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Charles Funk

Charles Funk
CO-Founder

Charlie Funk is co-Founder of Just Cruisin’ Plus, a full-service travel agency, in Nashville, TN, that focuses on leisure travel and specializes in cruises. He was born in New Tazewell, TN and lived in North and South Carolina until his graduation from North Carolina State University. He moved to Nashville in 1972 from Waynesboro, VA.

Member of Brentwood Baptist Church
Member of deacon minsitry
Bass singer in choir ministry

Personal Information
Married in 1981 to Sherrie Funk, co-owner of Just Cruisin’ Plus
Father to Carol, Karen and Angela Funk, step-dad to Angela Haglund
Ten grandchildren - Adrianne, Trey, Charlie, Brittany, Ashley, Abbi, Maeve, Truman, Ian and Silas
Four great grandchildren - Madison, Cullen, Ollie and Cash
Graduated from North Carolina State University
Avid Tennessee Titans fan
Hobbies include: Tinkering on my Corvette, R/C model plane building, computer programming, gunsmithing, reading, and traveling
Certifications:
Educational Background

1964 - BS in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University
1964 - 1965 - Product Development Engineer, Union Carbide Corp.
1965 - 1969 - Process Development Engineer, Dupont
1969 - 1972 - Research and Development Engineer, Thiokol
1972 - 1980 - Marketing Manager Rosemount-Nashville, Inc.
1980 - 1983 - President, Testoterm, Inc.
1983 - 1993 - Sales Manager Wellman Thermal Systems
1987 - present - co-owner Pacesetter Tours, Inc., dba Just Cruisin' Plus, coming into the company full time in 1993


Professional Awards
1989 – Winner Travel Trade’s “Best Cruise Promotions Idea of the Year”
1989 – Winner Travel Weekly ‘s “Best Travel Promotion” – Agency under $5,000,000
1990 – Winner Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Agency of the Year”
1995 – Second Place – CLIA’s National Cruise Vacation Month Promotion – Agency over $5,000,000
Sales awards from:
Carnival Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises
Costa Cruises
Holland American Line
Norwegian Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean International
2003 Recipient - Travel Trade “Travel Agent of the Year” as voted by travel agents throughout the U.S. and Canada
2012 Inducted into Cruise Lines' International Hall of Fame
Professional Service
President - Instrument Society of America, Nashville Chapter
Contributing columnist to Fiber Producer magazine
Contributing writer to ISA Journal
Lecturer and speaker for Instrument Society of America
Past Member - Premier Cruise Lines Travel Agency Advisory Board
Past Member - Norwegian Cruise Lines Travel Agency Advisory Board
1996 - 2005 – Vacation.com National Advisory Board Member
National speaker for Vacation.com’s Annual Conferences and regional universities
Co-author of three books written specifically for the travel industry
Co-creator of the Travel Agency Management Academy (TAMA) to insure the survival of small and medium-sized travel agencies
Current president SKAL Club of Nashville
Contributing editor for Travel Weekly, the leading travel industry newspaper
Collaborator and technical consultant for CruisePak, computer software for the travel agencies
Civic Service
Past chair - Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Job Fair
Past Teacher - Applied Economics for Junior Achievement, Martin Luther King High and Glencliff High Schools
Past Member - Advisory Board for Academy of Travel and Tourism, Antioch High School, Antioch, TN
Current Member - Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Champions
Civic Awards
Who’s Who of Engineering – 1975
Who’s Who Worldwide – 1977
Community Service