Tammie Nazario, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc., has completed the three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College and earned certification as a Travel Marketing Professional (TMP).

Nazario earned the certification to guide tourism development efforts at PRIDE, which is a nonprofit based in Somerset. PRIDE contributes to the economic and cultural growth of southern and eastern Kentucky by improving water quality, cleaning up solid waste problems, and advancing environmental education, in order to improve living conditions for its residents while enhancing the potential for tourism industry growth in the region.

“The skills and experience I gained at Marketing College have aligned perfectly with our efforts at PRIDE to expand our tourism development programs,” Nazario said. “My instructors were leaders in the tourism industry, and those contacts already have been helpful to our region. I worked with tourism officials from rural areas across the southeastern United States, and I brought home ‘lessons learned’ from their regional marketing efforts.”

“Since 1997, our region has achieved great success in cleaning up our beautiful landscape with PRIDE, and now is the time to invite tourists to enjoy our unparalleled natural resources,” Nazario added. “I am excited to be leading PRIDE’s regional marketing campaign, and I believe my TMP certification will be a great asset as we move forward.”

Before joining PRIDE in 2005, Nazario assisted with finances and grants at The Center for Rural Development. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Midway College and her Associate’s degree in Business Administration from Somerset Community College. She is a graduate of Leadership East Kentucky and Leadership Kentucky. A native of McCreary County, she now lives in Somerset with her husband, Kiki Nazario.

Nazario was among 62 STS Marketing College graduates in the Class of 2018. The Class of 2018 had members from all 12 states in Southeast Tourism Society. The program began in 1992 and has produced 1,154 TMPs.

STS Marketing College uses facilities at the University of North Georgia at Dahlonega for three one-week sessions each spring. Tourism industry professionals from a variety of tourism sectors volunteer their time to teach all classes. They include convention and visitors bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants and research experts.

“STS absolutely is enhancing the professional skills of people throughout the Southeast and elevates the tourism industry,” said Monica Smith, president and CEO of STS. “Earning TMP certification is a challenging combination of classroom work and special projects in the students’ workplaces. Becoming a TMP takes dedication.”

Study topics include tourism advertising, vacation research, crisis management, special events marketing, media relations, heritage tourism, tourism sales and community/rural tourism. In addition to classroom work, students must complete projects that relate to their employment.

About Southeast Tourism Society (STS)
Headquartered in Roswell, Georgia, STS is an association that works to unite all segments of the travel and tourism industry through its four pillars of education, advocacy, recognition, and networking. Established in 1983, STS is an engaged network of 1000+ members from twelve states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.  For more information, visit SoutheastTourism.org                                                                                           #

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