Changes are coming,

It began with a visit to a Rice Lake travel agency in 1984. I was looking for a job and heard that this office had an opening since one of their agents was marrying a man from London England and would be moving across the pond!  My background was in accounting and banking, skills which translated into the travel industry quite well, as it turned out. I was hired on the spot by Jolene Doyle. Seven years later, I bought the business.         


It’s hard to imagine 34 years have gone by since then. The only thing constant in life is change, they say, and change is coming to Travel Designers Travel Leaders. On Friday, October 31, 2025, the doors of our Rice Lake office will close. All future business for our clients will be transacted through Travel Leaders Eau Claire. Denise Petricka, the owner/manager, is a longtime friend and colleague of mine, and I feel good about entrusting our Rice Lake-area clients to her care.

            
Like any other business, ours has evolved over time. Back in 1991, when I bought the agency from Jolene Doyle, it was actually housed in two Rice Lake offices, one in the downtown and the larger office in Cedar Mall.
 

The downtown office was closed in 1993 and all operations were consolidated at the Cedar Mall location. Four years later, we moved to a larger location in the Southridge Center, as our staff and clientele grew.
  

Our final move was to our present address, in the Haack Building along the Red Cedar River, in 2008. We’ve been here for 17 years. Time has really flown by!

 

 Over the years, our office has won numerous honors within the travel industry, culminating with three major awards at the 2025 Travel Leaders Edge Conference in Las Vegas: the Chairman’s Elite Award, Agency of Excellence and Traditional Agency of the Year. My hard-working staff of Peggy, Michelle, Jacqie and Patty, along with Jean, Becca and Stacee and others from the past deserve much of the credit. We are truly a team—better yet, a family.

We will be having an Open House on Thursday, October 30, at our office in Rice Lake, from 9 am – 4 pm. You’re all invited, and we hope to see you there!