A couple of weeks ago, Michelle Rosenberg, our magazine’s
publisher, and I spoke at a meeting of South Bay Women in Travel,
in Los Angeles. The group is made up of travel agents and a few
suppliers and they were great hosts. We had a lively discussion
about travel trends here in the West.
What struck me after that evening is how committed and educated
the members are about travel. Not only are they willing to give up
a Thursday evening to talk about their industry, but their
questions and comments were insightful and informed.
It is this kind of commitment and passion that is at the heart
of this issue’s cover story on the success of TRAMS (page 10). The
L.A.-based company started as the brainchild of President Lee
Rosen, who, with two others, set up shop in a small office near LAX
in 1986. These were humble beginnings to be sure, as Rosen
described their first offices: “To say it was a garage, glorifies
the place.”
Fast-forward 19 years and TRAMS is now a major player in the
travel industry, with nearly $10 million in sales last year.
You can read how it was done in the story, but take it from me,
just speaking to Rosen one can feel the passion he has for his
business and his customers, and for the travel industry as a
whole.
Standing in that meeting of SBWIT, I thought about Rosen and his
success. I wondered who in that meeting might be the CEO of a major
travel company one day who will have the right combination of
innovation, desire and energy for the job. There’s no reason why
one of the members, or any of our readers for that matter, can’t
follow in Rosen’s footsteps.
Who knows, we may just be shooting your photo for our cover one
day.
