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Tour Connection News

Agent of the Month
Tour Connection honors the travel agents who use the site the most each month. If you use the online resource often, YOU could be the next Agent of the Month!

The Tour Connection Crew

Agents On The Move....
Amber Lock and Jacqueline Lombardi have departed Upward Bound are are now at Music By Appointment. Lisa Novik has departed Linden Travel and is now with Upward Bound.

Best wishes to each of you in your new position!

Remembering Rex Bergstrand
The passing of Rex Bergstrand has left the travel industry missing one of their favorite sons and a hole in the heart of everyone who loved him. Having spent his childhood in North Dakota and Arizona, he moved to California in the mid 60's, spending time in Hollywood and San Francisco (boy did he have stories!), before landing in West Hollywood where he resided for almost 30 years.

More...

Remembering Richard Joseph
Alongside his adoring wife Meg, Richard founded Travel Tech, which specializes in travel arrangements and logistics for some of the world's largest touring bands. His clients included Paul Simon, AC/DC, Metallica, Barney, Prince, Janet Jackson, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, U2, and The Wiggles.

More...

Tour Connection has MOVED!
We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but we have offically moved offices.

Our new address is:
125 Walnut
Rochester, MI 48307

All phone & fax numbers will remain the same.

Thank you for your understanding.
The Tour Connection Crew

Best Wishes for 2007!
A very special ‘thank you’ to each and every one of the Agents and Hoteliers who make Tour Connection a viable resource. We appreciate your continued support and we’re sending warm thoughts your way for a fabulous New Year filled with happiness and success!

The Tour Connection Crew

Leading entertainment industry travel agent Tina Waters was honoured in London on Wednesday night with the Outstanding Contribution accolade at The Woman Of The Year Awards for the music industry & related media 2005.
GLASGOW - FRIDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2005

Waters, who has been working in the music business since the early seventies, is based in Glasgow and runs The Tour Company which has co-ordinated travel and accommodation for a wide range of entertainment industry clients such as record companies, publishers, managers, agents, promoters and artists including recent tours by Alanis Morrisette, Alice Cooper, Avril Lavigne, Bob Dylan, Cher, Dido, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Joss Stone, Lionel Richie, Meatloaf, Neil Diamond, Papa Roach, Pink, Tom Jones, and Oasis - who's manager Marcus Russell gave the tribute to Waters and was present to hand over her award. He said "this woman is more rock-n-roll than any of the bands I've worked with and has contributed greatly to the success of countless artists".

Tina said "I'm completely gob-smacked by this, it was a total surprise but I'm chuffed to bits. I have some wonderful clients and must give credit to the great team of people I work with plus my
incredibly supportive husband, Dougie (Souness). It's important however to remember that events such as the Woman Of The Year Awards raise much needed funds for extremely worthwhile charities like Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy".

The annual awards ceremony highlights various women working in the music industry and related media to recognise their achievements whilst raising much needed funds for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the BRIT Trust, raising more than £500,000 since its inception in 1995. The Outstanding Contribution Award (formally The Lifetime Achievement Award) is sponsored by 02 and voted for by the WOTYA committee on the basis of suggestions received from committee members, patrons and other executives in the industry. It is presented to a woman who has had a long and note-worthy career in the music industry or related media. The recipient of the award will normally have held several different positions within the industry, have made a strong impact in her chosen field, and will have shown great dedication to her chosen area of business, and to her colleagues.

This year's event also honoured three other women for their services to the music industry. Janet Fraser Crook, co-creator and director of TV show 'Later With Jools Holland' was presented with the Woman Of The Year award by Texas' frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri; EMI's Deby Fairley was presented with the Special Achievement award for her organisation of showcases and album launches by EMI-signed singer Beverley Knight; whilst Sony BMG publishing's Caroline Elleray, who signed acts such as Keane and Coldplay was presented the Accolade honour by Keane's Richard Hughes.

Tina Waters can be contacted at The Tour Company

T: +44 141 353 8800 / F: +44 141 353 8801 / E: Tina@thetourcompany.co.uk

ENDS

For more information, please contact: -

Dougie Souness

No Half Measures Ltd. / Measured Records Ltd.

Studio 19, St. George's Studios

93-97 St. George's Road

Glasgow, G3 6JA, U.K.

T: +44 141 331 9888 / F: +44 141 331 9889 / C: +44 778 537 3313

www.nohalfmeasures.com /
www.measuredrecords.com

NASHVILLE, TN – Tour Connection is kicking its cowboy boots in the air over the recent success of the Nashville agent event held at the Hermitage on November 7th!
This year’s event brought out a record number of agents. In addition to our wonderful agents who are based in Tennessee, agents from Aspen Travel in Wyoming attended as did Jason Ashebury of After Show Travel in New York. We’re encouraged by the many thank you’s we’ve received from agents and hoteliers alike. We’d like to thank everyone who joined us and also send a special thank you to Trevor at the Hermitage for doing such a great job in co-hosting the event. Looking forward to hosting the New York and Los Angeles receptions in the spring!

Tommy Booth of Relativity Travel North is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for September!
"I have a very fond memory of a day back around 1990 when Allan came around
Zenith Travel and asked "do you think you could support a guide that could be
an invaluable tool specific to the needs of the Entertainment Travel Industry"?
And so, 16 years later-I am very grateful that Tour Connection has proved to
be that "invaluable tool" that I have had on the right side of my desk ever
since that day- (first issue was 24 pages!) assisting me to be the very best I
can for my clients. Long may you wave Tour Connection!" Tommy Booth/
RELATIVITY TRAVEL North

C.C. Wilshire of Tour Arts is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for August!
CC has been in the travel industry for sixteen years. She started back in D.C. where she lived for eight years. C.C. has been in California since 1996 and has no plans to return to the east coast -- loves the west coast too much to leave! C.C. says her best work is done when she is multi-tasking. She enjoys traveling and her goal is to sail to Tahiti!

Congratulations, C.C.! We're so pleased to have you as our Agent of the Month for August!

Betty Stafford of Revel Travel at Altour International is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for July!
Betty has been a travel agent for seven years. She has recently moved over to Altour International with the Revel Travel group last November.

Congrads, Betty! Thanks so much for using tourconnection.com as your number one resource for booking your tours!

Sharisse Armstrong at IOM Enterprises / Industry Travel Management is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for June!
Sharisse has worked in the entertainment travel industry for over 10 years. "Meeting the demands of the entertainment, and corporate travel service is not an easy task but I do enjoy the challenge. In my spare time which is often limited I enjoy bicycling, traveling, sporting events, and spending time with family and friends."

Sharisse's Motto: Stay consistent, reliable, and committed to the results

Congratulations, Sharisse on becoming the Tour Connection Agent of the Month for June!

Jason Ashebury of After Show Travel, Inc. is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for May!
Congratulation to Jason! Jason is now in his fourth year as an independent agent. He says it has taken a lot of hard work and determination to get where he is. Good job, Jason!

Debbie Rosenblatt of Preferred Travel is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for April!
Debbie's a pro in the industry! One of the busiest agents, no doubt. We're not sure how she get's it all done...Congratulations, Debbie on Tour Connection's Travel Agent of the Month for April 2005!

Sherry Eiden of Altour International is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for March!
Sherry has been in tour and travel for over 26 years! She has recently changed changed agency affiliation from Hoffman Worldtravel to Altour International.

Go Sherry!

(Btw, we caught up with Sherry at our New York Tour Connection Recpetion - - she looks not a day over 30! Not bad for 26 years in the biz!)

Chrystal del Rosario of Revel at Altour is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for February!
Quoting Crystal, "I have been in the travel industry for 12 years first starting with
United Airlines and then moving to Revel. I have been in entertainment travel for the last 8 years. I have a little boy who is 5 and baby girl who is 18 months. I am one of the lucky agents that gets to work from
home and make up my own hours. The best thing about Tour Connection is that I can work at 10p at night when the kids are asleep and see what the hotels have to offer and then email them all for rates and get something in the morning when we get up.

Thank you for being so great.

Chrystal"

Tour Connection congratulates Chrystal on winning Agent of the Month!

Elena Diskstein of Preferred Travel is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for January!
Congratulations Elena Dickstein on being the January 2005 Travel Agent of the Month. Elena Dickstein of Preferred Travel is one of the entertainment travel market’s busiest agents handling some of today’s hottest tours.

Katie Mills of Aspen Travel is Tour Connection's Agent of the Month for December!
Quoting Katie, "I started working in the travel industry about 7 years ago. I’ve done leisure, corporate and now entertainment travel. I have been with Aspen Travel for 3 ½ years and they introduced me to entertainment travel which I enjoy it by far the most. The travel needs of entertainers are different than most and a lot of times more demanding. Tour Connection has made my life easier because it connects me with hotels that cater to their specific needs. The website is easy to get around in. If I want to find hotels in a city that have bus parking I just pull up their website and it tells me who has bus parking. I know that these hotels will do their best to do early check-ins. I have made some very good contacts and built some great relationships with hotels that are members of Tour Connection.

Thanks Tour Connection!

Tommy Booth of TNT Travel Management is TC's Agent of the Month for November
TNT Travel Management is Tommy Booth who has earned industry-wide respect for his expertise and accomplishment in entertainment travel management since 1989.

Tommy writes: “We are very proud to be affiliated with Peter Scher and Gina Howarth of RELATIVITY Travel Ltd. in New York and Los Angeles. "Peter brought me into the business after I had auditioned for the bassist position in the Allman Brothers in 1989. I had been bumped by another player and I was nicknamed "Tommy the Almost Brother". Needless to say, it was a very stunning and confusing setback where I needed some direction as to a new career. Peter was very helpful at the time as we had been old friends on the club scene in NYC. I had always been intrigued with his exciting yet mysterious occupation. As result, he invited me to join his team and I was then introduced to the world of Entertainment Travel.

Within a few years, I had grown my own wings and I departed the nest to start my own business with a tremendous partner who handled all my air. She has since retired from our industry and I have maintained the business throughout the cuts, the caps- and 9/11. Consequently I have returned to my old friend Peter and we enjoy an affiliation today which is quite effective, and trouble-free. With ALL of the very talented people in our industry, I must say that I feel Peter is probably the Greatest All-round Travel Industry professional I have ever known. Besides his good friendship and thorough knowledge of this industry inside and out, his honesty and integrity go very far in making him a very complete individual. I am very proud to be affiliated with him today."

Mike Hawksworth of Tour Company Inc. is TC's Agent of the Month for October

Robin Parker of Executravel is TC's Agent of the Month for September
I opened Executravel after the agency I was with closed due to the events of 9/11. It was located about four blocks from the Trade Center and my co-workers and I had the misfortune of being out on the Street (a block away), when the first tower came down. We were covered in debris, but otherwise unharmed, just thankful to be alive. When my ex-boss decided not to reopen, my husband encouraged me to open my own agency. I was reluctant to say the least, as I thought it was a terrible time to open a travel agency. But he kept pushing, and I went along kicking and screaming. And there were many obstacles. On the day I sent out my ARC application, the airlines completely cut commissions. The day of my ARC site inspection, I found out my office building had been sold. While in the process of moving out of the old location, my office was robbed. It was as if someone was telling me not to open. But I forged ahead and opened a new office a block from my home and I couldn’t be happier.

It was always a dream to own an agency dedicated to the music business (combining my two loves: music and travel), but I really didn’t think it would happen, at least not over night! So I named the agency Executravel as I thought I’d be doing corporate travel, it didn’t pan out that way. Don’t be surprised if I change the name of my company in the near future. Executravel just doesn’t fit what I do!!!

One of my first clients was Macy Gray. Her tour manager was an old friend and he called me asking why he was paying $4000 to fly to Europe. He decided to give me a shot, only to quit as tour manager about a week latter. I thought that was the end. But it was just the beginning. Macy stayed with me and through recommendations and word of mouth I’ve taken on many other bands as clients.

Tour Connection makes my job so much easier. Before Tour Connection, I would go to the travel websites, look for hotels close to the venues, then call the sales office, ask a million questions from do you have wire-less internet access to where can the band park the buses. With TC I can read all this on the hotel’s profile and check out the hotel’s website before I even send a request for rates. And I love the fact that the email goes to the entertainment sales person. It makes a big difference dealing with hotel people who are dedicated to dealing with bands. I just love the site and have developed many strong business relationships through using it!

I love doing site inspections and meeting the people I talk to and email through TC. I like going to see the bands I book in places other than New York. That way I can justify the trip as work. I’m a Las Vegas freak, so any chance I get, I’m there! I love kitsch and am in the process of covering a wall in my office with hotel keys. So all you sales managers out there send me a key and I’ll display it proudly.

*****Tour Connection is giving out $500 each month for the travel agent who requests rates for the most room nights on tourconnection.com. SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU USE THE RATE REQUEST FORM VIA EMAIL AT TOURCONNECTION.COM.*****

Sheba Posnansky of Revel Travel is TC's Agent of the Month for August
As a child born in Uganda and growing up in Ghana, Sheba now calls California home. Sheï¿½s been at Revel Travel for 14 years now and in the Entertainment Tour Industry a few years longer. Her husband was actually one of her Tour Manager clients. Whatï¿½s
ideal is that they can truly understand and support each otherï¿½s work. They have two children: a six year old and an eight year old.

She works from home ï¿½which is fantasticï¿½. However, she admits that coming into the office is fun to catch up with all of her colleagues. What she likes most about her job is change. ï¿½As stressful as it can be, I like that I donï¿½t have the same routine. [And] I enjoy the challenge of meeting a
budget.ï¿½ What makes her successful is her ability to assess the needs of clients. She is honest and likes people - and it pays off. ï¿½I admire the passion of the people I
work for.ï¿½ And itï¿½s obvious that the admiration is mutual.

When she has the time, Sheba likes to travel herself. ï¿½I like big cities like New York and exotic travel.ï¿½ This summer she and her family vacationed in Belize. She planned it out like a Fam trip with lots of adventure excursions. But when sheï¿½s on home soil she likes running with a group
called Hash House Harriers, ï¿½a drinking club with a running problem.ï¿½
Otherwise you might catch her cooking or decorating a cake. ï¿½Birthdayï¿½s are big in my family. I do elaborate cakes for my family.ï¿½

So what does Sheba really think about Tour Connection? ï¿½Itï¿½s an amazing tool!ï¿½ Primarily using the website for booking tours, ï¿½I love being able launch out leads at five and come back in the morning to 25-30 quotesï¿½ Itï¿½s such a time saver! It lets me know if thereï¿½s a convention or something else in town and it helps me learn of new hotels in an area. I do
a lot of cut and paste from the site into my own databaseï¿½ I use it a lot also to find
specific hotel information tooï¿½

Kudos to you, Sheba!

*****Tour Connection is giving out $500 each month for the travel agent who requests rates for the most room nights on tourconnection.com. SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU USE THE RATE REQUEST FORM VIA EMAIL AT TOURCONNECTION.COM.*****

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Welcome to the enhanced TourConnection.com! Your questions, comments and suggestions regarding the site are very much appreciated! Please give us a call or email vanessa@tourconnection.com to give us your opinions.