Coastal Alabama Business Chamber's Own Sharon Wiese Completes STS Marketing College
Coastal Alabama - Sharon Wiese, Vice President of Membership & Marketing for the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, has completed the three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College and earned certification as a Travel Marketing Professional (TMP).
Wiese was among 29 STS Marketing College graduates in the Class of 2022. Seven individuals also received their Festival and Event Planner certification. The graduates were announced at the STS Connections conference in Concord, North Carolina on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. The program began in 1992 and has produced 1,323 TMPs.
STS Marketing College uses facilities at the Mercer University campus, located in Macon, Georgia, to teach travel marketing for a week each summer. The continuing education program began in 1992.
Instructors are travel industry professionals such as convention and visitor’s bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants, and research experts.
“Our Marketing College program is designed to provide applicable tools and working knowledge that our travel and tourism professionals can immediately implement when promoting their destinations, attractions, hotels, and events,” said Monica Smith, Southeast Tourism Society’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Study topics include online marketing strategies, creating an eye-catching and engaging tourism brochure, social media content planning and distribution, Google analytics, travel and tourism research, community engagement, economic impact studies, and budgeting. In addition to classroom work, students must complete two projects that relate to their job while using the skills they learned throughout the program.
STS celebrated 30 years of Marketing College this year. “The longevity of this program and the 1300+ TMPs to date are a testament to the quality of education, leadership development, and networking that are the cornerstones of Marketing College,” said Smith.
About Southeast Tourism Society (STS)
The Southeast Tourism Society is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to the development of travel and tourism professionals and organizations within the southeast region. STS’ mission is to strengthen the economic vitality of the region by uniting all segments of the travel and tourism industry through the four pillars of education, advocacy, recognition, and networking. Member states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
