UA Professor Recognized As A Top Travel Professional Under 40

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Kimberly Boyle, an assistant professor in The University of Alabama College of Human Environmental Sciences, has been chosen as a member of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Forty for the Future inaugural class.

Young professionals from Virginia to California were chosen for the first class of “Forty for the Future: Travel’s Leading Talent.” All are younger than 40 and represent businesses and organizations in 14 states.

The Southeast Tourism Society, an Atlanta-based professional association in the tourism industry, organized the recognition.

STS will recognize the Forty for the Future Class of 2012 during a special presentation at the STS Fall Forum in Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

“All of them have demonstrated leadership in their careers and communities and are beacons for others,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society. “Our objectives with ‘Forty for the Future’ are to recognize leadership, demonstrate how varied tourism jobs are and inspire even younger people to consider tourism as a career.”

A panel of tenured professionals representing numerous components of the tourism industry evaluated the nominees.

“We wish we could have recognized even more, but this group lives up to the program’s name. They truly are ‘Forty for the Future,’ and we expect even bigger accomplishments and leadership from them,” Hardman said.

After graduating from UA with her bachelor’s and master’s in hospitality in 1996, Boyle worked in sales and marketing at the Sheraton Premiere in Tysons Corner, Va.  She later moved back to Tuscaloosa to begin teaching and advising college students.  She received the 2010 Joseph Rowland Teaching Excellence Award by the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences and the 2005 Educator of the Year Award by the Alabama Hospitality Association and Alabama Restaurant Association.

The Southeast Tourism Society is dedicated to the promotion and development of tourism in its member states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The membership includes state travel offices, attractions, hotels, motels, resorts, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, travel media and other travel-related organizations.