Get To Know Our Leaders – The History Behind Magical Vacation Planner

Never underestimate the power of a person’s dream. Jamie Ane Eubanks not only had a dream, she also had a vision, and a lot to prove. She had accompanied her husband, J.J. Eubanks, during a successful fourteen-year basketball career playing professionally all over the world. These life circumstances, as exciting as they were, made it difficult for her to find the stability that would grant her a job. Sharing your journey with a professional athlete at that level means having to put your own professional ambitions on hold. By the time they decided to move back to the United States, nobody would take a chance on her. Employers believed the years she spent accompanying her husband were a gap in her professional career. But she knew better, much better.

Building Her Own Path

When opportunities aren’t given to you, the best thing you can do is create those opportunities yourself. Jamie had a fire within her that only lights up inside those who have something to prove, those who believe in their vision and the power of their dreams. What makes you succeed beyond your education and your talent is your drive. People rejecting her fueled her drive, and what happens when that fire is lit within you, it will burn everything around you to clear the way towards your dreams.  

Magical Vacation Planner was born from her drive, a motivation to prove everyone who had doubted her wrong. At a very young age, she envisioned working as a sales representative at Walt Disney World. In a letter she wrote May 20th, 1991 to one of her professors for a class assignment at Sullivan University, many years before MVP was born, she stated that “you have to have dreams to make dreams come true,” and that as long as she got to work around people, she would be one of the happiest individuals in the world. Walt Disney inspired her with his famous words, “all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” She believed in the power of her dreams, in her love for Disney, and in her desire to impact people’s lives.

What started as a small storefront travel agency in 2006 turned into a powerhouse company that partners with some of the biggest names in the travel industry. Dan Cockerell, a 26-year Disney veteran who worked his way up from the theme parks’ parking lots to vice-president of the Magic Kingdom, said it best when he stated that “Jamie and J.J. communicate and pass on their values very clearly, they take care of their people, and you can clearly see the results of that.” Everyone who’s chosen to work with MVP is able to connect with the company’s culture. What MVP stands for are the values that Jamie and J.J. carried along throughout their whole lives. 

Leadership That Leads To Success

Great leaders are those who wouldn’t ask you to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves. Jamie and J.J. have tested and performed every job in their company, from planning vacations to driving transportation vans, from dispatching to meeting with high executives. They know what it’s like to be in everyone’s shoes, they can empathize with their people because they’ve been there, and this is the true difference-maker. 

The secret to success is to treat everyone fairly, to give more than is expected from you, to not hold anyone back in their own progress and encourage them to grow. The more you help others, the more prosperous you’ll be. MVP is a proven testament to this; the company takes care of its independent contractors, which ultimately translates into them taking care of their clients.

Those Who Make The Magic Happen: Our MVPs

When it comes to our travel advisors, MVP believes they are the wheel that keeps everything turning, and this is why the company provides some of the best education, training, and support in the industry. MVP’s leadership staff works proactively and innovatively to provide their MVPs with the best available resources and tools to become some of the best professional travel advisors in the industry. MVP believes your vacation should start at the exact moment you begin planning it, and every step of the way should be stress-free and filled with joy and magic. 

Remember what Lee Cockerell said: “it’s not the magic that makes it work; it’s the way we work that makes it magic.” This statement isn’t only true to Disney, it is also true to the way Magical Vacation Planner operates. MVP’s ultimate goal is to continue to impact lives for years to come, helping clients experience the magic, creating unforgettable memories, and having the time of their lives.