2021 ushers in many exciting events , including the 43rd year of travel adventures for the three women running Christian Tours & Burke International Tours ! Daughters , Heather Paul and Melissa Jones work side by side to support the leadership of their mother and company president , Mellonee Owenby . Mellonee is the second generation of strong women at the helm of the family businesses - Christian Tours & Burke International Tours and follows in the footsteps of her parents , Udean & Nancy Burke . Nancy & Udean founded Christian Tours in 1977 and Burke International Tours in 1982 , purchasing 2 motorcoaches to meet the requests of people to visit the Worlds Fair in Knoxville , TN . Christian Tours has expanded over the years to encompass motorcoach tours all over North America and Canada , fly tours to destinations domestic and international , educational trips for students , and preformed group travel . Burke International Tours has continued to grow , providing 50 Prevost motorcoaches available for charter transportation for schools , sports teams , wedding parties and guests , families , church groups , and , well , anybody else who has a group of people they want to move from one location to another !
These ladies not only manage the details of the tours , they oversee everything involved in managing a fleet of 63 commercial vehicles . Christian Tours campus , in rural North Carolina includes the parking and maintenance facility for their fleet , the building where the office staff works and where passengers meet prior to embarking on their adventures , and the beautiful grounds maintained by a staff of groundskeepers year-round .
One of the most note-worthy traits of these three ladies is their ability to attract and hire the best people for the job . Their staff includes almost 130 of the finest folks in the travel industry ! Top notch motorcoach drivers , wellseasoned and knowledgeable tour directors , the finest garage and service personnel around , and a staff of office professionals who excel at all of the many puzzle pieces required to complete a final product with results to serve passengers again and again .
Mellonee and her daughters , Heather and Melissa , have been a steady rock during the most turbulent time in the travel industry that no one could ever have imagined . Their ability to lead comes from a strong faith in the Lord , and a lifetime of experience in the travel industry .
In the early years , Mellonee worked alongside her parents and had calls forwarded to her home as she was raising her children ; many times answering the phone from a closet to focus on the conversation . Eventually the business grew from running a few tours a year , to days when every vehicle in the company was out on the road for an extended length of time . When Heather & Melissa were in grade school they would help the office staff with their duties and were often caught giggling as well . After college , Heather & Melissa joined the family business full time and for a number of years , three generations of the family worked in different positions within the company , including Mellonee ’ s husband , Sonny , who managed the company garage maintaining the large fleet of company vehicles .
As time goes by , families change , loved ones pass on and new members are added . When the Lord called Nancy and Udean to their heavenly home , the family mourned , but the bond remained . Adjustments had already been put in place and Mellonee continued the role of company president while Heather and Melissa moved into their new roles as Vice-Presidents . Christian Tours & Burke International Tours continued to evolve , adding an ever-increasing number of tours , transporting even more people , and taking a multitude of passengers to destinations all over the US and the world .
2020 started out in January with their annual Open House held on the beautiful campus of Christian Tours . Folks from all over North & South Carolina look forward every year for the chance to come to the campus , visit with the staff and fellow travelers , find out about the new tours for the upcoming year , and sign up on-site for tours with an extra special discount .
Then came March . COVID raised its ugly head . Things came to a standstill , and the travel industry took it hard . Christian Tours was certainly no exception . But these three ladies stayed strong , kept the faith , made some hard decisions , and continued to lead the company into the future . Soon 2020 will be in the past and travel will resume , bouncing back harder and stronger than ever before . And these three ladies will still be leading the charge , blazing new trails , and giving travelers the opportunities to visit places near and far !
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