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BLANKENSHIP BECOMES GROUP T R AV E L’ S N E W E S T C O N V E R T SALEM, Ohio — Cassandra Blankenship “It’s true, when a group travel planner joined the travel industry six months ago and leads a tour, the destination is the focal point. has already become a devoted believer in But the undiscussed value is the improved the value of group travel. As a member of quality of life that traveling with friends and the marketing staff at Group Travel Family family brings,” Blankenship said. of Brands, she attended the Select Traveler Travel planners enjoyed over 5,000 Conference at Cheyenne, Wyoming – her business appointments at the conference. first travel industry event – where delegates Those one-on-one meetings with destinafrom 25 states got to know the city, explore tions, hotels and tour operators resulted in its travel possibilities and build relationships hundreds of new group tours being planned. with other travel industry professionals. It is estimated each travel planner at the CASSANDRA BLANKENSHIP “I immediately recognized the value conference has a membership in excess of that our travel planner delegates gained at the Select Traveler 250 travelers and operates six group tours annually. That results Conference Marketplace,” Blankenship said. “They networked in a total of 24,000 travelers per year. with other travel planners, shared ideas and met with destina“It was an honor to think I had a small part of helping travel tions, hotels and operators to build new tour packages for their planners return to their communities, build better tours and groups.” really help people enjoy life,” Blankenship said. “It’s nice to see a sharp new face like Cassandra recognize The Group Travel Family of Brands has a membership of the value that group travel brings to people’s lives,” said Charlie 25,000 travel planners and is the parent organization or management firm for seven national group travel or meetings conPresley, president of Group Travel Family of Brands. The Group Travel Family of Brands’ mission is to help group ferences. To contact Blankenship, email to cblankenship@ travel leaders develop skills to better serve their communities. grouptravelfamily.com or call 800-628-0993.
30 YEARS OF STS MARKETING COLLEGE ATLANTA, Georgia — Southeast Tourism Society (STS) will celebrate 30 years of Marketing College, its unique continuing education program for the travel and tourism industry, this summer. Since its inception in 1992, the annual STS Marketing College has hosted tourism professionals for one week on a three-year path to earning their Travel Marketing Professional (TMP) certification. What began as the vision of the late Dorothy Hardman has now graduated over 1,200 TMPs across the association’s 14-state region. Marketing College has become a staple of professional development for tourism organizations throughout the Southeast. “We are excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Marketing College this year.” said Monica Smith, president and CEO of
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Southeast Tourism Society. “The longevity of this program, and the 1,200-plus TMPs to date, are a testament to the quality of education, leadership development and networking that are the cornerstones of Marketing College.” This year’s Marketing College will take place June 5–10 on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Class topics will include Vital Tools to Empower Your Online Marketing Strategies; Tourism Product Development; Trends and Best Practices for Sports Tourism Marketing; and Perception is Reality: Creating a Crisis Communication Response Framework. Registration is open and can be accessed, along with a complete schedule, at southeasttourism.org.
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