It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to one of the great pioneers of the travel industry, Michelle Morgan, president of Signature Travel Network.
Morgan had battled breast cancer since 2009, and sadly passed the morning of September 17, while recovering from a bone marrow transplant. "Nothing prepares you to hear the words, 'You have breast cancer,'" she told Travel Agent magazine back in 2011 when she was the cover girl for our Pink Issue. But like anything Morgan faced, she was all systems go, focused and ready for a fight. "I made a decision that I would not, under any circumstances, let this disease define me, or disrupt my real life. Everyone deals with these medical challenges differently. I'm not saying my approach is best or better than how others handle their diagnosis…I was determined to live my life," she said at the time.
And she did. Her accomplishments include being godmother of Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Silhouette, an inductee into the Cruise Line International Association's Cruise Industry Hall of Fame, and 20 years with Signature Travel Network.
Morgan was a role model for women in the industry. She grew her little California co-op from $30 million in agency sales to over $5 billion in her 22 years of service. She is survived by two daughters and four grandchildren.