40 Under 40

As a child, Julius Stecker was fascinated by the world.

"My family owned this old globe that I would just spin around all the time," Stecker said. "Often times, I would stop it at countries that I wanted to eventually visit in my lifetime."

He's been able to live out his childhood dream of traveling the world. Through his career in the group travel industry, Stecker has been able to visit more than 40 countries—and he brings his enthusiasm for travel to his new position as Director of Group Sales and Business Development with Mayflower Tours.

"I have been truly blessed to have traveled the world during my career. I have been to six of the seven continents and 42 countries, and I'm only 37 years old."

Stecker's favorite destination so far has been South Africa.

"It truly is the destination that has everything. You can take a safari, you can see two beautiful oceans, the food and wine are fantastic, and Nelson Mandela is one of my heroes. That experience for me will be hard to top."

Stecker has been working in the group travel industry for over 10 years. In addition to working for nine years at Collette Tours, he spent over a year at Royal Caribbean. "Both are great companies. They've given me tremendous experience in the travel industry and prepared me for this great opportunity with Mayflower.

"I am very excited to be a part of the Mayflower team, and the great opportunity to work with John and Mary Stachnik."

 Written by Cassie Westrate, staff writer for Groups Today.