CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 31, 2018) – Two AAA Carolinas travel agents were the only agents to win the coveted AAA National Superlative Awards this year. Veteran Agents Henry Dennis and Kelly Brock combined to win four awards, with Kelly winning Highest Sales, Highest Revenue and Highest Preferred Cruise Sales and Henry winning Highest Preferred Tour Sales. This is the duo’s fourth sweep, having also taken home all of the awards in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
“We are so proud to have the top two performing travel agents right here in the Carolinas,” said Sarah Henshall, AAA Carolinas Senior Vice President of Travel. “Henry and Kelly embody what it means to represent AAA and their continued recognition at this conference exemplifies the level of attention and care they put into each trip they plan for our members.”
Kelly Brock is a 30-year veteran of the travel industry, having served the last 19 years at AAA Carolinas in Bluffton, South Carolina. This is her fifth time being honored as a Superlative Award winner. Brock is a Certified Destination Specialist and holds many supplier and destination certifications. She was named a “Top 25 All-star” by Travel Agent Magazine. Her extensive travel experience has taken her to exotic destinations around the world, as well as many European countries, Caribbean islands, and all throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Her passion lies in adventure travel, river cruising and luxury travel.
Henry Dennis, also a five-time Superlative Award winner, has more than 30 years’ experience in the travel industry and has been with AAA for 22 years. He is a Certified Travel Counselor and Accredited Cruise Counselor. He also holds multiple Destination Specialist and Lifestyle Specialists accreditations, as well as numerous supplier and destination certifications. He was named a “Top 25 All-Star” by Travel Agent Magazine in 2015 and 2017. Dennis is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he has served AAA Carolinas’ members for more than 20 years.
AAA Travel, one of the largest leisure travel agencies in North America, hosted its annual conference Oct. 21-23 in Phoenix, Arizona. With a theme of “Futurescape: Convergence + Relevance,” the event focused on the forces shaping the future of the travel industry, from technological advancements to evolving consumer expectations. The conference featured world-renowned speakers from across the travel industry, including Pete Rose, executive vice president, Kantar Consulting; Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line; Wayne Best, Visa’s chief economist; and futurist Chris Riddell, an expert on emerging trends in the connected world.
During the conference, AAA also presented leading travel industry suppliers with prestigious Partner of the Year awards in 14 categories. These highly coveted awards recognize the partners’ commitment to providing AAA travel agents and members with exemplary travel services in their respective product categories, and for marketing, member service and travel agency support. Additionally, two of AAA’s top-performing agents, Kelly Brock and Henry Dennis of AAA Carolinas were honored with Travel Agent Superlative Awards.
The Partner of the Year Award selection process included surveys and evaluations from the association’s club travel agency executives. Superlative Awards are based on agents’ leisure travel productivity and leisure group sales from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. Thousands of agents were eligible for the awards, and AAA clubs nominated their top achievers.
AAA Carolinas, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, is a not-for-profit organization that serves more than 2.1 million member and the public with travel, automobile and insurance services while being an advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.