Wilma Boyd has traveled the road to business and community success

COURTESY PHOTO Wilma Boyd Wilma Boyd doesn't consider herself a world traveler. Yes, her many decades in the travel industry have taken her to a great many places, but she prefers not to be labeled as a traveler.

"My goal is to be a good leader, and in order to lead you have to be there," she says. While she enjoys the occasional cruise with her husband or quick weekend getaway to Las Vegas to see a show, she readily admits she's rather be "making decisions and motivating my staff" at Preferred Travel, the agency that celebrates its silver anniversary this year.

Working, however, is not all that bad considering Mrs. Boyd's corner office enjoys a spectacular view of Pelican Bay and is just a short stroll away from Waterside Shops. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asks, unable to hide her glee over her work space, a place she's rightly earned, given her business savvy.

This business sense combined with her love of travel paved Mrs. Boyd's path from her days as Miss Pennsylvania, a little-known fact that brings a slight blush to her cheeks, to well-established business owner. The title she prefers to gloss over was responsible for opening doors to modeling opportunities and television appearances, which resulted in a TWA representative seeing her on TV and pursuing her for a position with the airline. Enamored by the idea of traveling up and down the East Coast interviewing potential flight attendants, she agreed to do it part-time.

During her tenure with TWA, she noticed a lack of interviewing skills among the applicants. That led to her founding the Wilma Boyd Career School, for which Mrs. Boyd served as president until she relocated to Naples in 1984.

In the midst of selling her interest in the school and making the move to Florida, she was also smack in the middle of writing a book called "Travel Agent."

"I thought it was something I needed to do to round out my career, which is such an important part of my life after my family," she says about the book. Just as its title implies, the book is an educational piece for those who want to get into the travel industry. It was published in 1988 and has been used as a teaching tool in schools all around the country.

"I've been a busy girl, haven't I?" she laughs.

But her work was far from over when she arrived in Naples.

With friend Earl Hodges, she opened up a travel agency that would come to be known as Preferred Travel. While the initial endeavor was small, the company has grown considerably over the last 25 years now employing 23 full-time, 10 part-time, and a host of independent contractors all over the country.

"Because of our size, we can do good things for our clients," she says. "People want service, and our philosophy is to always go the extra mile. We are the Nordstrom and The Ritz-Carlton of travel." In fact, the company was just named one of the 25 top-producing travel agencies in the United States in 2008 by Signature Travel Network's Horizon Club.

For Mrs. Boyd, though, business is just as much about the employees as it is about the clients. As she strolls around the office making introductions, it's apparent how proud she is of her staff. "I have the ability to surround myself with the most talented people available," she notes, explaining that she downplays her own travels because some of her staff have been to a whopping 95 countries and hosted nearly as many cruises, far surpassing her experiences.

Even though she leaves the travel arrangements up to her staff now, Mr. Boyd's calendar is full of appointments. Giving back is a full-time commitment, with her time split amongst various organizations, including the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, the Boys and Girls Club and Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, to name just a few.

Over the years, her devotion to the community has garnered her much respect from her peers and has led to numerous honors, including Junior Achievement Hall of Fame Laureate in 1998 and a key to the city from Mayor Bill Barnett naming Feb. 10 "Wilma Boyd Day."

"I'm never happy standing still," she says. "I like to make things happen. I don't like to watch thing happen."

While her business and her charity work certainly keep her busy, Mrs. Boyd always makes time for family. She visits her four children, three of whom reside out of state, often. And during those rare down times, she dreams of her most favorite place in the world: Monte Carlo. "It's so glamorous," she sighs.