30 Days of 30Under30 – A Look at Past Winners

Applications for this year’s 30Under30 are due September 21 at www.travelagentcentral.com/30under30, and as we count down to the deadline we thought we’d take a look back at winners past. Here are five travel stars we profiled in our very first issue:

 

marileefoukal

Marilee Foukal McLean

 

Marrilee Foukal McLean, 27

Alabama World Travel

Montgomery, AL

McLean graduated from Huntingdon College in 2003 with a business administration degree specializing in marketing, and earned her MBA from Troy University two years later. She has been a travel counselor for three years, and is a certified specialist in several regions for a number of cruise lines and resort properties. “My clients tend to be a bit older,” she says, “and I work a with large families and intergenerational ‘travel vacations.’”

Amy Daniel, sales manager at Alabama World Travel, says that McLean’s clients know they can call her at any time to take care of whatever they might need. “She always goes the extra mile, works the extra hour and never complains.” McLean always sends her clients personal thank-you notes, and will send postcards to children from “Minnie Mouse” if they are going on a Disney cruise.

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Morgan Strobach

Morgan Strobach, 26

All About Honeymoons

Englewood, CO

 

As the name suggests, All About Honeymoons specializes in honeymoons and destination weddings. Strobach feels that first-time brides like the idea of working with someone young and with similar interests as themselves. She especially likes planning destination weddings, she says, because no two are the same. “There are not many travel agents my age,” she notes, “and I like the fact that I am doing my part to bring some young blood to an established industry.”

Greg Strobach, Morgan’s father and the company’s owner, says that “Morgan has done an incredible job as an agent and owner of an All About Honeymoons franchise.” Many brides, he continues, appreciate her “age, enthusiasm, customer service and knowledge of destinations…She captures these young brides and grooms during their 20s and keeps them as customers for life.”

CoryChambers

Cory Chambers

Cory Chambers, 29

All-Travel

Los Angeles

After earning his bachelor’s degree in sales and marketing, Chambers went to work with JetBlue. At All-Travel, he has helped the company become one of the top-two producing agencies for Club Med in the U.S., and earn the 2008 Trendsetter Award. “I love receiving a personal e-mail from a client upon arrival from their trip, sharing with me all the wonderful memories they have made,” he says.

 

David Van Ness, vice president of sales and marketing at All-Travel, praises Chambers’ “desire to put his own spin on a profession mostly characterized by women two decades his senior. One of his main strengths is his ability to connect with the client and listen to their needs, [and] his business has soared with both land and cruise bookings.”

 

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Nina Van Harn

Nina Van Harn, 25

Ambiance Travel Consulting

Hamilton, MI

 

Van Harn combined her studies of history, geography and small business to become the owner of Ambiance Travel. She is a Cunard and Princess Commodore and Silversea Specialist. Her clients, she says, tend to be upscale, well-traveled people who are looking for a more cultured or enriching journey instead of a vacation. “Being a professional travel consultant is not for everyone,” she says. “It takes a dedication to continued education, excellent people skills and great attention to details to deliver the high level of service our clients expect.”

Randi S. Hoffmann, CTC, district sales manager of Princess and Cunard Line, says that Van Harn combines “a creative, caring approach to luxury cruising with the most advanced electronic methods of communication. Nina understands the importance of education in our industry, and seeks out opportunities to increase her knowledge; she earned the first Cunard Commodore status in West Michigan.”

 

georgiajohnson

Georgia Morgan Johnson

Georgia Morgan Johnson, 22

AMT American Express Travel

Covina, CA

Johnson started at AMT American Express Travel as a file clerk in high school in 2002. In 2005, she started AMT’s wedding and honeymoon division, which made about $500,000 in sales in its first year. She specializes in FITs, and has become adept in researching and piecing together complex packages. “When I sell a travel package,” she says, “I basically create a trip that I would like to go on…I like being a travel agent because our industry is changing, and that means there is a place for innovators to make themselves known.”

Andrea Andrade, AMT’s office manager, remembers that “when Georgia made a formal presentation about creating a new wedding division within our company, we were extremely impressed. Our CFO offered Georgia another promotion, making her the director of sales and marketing for the wedding division. Georgia leads by example, and many people here find her enthusiasm and dedication both inspiring and motivating.”