CHICAGO -- ASTA feted travel advisors and suppliers on Jan. 22 at the inaugural ASTA Globes at the Palmer House here.
Temperatures outside were frigid, and ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby said the location was "either a terrible logistical decision or a very effective loyalty test." Met with laughs, Kerby assured the audience they had all passed the test.
"Looking out on the crowd, you showed up, you're smiling, you're ready to celebrate each other," he said. "You reminded me once again that this community will do almost anything, especially if it's for each other."
Kerby said ASTA hopes the Globes will become a new tradition. The gala will not replace the annual Advocacy Dinner, held in conjunction with ASTA's Travel Advisor Conference each year.
The Globes, Kerby said, are "about recognition, not promotion," shining a spotlight on the people "who elevate our industry every day."
"This evening is also a reflection of where our association is headed," the CEO added. "ASTA continues to grow, to evolve and to bring together voices from across leisure, corporate and supplier communities under one unified mission: the mission focused on advocacy, professionalism and elevating the value of travel advisors everywhere."
Dozens of awards were handed out throughout the evening, and ASTA inducted three industry leaders into its Hall of Fame: Valerie Wilson, Mike Julius and Roger Block.
Longtime Carnival sales executive Mike Julius retired last year and is now in ASTA's Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: Jason Dixson Photography
Wilson is the founder of Valerie Wilson Travel, an agency she began when she couldn't find a travel advisor who could serve her family well. She wanted to become that advisor as well as forge a path for women to take on leadership roles in the industry. She grew the company from four people in 1981 to a powerhouse in the industry that was acquired by Frosch in 2021. A year later, JPMorgan Chase bought Frosch. Today, the agency is known as VWT by Chase Travel.
"Do business with integrity," Wilson told attendees. "Love what you do. It will never feel like work when you love what you do. This is an amazing industry. Please remember to support each other."
Julius recently retired from Carnival Cruise Line after 47 years in the industry, 11 as a travel advisor and 36 with Carnival working with advisors. He thanked many industry leaders he's worked with over the years. In the eight months since he announced his retirement, ASTA's award is his third.
"I am one lucky guy," he said, noting he and his husband plan to start planning bucket-list trips now.
"I have six words in closing," Julius said. "Good night, good bye and thank you."
ASTA Hall of Famer Roger Block had a 45-year travel career, including 16-plus years as Travel Leader Network's president. Photo Credit: Jason Dixson Photography
Block left the banking industry for a 45-year career in travel, retiring at the end of 2024 as president of Travel Leaders Network. He had been active in ASTA since the 1980s, when he recalled the Society's blockbuster World Congress events, and harder times after the airline commission cuts.
Block was among the consortia leaders who mandated or subsidized membership in ASTA and decided to make the president and CEO position a full-time paid job (it had previously been filled by travel agency owners). Those moves would right the organization financially and reputationally.
"The collegial spirit of the travel industry is unlike anything I have ever seen and been a part of," Block said. "We are all so, so fortunate to be able to say our career is in the travel industry."