OSSN Agent Accomplishments!

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Michelle received her award during Corroboree, a three-day event held at the Cypress Lakes resort in Hunter Valley, Australia.

A loyal member of the OSSN Massachusetts Chapter, Michelle opened her own travel business in March 2003. (Previously, she had worked as an independent contractor with another agency before deciding to specialize in destination weddings and honeymoons.)

Within that niche, however, she discovered that she needed to differentiate herself even further from the many honeymoon planners in her area. To that end, she became a Premier Aussie Specialist, a Tahiti Tiare Agent, a Fiji Matai Agent, and a FUNDI (South Africa expert) -- and, she's working now on her Kiwi Specialist certification! Also, she is a Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Lifestyle Specialist (LS) and a South Pacific Destination Specialist (DS), and she was featured in the March 2006 issue of Agent@Home Magazine.

Michelle shares her story, she says, so that other OSSN members can see how she's used her specialty training to open many doors. "As a result of my success within the honeymoon market," she notes, "I have also become the contributing honeymoon writer for the Wedding Day Sourcebook (a bridal magazine published and distributed in Western Massachusetts). Recently, I was named the Australia Travel Editor for BellaOnline.com, an online women's resource site. Earlier this year, I was one of twenty Premier Aussie Specialist selected to travel to the ATE (Australia Tourism Exchange)." She encourages other OSSN members to focus on a specialty and establish themselves as true experts in travel.

Michelle's Web site is www.magicalescapes.com.

Meanwhile, Tracy Connors (Travel By Design, Palymra, Pa.) tells us how she's worked with the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey, Pa., a charity which supports ailing children and their families recuperating at the local hospital. The house offers a recycling bin for magazines, brochures, and other recyclable paper from businesses and the general public. The dumpster-sized bin is collected and taken away every two weeks for weighing, and the money for the recycled paper is then given to the charity.

Tracy always takes her old brochures, travel magazines, and similar paper to the bin to help the fundraising effort. Beyond the fact that she doesn't have to buy extra trash bags for this material (since her town does not accept magazines for recycling), "I have a positive way of recycling my brochures and magazines and know that the money is going to a great cause."

One day, some of the charity's staffers came out as she filled the bin and asked where she got so many magazines. She explained that she's a travel agent and she loves to get rid of outdated materials by helping the charity.

She recommends that OSSN agents everywhere suggest recycling as a fundraising method for local nonprofits. "It just makes sense to help a wonderful cause yet recycle in our Green-minded world we are in today," she says.

Thanks to Michelle and Tracy for sharing their stories!

(Want to tell us about your success or your giving back stories? Send us an email at J.Hawks@ossn.com.)

(Credits: Michelle Mangio; Ronald McDonald House)