AFTER THE FLOOD: At left, the Gaylord Opryland property after the

Cumberland River overflowed its banks. What follow are images of the hotel’s sweeping restoration project.

Before he can take us back to the events of Sunday, May 2, when the swollen Cumberland River running alongside Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland property threatened to overflow its banks, Gaylord Entertainment Company Chairman and CEO Colin Reed wants to talk about his people.“We have this very strong, peo- ple-centric culture,” Reed said, “where we say that the people who come to work every day in our company come first.” It’s this culture, he said, that not only has helped Gaylord in the good times, but “has carried us through this horrible recession.”And the flood.

102 pcma convene December 2010 www.pcma.org