On the Rochester Common in New Hampshire last week, 700 kids turned out for National Night Out, an event designed to build safer communities by “enhancing the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement.” They picked up new backpacks filled with school supplies and books to read, grabbed some barbecue for dinner, and watched a movie under the stars.
Perfectly in keeping with the nature of the event, the Rochester Night Out is a cooperative effort between two travel advisors—a former juvenile delinquent and the police officer who arrested him for petty thievery and drugs when he was 15 years old.
Dillon Guyer, owner of Guyer Travel Network LLC, and Nicole Rodler, one of the agency’s nine travel advisors in four states, first met in the Juvenile Division of the Rochester Police Department. Since then, Dillon has turned his life around and focused on giving back to the community that has supported him. The event has grown in each of the six years he has done this, with more donations that reach more kids—not just those in trouble, but every child in the school district. “It’s not a social service setting; everyone is invited, so all the kids have the same backpacks when they start school,” he says.
Guyer personally donates the backpacks, and travel suppliers (he mentions MSC in particular) kick in cruises and hotel nights for him to raffle off. His friend and fellow travel advisor Suzanne Haire also donated hundreds of dollars worth of notebooks and binders.
“The community matches what I spend,” he says. Local businesses donate school supplies, chargers and headphones, binders, lunchboxes, water bottles; every donor is entered in a drawing for a free cruise, this year compliments of MSC. Runner-ups get LEGOs and free hotel nights.
Something in the DNA
In the broad and vast tapestry of travel advisors giving back to their communities, Guyer is hardly alone. There’s something in the DNA of the travel industry, it seems. From the biggest suppliers to the smallest agencies, philanthropic endeavors are on the itinerary.
At Travel Corner in Williamsburg, VA, owner David Hoar has spent the past 24 years raising money for a children’s aid charity—and bringing the community together in a totally different and fun way. Early on, they would host a party on the same night as the Miss America pageant, with attendees representing the pageant contestants in each state. The first year he hosted it in his home, offering champagne and desserts; 52 attendees donated $2,600. Over the years, they moved to a clubhouse at the Kings Mill Resort, which held 100 people, and added drag queens to entertain and a raffle to raise money—and “we were not hesitant to ask other businesses for things.” Nine years ago, they moved to a country club that holds 250. Last year, they donated $58,000 in profits to the Kephart Foundation, which agreed to use the money “to feed about 50 children in Williamsburg who really needed food on the weekends,” Hoar says.
Today the program fills each of 134 backpacks with two breakfasts, two snacks and two lunches, which the children take home every Friday. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, they add gift cards for each family. It’s become a community event, where people drop by the office with bags of food to donate. Hoar also asks travel suppliers for donations, too. He raffles off trips on Rocky Mountaineer and Virgin Voyages, plus weekends in hotels; the annual river cruise from Ama Waterways alone brings in close to $10,000.
Meanwhile, Kristy Durso, owner of Incredible Memories Travel in San Antonio, TX, also is a travel advisor on a mission to help. A full-time wheelchair user and a military mom with three children with various medical conditions, Durso used her year as Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2022 to encourage travelers to keep moving—and called on her contacts in the travel industry to help them do that. She was the keynote speaker at the National Tour Association conference (and at many others), and developed a Facebook page “to connect travel advisors with companies that are providing accessible travel and to educate the travel community on how to better accommodate travelers with disabilities.”
Her mantra? “Everybody has a challenge, so get up and live life no matter what is thrown at you. If you can’t walk, roll. If you can’t see, listen. If you’re short on cash, find free things to do. Find a way to embrace life completely,” she says.
Now she continues to speak out on accessible travel. She was the keynote speaker for the National Tour Association this year and serves as the Texas state coordinator for Ms. Wheelchair Texas. “The longer I was in the travel industry and the more I became disabled, the more I realized nobody really does a great job serving the disability community,” she says.
Meanwhile, Mimi Comfort of Cruise Holidays and her husband Mark, who met through their mutual interest in Big Brothers Big Sisters, have spent the past 20 years fostering 35 children. They also hosted Young Life youth groups (and this year raised almost $100,000 for that organization through a golf tournament they sponsor); are the proud donors of Comfort Field at nearby Park University; and donated to organizations from the International Justice Mission to the local pet shelter.
At MEI-Travel in Issaquah, WA, Beci Mahnken and her husband have made giving back a part of their business plan from the very beginning. “We decided that, no matter what, every year we were going to donate a percentage of our profits, and we joined Signature in 2020 in part because their charity wing spoke to us,” she says. Like many travel advisors, she gets as much as she gives.
“I really think it might be a little selfish because it literally feeds my soul,” she says. “I think a lot of us [travel advisors] really appreciate what we do for a living, and we travel and see that other people across the globe may not have the opportunities we have. This is a helping profession, and it attracts people who want to help others. You have to be a salesperson, but you also have to be a service person and love serving others.”
Mark Elie, too, has been sharing his commission through K&E Travel Gives Back about a dozen years ago. He has funded college scholarships through the Alliance of Women Executives of Palm Beach County; contributed to Moms in Need; even driven one woman to the doctor and paid for her medical treatment. With 300 travel agents across the United States, “I’ve been in this business for 34 years and I believe in giving back to the community that supports me,” he says. “That’s what my father taught me, and that’s what’s in my heart.”
In 2022 and 2023, Kenneth Smith donated 50% of his commission for the year at Travel Genie to the Roseville Outreach Community Corp. Pioneer Travel owner Mike Edic supports the Special Olympics and Ronald McDonald House.
Tammy Levent’s 501c3 has donated close to 20,000 new and slightly used suitcases for foster care children.
At Dream Makers Vacation Services, co-owner Amy Grubbs McHugh spends about 10 hours a week volunteering. “Giving back is at the forefront of everything we do,” she says.
This summer, Mary Barrett is hosting a luggage drive for the NWA Children’s Shelter; Suzanne Bowering is bringing school supplies from her local Rotary Club to the Dominican Republic; Gail Woloz gives back a portion of her Africa Safari sales to three different non-profits in Africa at end of every year. Lori Judd promotes two charities for customers who are CEOs on her private Facebook travel group and in her newsletter. Jennifer Holmes donates 20% of her base planning fee.
Janelle Grissinger has raised almost half a million dollars for children’s charities, donating “snack stashes,” weekend backpacks, prom clothes, pool passes, back-to-school clothes and sports equipment—and a fully remodeled fully furnished house for four orphans living with their grandma.
“Outside of my children, this is what I’m most proud of in my life. It’s my heart’s purpose,” she says.
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
