Courier October Courier | Page 8

VOICES OF LEADERSHIP Pam Inman President 101 Prosperous Place, Suite 350 Lexington, KY 40509 USA +1.859.264.6551 [email protected] IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE that I recently started my fourth year with NTA! During that time, my list of industry friends has grown, along with my list of interesting stories about connections that have been made. I expect each of you has a similar list, and the longer you’ve been with NTA, the better the stories! One thing I do know is that there are three degrees of separation, no mat- ter who you start with. With Travel Exchange on the horizon, I asked members of the executive committee of the NTA Board of Directors to give an example of how a connection they made at an NTA resulted in new partnerships. Some of the responses were long, so I’ll share half of them now and half next month. I hope these stories will remind you of the importance—and the fun—of networking at Travel Exchange and Contact. I’ll be eager to hear your story when I see you in San Antonio. Paul Larsen Ed-Ventures Inc. A travel agent client of mine once called and said, “I know you take wine groups to Europe, but can you do Oregon? The Williamette Valley, to be specific. And I don’t want tourist wine tastings; I want high-end, authentic wine tastings! Can you do it?” I had just come back from Cont