said, was in downtown Athens on Washington Street and across from the old Ross Hotel. The store moved in 1961 and opened across from the Presbyterian Church.

The business has been at the U.S. 72 location since 1974.

Ogden, who drives to each of the blimp’s destinations, said the Spirit of Goodyear was close to wrapping up a two-week tour that began last Sunday in Charlotte, N.C., at the Coca-Cola 600 Sprint Cup race. From there, he said, the blimp flew to Fayetteville, N.C., for a Walmart shareholders’ meeting before flying down to Fort Smith, Ark., on Tuesday.

Following its stay in Albertville, the Spirit of Goodyear will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, where it will provide live aerial coverage to ESPN of the Reds and Detroit Tigers game on Sunday Night Baseball. On Monday, the blimp will return to its home base of Akron, Ohio.

Ogden said there are three Goodyear blimps, with the other two being the Spirit of Innovation, based in Pompano Beach, Fla., and the Spirit of America, based in Los Angeles.

“We’re always looking for opportunities (to thank stores),” he said. “Goodyear is a big believer in the spirit of performance.”