ASTA members represent 80% of all travel sold in the United States, and its membership is growing internationally.
ALEXANDRIA – ASTA, the global advocates for travel, has announced the results of its recent elections. The two-year terms of the newly elected directors will begin at the close of ASTA’s Global Convention in Miami this coming September.
The following are the newly elected national directors-at-large, in alphabetical order:
Jay Ellenby – Safe Harbors Business Travel Group
Caitlin Gomez – Hickory Global Partners, LLC
John I. Lovell, CTC – Breton Village Travel Services, Inc.
Laura Rodriguez-Verbera – Marina Tours And Travel Arizona LLC
Leo Zabinski, CTC, MCC, DS – Classic Travel
National Directors serving the second year of their two-year terms include:
Roger Block, CTC – Travel Leaders Franchise Group
Jason Coleman, CTC, ECCS, LCS, CLS, DS – Jason Coleman, Inc.
Jackie Friedman – Nexion
John Lovell, CTC – Vacation.com
The incumbent Board of Directors convenes in September to elect the new Executive Committee from the above nine directors-at-large. The Executive Committee is composed of the Chairman, Vice President and Secretary, Treasurer, and ASTA’s CEO & President as an ex-officio and non-voting member. The new Board will come together for the first time in September at the ASTA Global Convention.
ASTA’s governance structure calls for a Board of Directors that consists of nine national directors elected at-large for two-year, staggered terms, three chapter presidents, the chair of the International Chapter Presidents Council (ICPC), two Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) members and one NACTA member director. At its recent meeting, the Chapter Presidents Council elected the following chapter presidents to sit on the Board: Ryan McGredy (YPS Chapter and CPC Chair), Marilyn Bell Zelaya (Northern California Chapter and Vice-Chair), and Jorge Sanchez (Midwest Chapter and ASTAPAC Chair).
For those chapters that held officer elections this year, the results are as follows:
Carolinas
President – James Buckley
Vice President – Joan Papst, CTC, MCC
Secretary – Russell Pickett, ECC, MBA
Treasurer – Juliet Deseo
Central Atlantic
President – Richard Schwartz, CTC, DS, ACC
Vice President – Heather Dolstra, CTC
Secretary – Mary Peters, CTC
Treasurer – Jay Ellenby
Central & North Florida
President – Jesse Mackey
Vice President – Gail Miller, CTC, MCC
Treasurer – Allyn Ryan, CTC
Secretary – Cecilia Meacham
Delaware Valley
President – Jason Holland, CTA
Secretary – Kari Thomas, CTC, CNS
Great Lakes
President – JoAnne Verboom
Michigan Vice President – Chris Wommer, CTIE, DS
Wisconsin Vice President – Dianne Moore, CTC
Treasurer – Caroline Kowalik
Secretary – Donna Cooper
Hawaii
President – Patricia Tervola
Vice President/Secretary – Rachel Shimamoto, CTC
Treasurer – Charmaine Chan
Long Island
President – Carol McParland, ACC, CTC
Vice President – Gerald Mack
Treasurer – Debra Kalsmith-Sternberg
Secretary – Gretchen Stalb
MidAmerica
President – Claudia Darling, CTC, MCC
1st Vice President – Dan Lanser, CTC
2nd Vice President – Barbara Mazzola, CTC, MCC
Treasurer – Robert Elking
Secretary – Pamela Faust, CTC
Northern California
President – Marilyn Bell Zelaya
1st Vice President – Ryan McGredy
2nd Vice President – Paul Demers
Treasurer – Annette Weber
New England
President – Gabriel Garavanian
Secretary/Membership Chair – Theresa Strauss
Treasurer – Michael Taylor, ACC, CTC
Immediate Past President/ASTAPAC Chair – Mike Spinelli, Jr.
New York City
President – Ralph Vasami
Immediate Past President – Alice Tillem
Vice President – Barbara Colombo, CTC
Secretary – Jack Tillem
Treasurer – Lucy Penna
Boro VP Queens/Brooklyn/Staten Island – Joann Costagliola
Boro VP Manhattan – Bill McCue, ACC, CTC, DS, MCC
Boro VP Bronx/Westchester – Barbara Jathas, DS
Orange County
President – Betsy Geiser
1st Vice President – Betty Cox, CTIE,CTC,DS
2nd Vice President – Karl Rosen
Secretary – Paula Singleton
Treasurer – Dick De Rose
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
