Although it was his mother who started Maxima Tours twenty-four years ago, it wasn’t until five years ago that Damon Allan joined the company and helped shape it into a solely family-owned business.

 As a twenty-year veteran in the group travel industry, Cindy Brown with Boston Duck Tours has seen a lot. However, her experience cultivating relationships with her clients and competitors has positioned her as a leader in the group travel industry.

Having been a construction worker his whole life, Tom Haberland decided in 1989 that it was time to make a career move. He handed his résumé to a hotelier—and never looked back. The hotel manager gave Tom ninety days to prove himself; twenty-four years later, he continues to prove that decision right. Tom was, most recently, the Director of Tourism Sales for the Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau, and he just finished celebrating his last year of serving the tour and travel industry. We had the chance to sit down and chat with Tom about his career, and about what advice he would leave the industry with as he retired at the end of 2013.

Batman has Robin. Quilt Man has Bobbin. Then again, maybe more accurately, Quilt Man has Paducah, Kentucky. Who is Quilt Man? We wanted to know about this colorful character who flies outside of the box and makes an impression upon Paducah visitors. We needed to know. That sparked a conversation with Fowler Black, Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau sales director and the man behind the elegantly rendered mask.

For those of us who’ve been in the group travel industry awhile, when you think of Maryland you automatically think of Rich Gilbert. The small state operates on a tight budget, but its consistency in the marketplace, creative marketing efforts, cooperative programs, and partnerships have positioned Maryland to be successful in all it does.