Former Intel Executive Builds Cruise Travel Powerhouse

Former Intel Executive Builds Cruise Travel Powerhouse,Cruise Holidays of Portland Honored with Franchise Awards Three Years in a Row

Portland, OR, October 13, 2007– For a third straight year, Steve Levich – a former Intel executive – and his wife Beth Levich, along with their business, Cruise Holidays of Portland, garnered several top franchise awards. Since opening in 2002, they have been honored with the following: 2007 President’s Circle, 2006 Operational Excellence Award, and 2005 Golden Anchor Award. Cruise Holidays of Portland is the only store to receive all three of these awards since Carlson took over Cruise Holidays in 2001.

“We are very pleased to be recognized as a President’s Circle member and to continue the success that has earned us each of these awards. We know it wouldn’t have been possible without our outstanding sales and operations staff,” said Steve Levich, President of Cruise Holidays of Portland. “It’s great to reach this milestone just five short years after leaving Intel and opening the store.”

During this year’s Cruise Holidays Annual Convention, held in Seattle and aboard Celebrity Cruises Mercury from September 23-28, Cruise Holidays of Portland and its staff received the following recognition and awards:

• President’s Circle – Cruise Holidays of Portland was named a member of the 2007 Cruise Holidays’ President’s Circle. This group is comprised of the top 20 performing Cruise Holidays stores based on a scorecard system measuring total revenue, revenue growth, and participation in Cruise Holidays programs between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007.

• 2007 Outstanding Sales Achievement – This award is given to cruise specialists with greater than US $1 million in sales in the past year. This year Leslie Hockett became a 3-time winner and Beth Levich a 2-time winner of this award.

• Best Group Promotion Award – Cruise Holidays of Portland was honored based on their work attracting and supporting a group of over 375 professionals aboard a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise in which the participants earned credit hours toward their yearly certification.

“Clearly, Cruise Holidays of Portland has performed at a very high level since they joined the Cruise Holidays franchise network. They’ve used every possible avenue to grow their business and exceed their customers’ expectations,” said Peter D. Thomson, Vice President and COO of Cruise Holidays. “Their knowledge, expertise and the overall experience and care they provide to their customers is a testament to their continued success.”

Steve Levich, former Intel Corporation Director of Marketing, and his wife Beth, have built Cruise Holidays of Portland into what it is today. After leaving Intel, Levich used his marketing talents to build the cruise travel company which is now a multi-million dollar leader only miles from the chip maker’s headquarters in Hillsboro, Oregon. “It took some courage and focus for us to venture in this field which was new to us. Our joint passion for travel guided us and helped me make this change in my profession and our lifestyle,” said Levich. “We now spend much of our time selling and escorting groups worldwide. Creating a vacation experience like no other is an enjoyable experience and a definite lifestyle change from my days with Intel.”

In addition to a healthy local client base, Cruise Holidays of Portland operates two travel Web sites, each with a different niche: http://www.AlaskaCruiseProfessionals.com focuses on cruises and cruisetours to Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon; http://www.AmericasCruiseProfessionals.com promotes cruises and cruisetours to Europe, South America, Asia, the Caribbean, and a variety of other extraordinary destinations.
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Cruise Holidays of Portland has been serving local travelers since 2002 and is located at 13611 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR. It is part of Cruise Holidays, the oldest and largest cruise-specialty retail franchise in North America, with stores in both the United States and Canada. The Cruise Holidays network is part of the Carlson family of businesses, a global leader in the travel and hospitality industry that includes Regent ® International Hotels, Regent Seven Seas Cruises®, Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, T.G.I. Friday’s® and more.

Contact Information:

Natalie Wilson
Cruise Holidays of Portland
13611 NW Cornell Road
Portland,
Natalie Wilson
phone:(503) 641-5225
[email protected]
www.cruzholidays.com