17 Dec Jackie Friedman, President of Nexion Travel Group, Wins Lifetime Achievement Award
Longtime industry executive honored at the 2020 Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards
IRVING, TX (Dec. 17, 2020) – Jackie Friedman, CTC, CTIE, President of Nexion Travel Group, has been honored by Travel Weekly with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented at the 2020 Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards virtual gala.
– J.D. O’Hara, CEO, Internova Travel Group
The Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals whose efforts have led to extraordinary results within an enterprise and who has also made significant contributions to the industry as a whole. Previous recipients have included Barry Liben, Bill Marriott, Bob Dickinson, Richard Anderson, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Richard Fain, Gordon Bethune, Arthur Tauck, Jonathan Tisch, Geoffrey Kent, Butch Stewart, and Tim and Nina Zagat. The legacy of Travel Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award recipients collectively defines the environment that the travel industry operates in today. The recipients’ careers have provided a model of vision and accomplishment to inspire tomorrow’s leaders.
“What Jackie has been able to accomplish in her career is nothing short of phenomenal,” said J.D. O’Hara, CEO of Internova Travel Group, the parent company of Nexion Travel Group. “No one is more deserving of this award. Besides being the fearless leader of Nexion Travel Group, Jackie has always been a huge champion for our advisors and our industry. In fact, many advisors owe their careers to her, the ‘godmother’ of travel advisors, because she has brought so many of them into the business.”
Friedman began her career as a frontline travel advisor in Canada. She worked her way into agency management before moving to Sabre, where she held a variety of executive roles. She joined Nexion Travel Group as President 16 years ago, shaping the company into the top host agency that it is today. Thousands of independent travel advisors have found their home with Nexion Travel Group, where they are provided opportunities to grow their business through top-quality support in the areas of operations, training, marketing, technology and networking. Friedman also launched Travel Leaders of Tomorrow, a training program for travel advisors, and its military scholarship program, Veterans in Travel.
Friedman is sought after for her expertise, serving on numerous travel supplier advisory boards. She is an avid supporter of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), currently serving as Treasurer. She is also a past recipient of the Barbara O’Hara Award for Advocacy.
Since 2019, Friedman has served as President of The Family Bonds Foundation. She holds the Certified Travel Counselor and Certified Travel Industry Executive designations from the Travel Institute.
“I am deeply honored to receive Travel Weekly’s Lifetime Achievement Award,” Friedman said. “It is a privilege to work in the wonderful world of travel, and to have a role in shaping travel advisors’ careers. At this time, the industry is being challenged like never before, and yet the global pandemic has also shown the world the importance and strength of travel advisors. I would like to accept this award on behalf of all those hard-working advisors who have made and will continue to make travel memories happen for their clients. They are the reason for my success, and they are an inspiration to me and so many others.”
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About Internova Travel Group
Internova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 65,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries.
About Nexion Travel Group
Nexion® Travel Group is a fully accredited host agency, offering membership to independent travel professionals since 1995. As part of Travel Leaders Group, Nexion Travel Group provides ticketing, operations and fulfillment support to independent travel professionals coupled with best-in-class tools, technology, marketing, education and support. Nexion Travel Group is the complete host agency for multi-agent agencies, corporate agencies, experienced agents and those new to the industry.