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Company History The reasons for the success enjoyed over the past 34 years by Nationwide Travelers of Appleton, Wisconsin, are numerous. One important reason is the genuine pleasure that everyone with the company has in planning and conducting motorcoach tours. The special relationship Nationwide Travelers has established has also contributed to its success. Not to be omitted from the success story is the commitment to operate safe, modern, comfortable and dependable coaches. Nationwide has chosen Prevost Le Mirage and H-Series coaches to fulfill this commitment. Nationwide Travelers traces its
beginnings to the late 1960s. At that time, Then the parents of the youth group members became interested in motorcoach tours. The first one, to Nashville, was a sellout. So was the next trip, a tour to Niagara Falls. What had begun as a hobby was growing into a business. Leo and his wife, Dorothy, were both fully employed in other fields; their tour business was a sideline and the office was in a corner of their living room. They used vacation time for tours, with Leo driving and Dorothy serving as a tour director. As business grew, Dorothy left her full-time job to devote herself to the tour business, and soon thereafter the first employee was hired. The office moved to the basement of the Marks home. In December 1974 the business became a corporation under the name Nationwide Travelers Travel Club, Inc. Nationwide Travelers has always been a family business. Leo and Dorothy’s son, Patrick Marks is president and in charge of operations. He is personally involved with driver selection and safety training for the company and has assisted in making a driver training video for J.J. Keller Associates, Inc., the company which publishes log books, forms and software for bus companies. Safety is of the utmost importance to Nationwide Travelers, and the company has posted an excellent safety record. Quarterly driver safety meetings are held with the assistance of our insurance companies to ensure all the latest industry issues and concerns are covered and our drivers are fully informed of any new laws, rules and regulations. Tom Marks, another of Leo and Dorothy's sons, came on board in 1992 as vice president and manager of the maintenance shop. Kerri Marks, Pat’s wife, serves as secretary/treasurer and does the dispatching for the charter department. Even the third generation is involved. Pat and Kerri’s sons, Corey and Chase, help out by driving motorcoaches and Tom's son, Tyler, works in the maintenance department. In the spring of 2007, Leo and Dorothy decided it was time to retire and passed the family business onto Pat and Tom, both of whom are committed to to continuing on in the tradition of their parents by providing exceptional service to all of our customers who have helped make Nationwide Travelers what it is today. Nationwide Travelers moved from the office based in the Marks’ home to local office space on East Wisconsin Avenue, which the company quickly outgrew. Then in 1984 Nationwide Travelers moved to its present location on South Lynndale Drive in a building which includes more than 18,000 square feet of interior storage space for the motorcoach fleet, a maintenance area, office space and a print shop. Nationwide Printing Express, a subsidiary, handles most of the printing needs of the company and outside jobs as well. In 1982 Nationwide Travelers purchased its first 28-passenger mini-coach; another was added in 1983. The first large motorcoach, an MCI MC-9, was acquired in 1984. Later that year a wide-bodied Prevost Le Mirage coach was added. The Nationwide Travelers fleet now consists of 14 coaches, all of them wide-bodied Prevost luxury coaches. The Prevost coaches have been chosen as a standard for Nationwide Travelers because of their customer appeal, comfort and ease of maintenance, according to Patrick Marks. The Prevost Le Mirage H-Series coaches have reclining seats, foot rests, window shades, sound and VHS/DVD video system. Three of the coaches have lounges at the rear. The coaches have the kneeling feature which is especially appreciated by the elderly and some have a wheel chair lift. “Customers like the greater visibility that the Le Mirage coaches offer,” Dorothy Marks says. Over Labor Day weekend in 1995, Nationwide Travelers with the assistance of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce hosted the Escape to Wisconsin Bus Bash. The event was well-attended and included fam tours of the Appleton area, garage tours of local motorcoach companies as well as competition for awards in the following categories: antique bus, modern coach, converted coach, and demonstrator coach. The company has grown beyond its immediate family, yet the entire Nationwide Travelers organization considers itself one large family. Sue Eckrich, tour coordinator, and Shirley Walker, accommodations coordinator have been with the Marks family since the business was in the Marks’ home. Director of Sales, Joyce Ohrmundt, has been with the company for over 11 years in the sales department and many years prior to that as a tour director. Nationwide’s receptionist, Cheryl Kolosso, just celebrated her 26th anniversary. Jerry Glaze, who assists Sue Eckrich and is a tour guide, celebrated his 25th anniversary with the company. Michele Last is tour coordinator for one and two day tours, Branson and family tours and assists in the maintenance of the companies website. Desktop publisher Jennifer Heisler creates company tour literature for advertising and creates our tour catalog which is produced 5 times a year. Jerry Verkuilen is the company's full-time printer and recently celebrated his 21st anniversary with Nationwide. Kay Theisen recently joined our family as our in-house accountant. Brian Wilharms, who has been with the company 11 years, and Tim Conn, just celebrating a 7-year anniversary, are employed full-time in the maintenance department. Nationwide Travelers also employs three part-time and two full-time tour directors who knowledgeably direct the tours, seeing that everything goes smoothly and that the travelers have a wonderful time. There are 22 drivers employed by Nationwide Travelers and most have been with the company for many years. Each new driver hired by Nationwide Travelers goes through an extensive training process which includes a tape entitled “What is Expected of a New Driver” by J.J. Keller Associates. Tours put Nationwide
Travelers in
business 34 years ago and tours continue When Knoxville, TN,
hosted the World’s Fair in 1982 and Columbus, Ohio, hosted the Ameriflora
celebration in 1992, Nationwide Travelers saw the opportunity prior to the event
and had hotels and other activities planned. Each year Nationwide Travelers provides daily shuttle service from Appleton to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Conference in nearby Oshkosh. Pat Marks saw the opportunities and the EAA chose to have him serve as chairman for transportation. Nationwide Travelers was uniquely honored by the Fireside Dinner Theatre in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, both for its ongoing support and for bringing the largest number of patrons to the theater during 1993-more than 3,000. At the 2000 United Motorcoach Association Convention, Nationwide Travelers received the Vision Award for providing "superior service and experiences for customers." Nationwide Travelers tour planners like to capitalize on special events. Our newspaper publications describe the different tours offered. There are also tours to traditional destinations offered by most tour companies. These include the Canadian Rockies, Nashville, Branson, Florida, New England, Washington, D.C., and many more. Nationwide Travelers prints supplemental flyers and other tour brochures. Most of the advertising comes from word of mouth. There are 12,000 names on the company's mailing list; many of those are repeat customers. It has been found that the average age of the tour patrons is currently 60 years old. Senior citizens who enjoy more leisure time continue to be important to Nationwide Travelers, but the families and younger people who are interested in sporting and special events are the reason why the average age of the traveler has decreased. Holiday time is a festive time for Nationwide Travelers. The buses used on the holiday time tours are decorated on the interior for Christmas. Nationwide Travelers takes pride in the enjoyment of making many friends, and the customers and staff consider themselves part of the family. The 30-year history has been a fun time for everyone in the company, as well as the people served. The 30th anniversary is an important milestone. However, the road ahead offers many opportunities according to Pat Marks. There are many ways in which Nationwide Travelers looks ahead to give the customers quality service, as customer satisfaction has been and continues to be the top priority. |
