The Hickory Metro Convention Center's main roadway entrance has a new name honoring a local couple that has pioneered the way for Hickory, Catawba County, and the Metro's hospitality and tourism industry. Lynn Lail and the late Leroy Lail, local trailblazers in this great industry, are now honored with the newly established Lynn and Leroy Lane.
The unveiling of the sign took place with members of the Lail family on June 25, 2024. Discussions about the naming of the entrance way into the convention center has been going on for many months. The idea came from a friend of the Lail family, who reached out to Hickory Mayor Hank Guess, which led to a call to the Hickory-Conover Tourism Development Authority (HCTDA) Chairman Bruce Eckard. The HCTDA unanimously approved the idea, as well as the City of Hickory leaders.
HCTDA Chairman Eckard, who also serves on Conover City Council and served as Conover Mayor for many years, was also one of the leaders in the beginning, when the idea of a convention center was just an idea in the mid-to-late 1980s, and the Lail's were leading the charge. It’s been more than 35 years since those initial discussions, and the convention center, hotels, and hospitality community are continuing to flourish.
“At different times over three decades, both Lynn and Leroy served on the tourism board, and naming the entranceway Lynn and Leroy Lane is apropos,” Eckard said. “The vision of a convention center became a reality, such a success that there was an addition in 2005, a parking deck built in 2015, and currently renovations for the entire convention center, and an additional 46,000 square feet will be completed this year.”
Lynn, a humble and giving lady, and her family thanked the city and HCTDA leaders for this kind gesture, honoring the hard and tenacious work of herself and her late husband.
As the renovation and addition approach completion, there will be many more celebrations in the future, with this milestone moment enhancing the hospitality and tourism community and taking it to a whole new level.
Lynn Lail is pictured with the new signage with her son Brad Lail and wife Meg, son Scott Lail and wife Hailey and daughter Laura Lail Treadaway.
Hickory Mayor Hank Guess shared some words about how appreciative the community is of the Lail family and was part of the unveiling of the sign with the family.
Renee Keever, who serves on the HCTDA Board and works with the Lail family, Mayor Hank Guess, and Mandy Pitts Hildebrand, CEO of the Hickory Metro Convention Center and Visitors Bureau (HCTDA), pose with Lynn and her family after the unveiling of the Lynn and Leroy Lane sign.
