Blake Williams, Communication & Research Specialist with the Limestone County Economic Development Association, has completed the three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College and earned certification as a Travel Marketing Professional.

Williams was among 82 STS Marketing College graduates in the Class of 2023. Seven individuals also received their Festival and Event Planner certification. The graduates were announced at the STS Connections conference in Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday, Sept. 26. The program began in 1992 and has produced 1,407 TMPs.

Marketing College uses facilities at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., for one-week sessions each summer. Tourism industry professionals volunteer their time to teach all classes. Instructors come from a variety of tourism sectors, which includes convention and visitor’s bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants, and research experts.

“One of the strengths of STS Marketing College is that students meet their peers from throughout the Southeast and bond with them and the top tourism professionals who are their instructors. No other regional organization has a program of this nature, and it is an illustration of how STS benefits the region,” Southeast Tourism Society President & CEO Monica Smith said.

Sample class topics include destination branding, social media content planning, strategic partnerships, tourism product development and crisis communication.

“Our curriculum is practical. After each year, the knowledge students gain can be put to immediate use in their workplaces,” Smith said.