After three years of specialized summer classes, Christina Gordon, Eco-Heritage Tourism manager with the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Brent Lubbock, marketing and development manager with Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Society, are nearing certification as Tourism Marketing Professionals (TMPs).

Contributed Photo | Daily Herald Shown are Christina Gordon, left, and Brent Lubbock, as they work toward their certification as Tourism Marketing Professionals. Advertisement

Gordon and Lubbock each must now complete two projects to earn TMP certification from the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College. Their third year of classes was held in August at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Ga.

Gordon and Lubbock were among 285 tourism professionals enrolled at the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College. The week-long program turns the facilities of the Dahlonega campus into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing each summer.

“There is no other professional development program like the STS Marketing College, and it is recognized nationally for its training of tourism leaders,” said Lori Medlin, executive director of the Halifax County CVB. “In the tourism industry, TMP certification carries a lot of weight, and the tourism industry in Halifax County will benefit from what they have learned,” she continued.

The STS Marketing College began in 1992 to provide continuing education for tourism professionals.  Tourism ranks as the first-, second- or third-largest industry in each STS member state. Students come from convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, attractions, hotels and other segments of the tourism industry.

The curriculum covers topics such as family vacation research, special events marketing, media relations and creative advertising. Heritage tourism and community/rural tourism are courses that have attracted special interest in recent years.

“The fundamental concept of STS Marketing College is the curriculum is practical.  What students learn can be put to practice as soon as they get back to their workplaces,” Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society (STS), said.

Twenty-five senior executives in the travel and tourism industry were the volunteer faculty. 

The marketing college attracts students from throughout the Southeast and occasionally from other states.  This year’s program included students from Texas and Arizona.

“The Southeast Tourism Society is recognized nationwide for the cohesiveness and camaraderie it fosters in the region.  No other region has a similar organization.  Our marketing college is a major project to build skills and professionalism in the tourism industry,” Hardman said.

The 12 STS states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.  STS headquarters are in Atlanta.