ASTA Welcomes Newly Elected Members of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee

Last updated: 7:00 PM ET, Wed May 29, 2024

WHY IT RATES: Travel advisors are the lifeblood of the travel industry. These newly elected members will continue to help lift ASTA and the travel advisor community. - Eric Bowman, Executive Editor 


The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) is pleased to announce its Board of Directors' newly-elected Directors-at-Large, who will officially begin their two-year terms at the close of ASTA’s Travel Advisor Conference in Dallas, TX. There were five candidates vying for two open at-large seats on the Board. The following are the newly elected national Directors-at-Large, in alphabetical order: Anne MacIntyre , Owner/Partner, On the Map Travel and Cynthia Tyo, Owner, Travel Travel Fargo - Moorhead, Inc.  

The ASTA Board of Directors also welcomes Alex Sharpe, President & CEO, Signature Travel Network as the Consortium Member Director.  Returning to the ASTA Board of Directors is Shelly Phillips, Agency Owner and Senior Advisor of Travel By That Girl who was elected to a second term as one of the Regional Director Representatives.

The Directors returning to the Board for the 2024-2025 term are as follows: 

  • Kathy Bedell, BCD Travel
  • Debra Belchak, Lazy Dayz Travel LLC
  • Kelly Bergin, Duglin Travel Group
  • Jackie Friedman, Nexion Travel Group 
  • Kareem George, Culture Traveler, LLC
  • Robert Hale, Travel N Relax Inc
  • Pamela Irwin, Mansour Travel
  • Amanda Klimak, Largay Travel
  • Anita Pagliasso, KHM Travel Group
  • Rhonda Shumway, TerraMar Travel, Inc
  • Lee Thomas, Nous Travel

The ASTA Board of Directors has an Executive Committee comprised of 5 members: Chair, Vice Chair/Secretary, Treasurer, CAC Chair and President & CEO of ASTA, as an ex officio, non-voting member. The ASTA Board annually elects to the Executive Committee the Chair, Vice Chair/Secretary and Treasurer. The CAC Chair of the Executive Committee is elected by the voting members of the Corporate Advisory Council.

There were two open positions on ASTA’s Executive Committee, the Vice Chair/Secretary and Treasurer positions. After voting by the newly elected Board of Directors, the Executive Committee is as follows:

  • Jackie Friedman, Chair
  • Lee Thomas, Vice Chair / Secretary
  • Rhonda Shumway, Treasurer
  • Kathy Bedell, Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) Chair

ASTA would like to thank all the membership that participated in the voting and election process. We appreciate your commitment to ASTA’s leadership.


SOURCE: American Society of Travel Advisors press release 


 


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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