President's Message
Sixty-five active chapters. Looking back on OSSN’s founding in 1990, it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come in just 16 years!.

OSSN’s Chapter Directors Are Our Secret Weapon!
By OSSN President & Founder Gary M. Fee

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This past year, we’ve invested an enormous amount of time and energy (and resources) into expanding the support we give our chapter directors through OSSN.com. Using this site, they can now pick topics and potential sponsors for their local meetings, download chapter membership lists, send emails to those members, distribute press releases promoting their meetings, and exchange ideas on a directors-only bulletin board.

Ever wonder what keeps these chapter directors motivated?

“I love helping agents become more educated,” says Nancy Baxter, the director of OSSN’s chapter in Missouri. “The agents in my chapter have the opportunity to network and learn from those suppliers who are reaching out to the home-based community.”

“Serving as the Oregon OSSN Director,” P.J. Ott notes, “gives me a sense of value, a challenge to improve myself on a daily basis, and the opportunity to work with other travel professionals and bring education and training to the Oregon area.”

Many OSSN directors report that they see the immediate results of their efforts in the lives of their chapter members. “One OSSN agent who was just starting in the business found a top-quality host agency at one of our meetings,” says Robin Paschall, who directs the OSSN chapter in Boulder, Colo. “Now, she is selling travel full time!”

“I had one agent who sold and escorted dive trips only,” reports Patricia Bannister, the director of OSSN’s chapter in Memphis. “Since coming to our chapter meetings, she’s now expanded into destination weddings, honeymoons, and cruises and really increased her bottom line. Another agent was trying to organize a tour for our local Scottish Society, and she was having a difficult time with it. We had three tour operators in a row presenting at our meetings, and she picked one of them who’s now helped her take a huge group to Scotland. She was so glad she didn’t miss those meetings!”

In turn, many chapter directors benefit from their service to fellow home-based agents. “I had a client ask me for information on Prague last year,” says Bill Potuchek, OSSN’s chapter director in Connecticut. “I admit that I know little about Prague and its hotels, but I received an almost instant reply on OSSN’s online bulletin board from a fellow member who helped me make that booking. Now, my client feels like I am a hero, even though I still know very little about Prague except where it is on the map.”

“Being the OSSN Houston Director has been the most rewarding experience of my life within the travel industry,” Jeff Grieder reports. “I take great pride in knowing that I have created professional relationships between OSSN’s agents and our allied supplier members to help increase their businesses on both sides. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Where does OSSN go from here? It’s our goal to expand to 70 or 75 chapters as soon as possible. And, after that, we won’t be far from targeting 100 working chapters across North America.

Ready to organize a new OSSN chapter in your city or region? OSSN will help you get started -- and we’ll even work with you on the costs of setting up your first meeting! Give me a call personally at 941.322.9700, or send me a direct email at info@ossn.com!