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40 < m ETRO m AGAZINE APRIL 2014 metro-magazine.com Spotting opportunities in dif cult times and diversifying their products to meet customers' changing needs has made Larry and Lorna Hundt's tour and coach operation a continued success for more than 30 years. BY NICOLE SCHLOSSER, Senior Editor Husband and wife Larry and Lorna Hun- dt, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada-based Great Canadian Holidays and Coach- es, married their passions for tourism and the motorcoach business and start- ed their operation, formerly Travel Ven- tures, in 1984. T ey still run it together to this day, growing the fleet and fostering several partnerships as well as of ering a diverse mix of businesses, from tours to truck repairs. "And we stayed married," Lorna laughs. Lorna always had the travel business in her blood, starting her career as a travel agent in 1976. Meanwhile, Larry got involved in the motorcoach industry while he was in col- lege, taking a summer job working for a coach company, where he fell in love with the business and never looked back. Larry and Lorna hired other operators to run their coaches for their tours, and eventually, grew the operation to 52 mo- torcoaches. T e operation also partners with more than 30 other tour companies, which they now operate coaches for. Employing approximately 80 driv- ers and a total of 160 employees, the operation provides tours, motorcoach rentals and vehicle maintenance from its state-of-the-art facility. Great Cana- dian's operation also features vehicles that stand out with unique, original and patriotic artwork. INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTIONS Larry's devotion to the operation ex- tends to the industry, with his work on the United Motorcoach Association (UMA) board of directors, where for five years, he has represented the Canadian Region IV, Victor Parra, president and CEO for UMA, says. Larry has also served as UMA's Expo chair for the past three years and on the Finance and Marketing Committees. "Larry Hundt is not your typical asso- Lorna and Larry Hundt, shown here in the middle with daughters Andrea, left, and Michelle, started the tour operation in 1984. ciation committee chair," Parra says. "He takes his responsibility seriously and is truly engaged in helping develop ev- ery aspect of Expo. He's def nitely a roll- up-your-sleeves, get-involved leader. Plus he really understands our industry, which helps us pick Expo education top- ics, covering the most timely, critical is- sues facing bus operators... I wish I could clone him." To honor their outstanding achieve- ments in the industry, METRO Maga- zine selected Larry and Lorna Hundt as its 2014 Motorcoach Operator of the Year. METRO Publisher Frank Di Giacomo presented the award to the Hundts at the UMA's 2014 Motorcoach Expo at Trav- el Exchange in Los Angeles in February. SPOTTING OPPORTUNITIES The company has grown significantly over the last 30 years because it has taken an innovative approach to expansion and 'Great Canadian' Husband and Wife Team Named Operator of the Year M E T R O 0 4 1 4 _ O P E R T O R . i n d d 4 0 METRO0414_OPERTOR.indd 40 3 / 1 7 / 1 4 5 : 5 6 P M 3/17/14 5:56 PM