What started during a time of vast uncertainty became a valued, reliable routine for a collection of NTA members. The Lunch Bunch was formed by Frances Manzitto of Visit Clarksville in March 2020, when the pandemic halted travel and grounded tourism professionals, who thrive on personal interactions.
“On our daily Zoom calls, we might have three people or we might have 20,” Manzitto says.
Among the revolving cast of call-in participants is a core group of six DMOs from six different U.S. states: Manzitto (Tennessee); Rich Gilbert, Maryland Office of Tourism Development; Heather Egan, Grapevine CVB (Texas); Todd Stallbaumer, Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department; Linda Jeffries, Greater Beaufort-Port Royal CVB (South Carolina), and Wendy Dobrzynski, Circle Wisconsin.
“The calls during the pandemic were therapeutic,” Dobrzynski says. “It was good to be able to share the ups and the many downs of the last year with peer friends, whether they were operators, suppliers, or DMOs.”
At first, conversations during the noontime gatherings focused on COVID-19’s challenges and changes, says Stallbaumer. “The best part of the calls was to know how we were all in this together, and every little light we could see at the end of the tunnel was celebrated,” he says. “We even did a virtual Dirty Santa Christmas Party.”


As the Zoom group’s relationship deepened, talk turned to topics outside of the industry, such as family, shared interests, and the latest shows to binge on Netflix. “Although I wasn’t on every call, it was always comforting knowing they were there,” Dobrzynski says.
Not even a pandemic could keep true professionals down forever, though.
“We talked about the challenges we were all facing, but then one day we said, ‘Why don’t we do virtual sales calls together?’” Manzitto recalls. “We represent different parts of the country and work with different operators, yet we don’t see that we’re in competition with each other.”
The Lunch Bunch created a branch brand.
“Dynamic Destinations came to be because of our rapport and common work goals as DMOs,” says Dobrzynski. “The six of us realized we could bring something new to tour operators by working together. With all of us being in different regions of the country, our group is a one-stop shop for operators to gather information for a multitude of itinerary options.”
Stallbaumer says the Lunch Bunchers realized they had a lot in common, including knowledge of each other’s destinations. “It was easy enough to share with travel planners what we had learned from each other during those many months of Zoom calls,” he says. “Referrals were easy, too, as we all had different contacts in the industry we could share.”