The Southwestern Missouri Better Business Bureau’s Torch Finalist plaque.
BRANSON, Mo., March 9, 2015 – “It is an amazing honor to have been selected as one of the three finalists in the 2015 Southwestern Missouri Better Business Bureau‘s ‘Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics,'” said Lianne Milton, the CEO of the Branson Tourism Center (BTC). “When my husband Larry and I started BTC 12 years ago, ‘excellence in customer care, marketplace excellence, advancing marketplace trust and consumer leadership’ were the cornerstones upon which we built our business model and are still the defining standards we strive to meet on a daily basis.” These are also the principles embodied in the Torch Award.
BTC was notified of their selection as a top three Finalist for the prestigious BBB award by Tim “TJ” Loudis, BBB’s Community Outreach & Development Director. In the notification, Loudis said that their independent panel of judges were unanimous in their belief that BTC’s nomination exemplifies a business with a rich history of strong integrity and marketplace ethics.
Branson Tourism Center, established in 2003, is a marketing company specializing in packaging and individual sales of shows, attractions and restaurants within Branson to prospective visitors. Over the last 12 years, BTC has sold well over 4 million show and attraction tickets and hundreds of thousands of room nights in the Branson marketplace as it has built trusted relationships with vendors and customers alike. “Our primary purpose is to make sure our customers have a quality vacation, and we are blessed with vendors who share our commitment and work hand in hand with us to ensure that happens,” Larry Milton said. BTC has been an accredited member of BBB since 2003 and enjoys an A+ BBB Rating.
Although BTC did not win the Torch award, it received a Finalist plaque at the “BBB Torch Award Banquet” on the evening of March 5 at the Ramada Oasis Convention Center in Springfield, Missouri. Tammy Johnson, the General Manager of BTC, received the award on behalf of BTC and said, “This award represents the ethics we apply in our daily business dealings, automatically every day, whether someone is ‘looking’ or not, simply because it is who we are. We are so grateful to be in the top three for this award.”
About Branson Tourism Center
Branson Tourism Center is the area’s largest providers of Branson travel services and employs close to 100 people. It is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri with an A+ rating. Among other organizations, it is a member of the Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA), American Bus Association (ABA), National Tour Association (NTA), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA), Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce (BLACC), and Branson Lakes Area Lodging Association (BLALA). Branson Tourism Center may be reached by calling 1-800-978-1999.