About // USA Tour Pros

About USA Tour Pros, LLC

Until now, no single Web site delivered solutions to meet all of the needs of the Professional Tour Director. USA Tour Pros is ready to be your “one-stop shopping” location for anything and everything to do with your career as a Tour Professional.

The USA Tour Pros Web site saves you time — hundreds of hours of valuable time! No longer will you need to search travel Web sites for endless hours trying to find the most basic information that we can deliver to you in one stop. Our goal is to build and nurture a supportive, online community of Tour Professionals to whom you can turn for advice, information, or just to blow off some steam!

As USA Tour Pros develops, we will offer continuing-education classes both on-site and online, a Tour Director resume bank, as well as job opportunities from scores of Tour Operators.

We provide vast amounts of detailed touring information in an uninterrupted manner, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Tom Schoenewald, President & Co-founder

A travel enthusiast of over thirty years with family, friends, schools, summer camps, and sports leagues, Tom Schoenewald earned a Tour Director Certification from the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI) in December 2003 and became a full-time tour director in 2004. In November 2009 he was named the “Tour Manager of the Year” by USA Student Travel of El Dorado Hills, CA. He is a licensed tour guide for both New York City and Washington, DC. Over the past five years (2004-09) he has led over 6,500 passengers on 150+ over-the-road tours of major US cities and National Parks.

In January 2010 he successfully led a sold-out NYC FAM/Sightseeing Guide License Study Session which led to the 100% Licensing of its participants, 90% earning the coveted gold star for exam excellence.

In February 2008 he launched the World Wide Web’s first research and social networking Web site for Tour Professionals, USA Tour Pros and in February 2009 introduced another industry first, Virtual Tour Director (VTD). The VTD videos serve as a training and resource series to acclimate Tour Professionals to the physical layout and ticketing procedures at tour attractions and vendors, as well as tour group policies at vendors (hotels/restaurants) countrywide.

Prior to his development of USA Tour Pros, Tom led summer-camp student tours of the Northeastern US and Canada and both created and moderated an online community of over 200 tour professionals for over four years. In February 2009 he introduced the USA Tour Pros Facebook page in order to create additional networking opportunities for the Tour Pros community.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in communications from Rowan University and a master’s degree in public communication from Fordham University. He has been an instructor of public speaking at St. Peter’s College (Jersey City, New Jersey), and has also taught English as a second language (ESL) in the Bronx, New York, and in both Jungl-li and Taipei, Taiwan. He has worked in various capacities with IBM (Austin, Texas), Hyatt Hotels (Austin, Texas), the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Sands Hotel and Casino (Atlantic City), San Jose Sharks (NHL), Camp Wildwood (Maine), and Camp Cedar (Maine).

Tom has been involved for 13 years in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Organization and in 1997 was awarded the Volunteer of the Year award while an employee of the National Basketball Association. He has also volunteered in New York City as an instructor in the Ice Hockey in Harlem organization and with God’s Love We Deliver.

Janet Rose Bright, Director of Operations & Co-founder

Janet brings to the company an extensive background in corporate travel as well as experience as a marketing and sales professional at such high-end retailers as Tiffany’s Jewelers and Lord and Taylor. She understands the importance of consistent and rapid communication between the supplier and client. With managing experience at these and several other establishments, she has made a career of delivering results at every stop.

Janet is the daily business manager of the Web site, overseeing membership applications and renewals, monitoring Website content, and supplying customer service for our online travel shop. She understands that a healthy company involves providing service to our clients on a daily basis, year-round.