Janis Myers
Meridian, MS, Atlanta, GA, and Fayetteville, TN may not create a broad spectrum of travel in your mind, but they have allowed me an abundance of places to go and people to see here and abroad. I was born in Meridian, MS, and return during the year to visit family who remain there. I attended Meridian Junior College and finished a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. In Atlanta, I began my teaching career, received my Master’s Degree at Georgia State University, met my husband and had two sons, Robb and Rich, who hold my heart. In Fayetteville, I have been a volunteer in several organizations, played a little golf and tennis, shown English Springer Spaniels, completed another graduate degree at Middle Tennessee State University, and taught English at the local high school and junior college for twenty years. I am a member of the First Presbyterian Church where I serve as an Elder.
I’ve always claimed “GO” as my middle name. The “go” event may have been a family vacation, student-related trips (in the role of student or teacher), competitions, conferences, classes, but whatever they were, I was on the GO. Over the years my personal travels have included car, train, boat/ship, and airplane in domestic and international venues. I believe in the benefits of travel for the eyes, ears, heart, and spirit. As a student and teacher of literature, I find Emily Dickenson’s words, “There is no frigate like a book/ To take us lands away,” an explanation for some of my travels. I am a reader and have been taken to lands in books far exceeding the travels I have actually done, but my goal is to match my mind and body.
All the above brought me to an adventure that inspired me while fulfilling some of that wanderlust that I knew resided inside me. I went to watch my friend Mimi Hughes as she finished her environmental-awareness swim of the Tennessee River in Paducah, KY, in July of 2003. She swam the length of the river from Knoxville, TN, to Paducah, KY, over five summers. As I write this, she is swimming the Danube River in Europe. In a Visitors’ Bureau pamphlet, I found an article about the career of tour directing and the certification available through the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI). I signed up, attended, and began work on my second career. In addition to the “hands on” travel, I attend seminars and the annual ITMI Symposium to stay abreast of the latest in the tour/travel business. With my retirement from teaching in May, 2007, my tour directing opportunities have expanded to include year-round adventures.