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ZOO MARKETING OFFICER CERTIFIED BY TOURISM ASSOCIATION
BY: Rod HackneyAug. 08, 2008
ASHEBORO -- After three years of specialized summer classes, North Carolina Zoo Marketing Officer Chris Bulla is nearing industry certification as a Tourism Marketing Professional (TMP) by the Southeast Tourism Society (STS).
Bulla, who has served in the zoo post for two years, has two speaking projects to complete to earn TMP certification after attending the STS Marketing College. Her third-year classes were conducted earlier this month at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Ga.
Bulla was one of 300 tourism professionals enrolled in the course. The week-long program turns the facilities of the Dahlonega, Ga. campus into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing each summer.
The STS Marketing College began in 1992 to provide continuing education for tourism professionals. The program is recognized nationally for its training of tourism leaders and has more than 400 graduates. Students come from convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, attractions, hotels and other segments of the tourism industry.
"In the tourism industry, TMP certification carries a lot of weight," said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society, a 12-state organization that promotes travel and tourism in the Southeast.
The zoo is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor.