The French essayist Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) wrote that “to teach is to learn twice.” In the work world, teaching and learning can range from a short onboarding session to a structured training program, but learning can also be achieved through a more informal relationship—mentoring.
Whether it’s planned sessions or periodic chats, mentoring enables a newcomer to learn from an experienced professional, and an association that conducts in-person gatherings with trusted colleagues—hello, NTA!—provides the ideal environment for fostering mentor relationships.
“We all need mentors, and I have benefitted from mentors in many ways in the course of my life,” says Paul Larsen, president of Minnesota-based Ed-Ventures and a past chair of the NTA Board of Directors. “One of the great things about NTA is there are always people willing to come alongside and encourage.”
At Travel Exchange ’22 in Reno, one new NTA member got plenty of encouragement from an experienced one—just what she had asked for. Prior to the event, Amina Watkins of the Paducah (Kentucky) Convention and Visitors Bureau called NTA Headquarters to ask about shadowing another member, and staff members connected her with Pam Williams of the Huntsville/Madison County (Alabama) CVB.
“NTA paired us nicely!” Williams says. “Amina and I started chatting before Travel Exchange and met in person once we both arrived in Reno. Because she was new to the industry as well as to her role as a DMO, we talked about everything, from the industry in general to trade show specifics.”
Like, very new to the industry.
“I was in my third week at this new position, and NTA was my very first travel industry event. I didn’t know what to expect,” Watkins recalls. “I followed Pam to her appointments and listened to her sales pitch.”
Conducting multiple days of Travel Exchange appointments is quite an undertaking, even for veterans. Tour operators (or buyers) sit at separate tables in the convention hall, and sellers—destination representatives as well as tour suppliers—navigate the sea of green-clad tables and move from one eight-minute appointment to the next.
