Your Association needs you. We need for our members to step up and indicate an interest in taking on leadership roles within our organization. Our Executive Committee approach to conducting the nuts and bolts part of our business works well – freeing our monthly meetings to allow us to pursue more entertaining and educational pursuits - but it is time for others to step up and provide fresh ideas and fresh energy. Please consider accepting the challenge to be an officer and/or a committee chair. The pay is not the best (zero last time I looked) but the rewards are most satisfying. The fact that we are still a relatively new entity gives each of us the opportunity to continue to help mold our organization into the maturing force it should and will become in the future – positively impacting the tour and tour-related industry in the Greater Houston area for our collective benefit.

As you may or may not know, our officer positions carry a 2-year term. Our next elections will be held at the end of this year – both a seemingly long time off and, yet at the same time, just around the corner. By indicating an interest early on, potential candidates will have the opportunity to get more involved now and learn more about the details of our ongoing goals, objectives and visions. (Note: We are considering modifying our bylaws to allow for staggered terms but this is not yet a reality.)

I urge you to strongly consider stepping up and making a contribution to our association’s (and industry’s) future viability. Please feel free to contact me or any other board member with your indications of interest and/or your questions.

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Admittedly we are running behind distributing our 2003 ID stickers. Some of you already have them. We plan to mail the others in the very near future to those who have paid their 2003 dues.

Big Improvements At Space Center Houston

By PTGAH Member Carol Dillmann

At Space Center Houston, several changes have been made in order to help keep the facility fresh and inspiring. For instance, the ‘Mission Status Briefing’ is now called ‘Blast-off.’ In the visitor entry area, ‘Eva’ the robot has been replaced with 3 large video screens showing a blast-off and is accompanied by music, lighting, fog and the deep rumbling sounds of an actual lift-off you can actually feel. It’s very dramatic. The already excellent briefing provided to visitors remains, as before, an excellent feature.

On the tram tour, ‘Historic Mission Control’ looks more like it did in the past. A large tracking map is provided on the middle screen and is accompanied by a variety of information and related films on the 2 side screens. There is a new and much improved video presentation complete with a live announcer (with a great ‘radio commentator’ voice) telling many interesting Mission Control facts.

In addition, the tram guide host added many interesting live comments interspersed with the recorded messages throughout the tram ride.

Volunteer ushers needed for Hobby Center. Call or email Lynn at trelleslg@aol.com or 713 524 2381 for more information if interested.

(Presidents message continued)

We are still looking for your input in order to add your information to our to our new website. This is an excellent way for you to promote your business with your picture, a brief bio of you and your business, plus all your contact information. Although we are still working on the site and have a long way to go, now is the time for you to get your information to us for uploading. Please send your bio and digital photo (.jpeg format if possible) to either Mike Kees (mrk1807@houston.rr.com) or Richard Cook (rgcooktx@swbell.net).

The website address is www.ptgah.org. Please bookmark it on your PC and look for frequent updates. Pictures from our March visit to the Cowboy Ranch we posted less than 24 hours after the event concluded. Go have a look!

Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find information about our April monthly meeting, to be held at the Museum of Southern History in Sugar Land. In May we plan to meet at the Museum of Health and Medicine while June promises to be a fun trip to the new Aquarium Restaurant in downtown Houston.

Thanks for your ongoing interest in the Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston.

Mike Kees

The Association recently designed a schedule of themes or topics for monthly meetings to make it easier to plan. The categories for each month are very broad and creativity is encouraged.

January: Annual Business Meeting
February: Multicultural Theme
March: Western Theme
April: Historical Theme
May: Science and/or Medicine
June: Ship Channel, Maritime, or Water-Related Theme
July: Sports
August: Transportation (can include NASA, airports, METRO)
September: Membership Hospitality & Tourism Round-Table Discussion
October: Halloween Theme
November: Fall Theme
December: Holiday Buffet at a private home or restaurant

Directions to Museum of Southern History: Going south from Houston on 59, take the Sugar Land exit. Stay on the feeder, pass Dairy Ashford/Sugar Creek Boulevard. The Southern National Bank, inspired by Monticello, will be on your right. Turn in the driveway and go to the museum behind the bank. Going north on Hwy 59 from the Richmond-Rosenberg area, take the Sugar Creek/Dairy Ashford exit, turn left under the freeway and left again at the feeder. Go two-tenths of a mile to the bank driveway. For more information, go to the Museum's web site: www.museumofsouthernhistory.org.

How It All Began

The Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston evolved from a series of meetings between staff of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, tour bus operators, and tour guides in 1997. Meeting participants discussed ways to educate and certify tour guides, bus drivers, and taxicab drivers. The goal was to improve the quality of a tourist's experience in Houston and to make Houston a tourism-destination city. Several meetings also involved professors from the University of Houston's Conrad Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

The name "Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston" first appeared on a faxed meeting announcement transmitted on September 18, 1997. Educational materials and by-laws from the San Antonio tour guide association were considered as models for Houston, and goals for a tour guide association in Houston were discussed.

A Tour Escort Training Class was conducted on September 29, 1998, by RoEan Shanks, who had been elected as President of the Houston Tour Guide Association. Participants received certificates of completion. A few meetings were held sporadically throughout the year.

In December 1999, another course was offered at Houston Community College. It was sponsored by the CVB and successful participants in the two-day course entitled "Our Welcome Mat is Out -- Mastering the Art of Introducing Houston to Visitors and Newcomers" received a certificate of completion from HCC-Central Contract Training & Continuing Education Department.

At this point, tour guides realized that none of the organizations that had conducted or sponsored these courses and meetings had the ability to "certify" that a tour guide was a "professional tour guide." As a result, they determined to form their own, independent, non-profit "Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston."

The first meeting of the Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston was held on January 20, 2000. The agenda: "Do We Want an Association? And If So, What Do We Want It to Be?" The consensus was that, yes, we wanted an association. Over the next seven months, meetings continued to determine what we wanted the association to be. Attendees were assessed $5 per meeting to cover the cost of organizing the meetings and getting out the meeting notices.

The PTGAH was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the State of Texas during the summer of 2000, and at the August 2000 meeting, a slate of interim candidates was nominated: Esther Porter, President; Faye Soopan, Vice President; Gary White, Recording Secretary and Membership Secretary; and Lucette Rieger, Treasurer. Members who had passed the course offered by Houston Community College in December 1999, who had been active tour guides for not less than five years, or who had successfully taken an eight-hour training course offered by the Association in 2000 automatically became Certified Members. Dues for September-December 2000 were established at $20 for the Tour Guide category, $50 for the Corporate category, and $10 for the Associate category, and the Association opened a bank account. The Association adopted the first Monday of each month as the meeting date of the Executive Committee and the third Thursday of each month as the membership meeting date. By October, the Association had a voice mailbox. In September 2000, the PTGAH published the inaugural issue of its newsletter, Guideposts. It announced that a National Federation of Tourist Guide Associations had been formed. PTGAH is a member of this federation.

On January 18, 2001, the first Annual Meeting of the Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston was held. Including the interim officers, eleven members and prospective members were in attendance. The interim officers were voted in as permanent officers, to serve a term of one year, and the June 2000 version of the proposed Association by-laws were adopted. Annual ues were established at $36 for Certified Members and $25 for Associate Members. During 2001, the Association became a member of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Association's logo was developed, membership pins were purchased, a web address was obtained for two years, certification courses were offered, and members participated as guides in tours offered by the CVB to attendees during the November 2001 National Tour Association convention in Houston.

At the Association's second Annual Meeting on January 17, 2002, the following officers were elected for a term of two years: Mike Kees, President; Sandra Lord, Vice President; Lynn Gaines, Membership Secretary; Gary White, Recording Secretary; and Melissa Dixon, Treasurer. Past-President Esther Porter remained a member of the Executive Committee for two years and publishes the Association's quarterly newsletter, Guideposts. In October, four Associate Members successfully completed Certification Examinations and became Certified Members. The purpose of membership meetings shifted from organizational to educational. Members and their guests visited the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston's Gilbert Stuart and Texas Flags exhibits, the Buffalo Soldiers Museum, Historic Harrisburg, the Lawndale Art & Performance Center, the Shrine of the Black Madonna, the Vogelsang Antique Emporium in Rosenberg, and the National Museum of Funeral History. Other events included a free tour of the Titanic exhibit compliments of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, a membership round-table discussion about "Working in the Travel & Tourism Industry," a Thanksgiving celebration at the Empire Turkish Grill, and a Holiday Buffet at Chesterfield's Restaurant. ID badges were designed and distributed to members who provided photographs. The Association also provided free tour guides for the CVB's free city tours, held on the first Saturday of each month, and joined the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations.

The Association's third Annual Meeting was held at the Spaghetti Warehouse in January, 2003. So far this year, the Association has successfully launched its new web site: www.ptgah.org; held educational meetings in the Downtown Historic District and at the Cowboy Ranch in Pasadena; participated in a complimentary tour of Minute Maid Park conducted by Association President Mike Kees; and developed a Venue Critique/Evaluation Form so that members can evaluate the facilities and services offered at venues of interest throughout the greater Houston area. Effective May, 2003, the CVB will begin paying guides to conduct the City Tours it sponsors on the first Saturday of each month. The CVB is now charging participants $10 per person. Because the PTGAH educates and certifies and does not recruit guides, member guides conducting these tours will be paid directly by the CVB.

We've come a long way since 1997 and have a bright future ahead of us as we educate and certify members who will help make Houston a tourism-destination city.

Voice Mail: 281-586-2161

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

MIKE KEES

President

SANDRA LORD

Vice-President

GARY WHITE

Recording Secretary

LYNN GAINES

Membership Secretary

MELISSA DIXON

Treasurer

ESTHER PORTER

Immediate Past President

MEETING NOTICE

GUIDE POSTS

The Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston

P.O. Box 2844

Voice Mail: 281-586-2161