It was one of the best kept secrets in the industry.
Wednesday night, those who call Penny Martin a colleague and friend gathered in downtown Toronto to toast her retirement with a surprise party held under the guise she was attending an Air Canada event.
As we featured on
Tuesday in our Women in Travel Series, Martin is leaving The Travel Agent Next Door after being with the host agency since its inception and playing a crucial role in the development and success of the company.
“She will live on for The Travel Agent Next Door forever,” said Rhonda Friisdahl, VP Talent Development, and wife of founder Flemming Friisdahl.
“As Flemming said, when we started, there were no policies, there were no procedures. And Penny's name is on every single one of them. If she didn't create them, she's modified them. So, it's going to take a long time to erase that 10 years with Penny Martin’s name on it - it'll never happen.”
“We had to hire two people just to fill her role,” Flemming Friisdahl joked. “Penny knows everything about The Travel Agent Next Door; the amount of knowledge and the skills our history is an intricate part and we're going to continue to draw from that knowledge for quite a few years to come.”
