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Michelle Allen, Executive Director
Lake Cumberland Tourism
(606) 679-6394
Assistant marketing director/information specialist earns Travel Marketing Professional certification
SOMERSET, KENTUCKY (June 25, 2024) — Lake Cumberland Tourism’s Katie Shea has completed a three-year program to become a Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College Travel Marketing Professional (TMP).
Shea, who serves as assistant marketing director and information specialist at Lake Cumberland Tourism, was among 82 STS Marketing College graduates in the class of 2023 representing all 12 states in the Southeast Tourism Society. The graduates were announced at the STS Connections Conference in Jackson, Mississippi, in September.
STS Marketing College uses facilities at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia for three one-week sessions each summer. Industry professionals from a variety of tourism sectors volunteer their time to teach all classes. They include convention and visitor’s bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants and research experts.
Study topics include tourism advertising, vacation research, crisis management, special events marketing, media relations, heritage tourism, tourism sales, and community/rural tourism. In addition to classroom work, students must complete projects related to their employment.
Shea said learning the fundamentals of marketing in tourism was incredibly valuable, as was applying those fundamentals in a real-world setting before graduation. But the most valuable were connections made that have allowed Shea to seek advice and guidance in her position at Lake Cumberland Tourism.
“The experience you get from learning from tourism marketing professionals firsthand is like none other, these are people who have lived the tourism life and know what helps and hurts communities and want to help others,” Shea said about her experience. “Even though the classes you take help, the connections I made at marketing college were tremendous and have helped me become a stronger problem-solver.”
Shea, who began her career with Lake Cumberland Tourism as an intern in 2014, graduated from Lindsey Wilson College with a bachelor’s degree in recreation, tourism and sports management. She then moved to a part-time position at the office before becoming a full-time information specialist in January 2016 and later, assistant marketing director. She graduated from the Certified Kentucky Tourism Professional Program in 2019 and was named a Star of the Industry by the Kentucky Travel Industry Association in 2019.
Lake Cumberland Tourism Executive Director Michelle Allen congratulated Shea for earning the TMP certification and thanked her for her dedication to continuous improvement in her 10-year career with the organization.
“Katie demonstrates time and time again a willingness to learn new concepts and take on more responsibility,” Allen said. “I am so grateful for the ways she’s helped our tourism office and community grow and thrive, and can’t wait to see what she will be able to accomplish with this certification.”
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Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky is The Capital of Lake Cumberland, where every year more than 4 million visitors enjoy “real life, unsalted™” on Lake Cumberland’s more than 1,200 miles of shoreline and 63,000 surface acres of water. Boating, watersports, hiking, camping, mountain biking, outdoor art, culinary excellence and a robust entertainment scene combine to deliver an authentic southern Kentucky adventure. For more information about where to stay, dine, shop or explore, visit lctourism.com.
About Southeast Tourism Society
Southeast Tourism Society, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Roswell, GA., is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting travel and tourism within 14 states – Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
