STRATEGIC INVITATION: WALLACE & JOHNSON

This is a letter dated November 7, 1980, from Wallace & Johnson inviting Mr. and Mrs. Leo Peters to a meeting to discuss the "Here's Life, World" endeavor.

Sender: Wallace & Johnson, Co-founder & Vice Chairman of the Board Emeritus, Holiday Inns, Inc., and International Chairman, Here's Life (for Campus Crusade for Christ).
Recipients: Mr. and Mrs. Leo Peters.
Purpose: To invite the recipients to a special meeting to share successes and opportunities regarding the "Here's Life, World" plan.
Event Details: The meeting is scheduled for January 23-25, 1981, at the Doral Country Club in Miami.

Wallace E. Johnson (1902-1988)

Wallace E. Johnson was a prominent American real estate developer and businessman, best known as the co-founder of the Holiday Inn hotel chain. Born into poverty in rural Mississippi, he became a millionaire by pioneering mass-production techniques for inexpensive housing in the Memphis area following World War II.

Key Biographical Details

Early Life: Born in 1902 in Edinburg, Mississippi, Johnson started picking cotton at age seven. He worked as an itinerant carpenter and building supply salesman before starting his own construction business with a $250 loan.

Business Ventures: He was nicknamed the "Henry Ford of housing" for building low-cost, single-family homes efficiently. In 1952, he partnered with Kemmons Wilson to establish Holiday Inn, an idea sparked by Wilson's dissatisfaction with roadside motels during a family road trip.

Role in Holiday Inn: Wilson focused on production, while Johnson managed the financing and development aspects. They built the company into the world's largest hotel chain at the time, operating over 1,800 hotels globally by the time of his death. Johnson retired in 1979 as vice chairman emeritus of the board.

Philanthropy and Faith: Johnson was a deeply religious man who insisted every Holiday Inn room contain a Bible. He was involved in numerous Christian causes, including serving as the international chairman of "Here's Life, World", a campaign by Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru).

Death: He died of a heart attack at age 86 in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 27, 1988.

re Wallace Johnson Holiday Inn

It's not immediately clear why Leo Peters turned down the invitation from Wallace E. Johnson but accepted the same invitation from Nelson Bunker Hunt (see previous)