60325D63-6A32-42F5-ACCB-74A0449CCB7C

Heather

Polk

5 years of experience
Tampa, FL
United States of America (USA)

Contact Options

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

About

Grew up in a one-stoplight town in rural, southern Virginia, then raised my family in the metropolitan area of Tampa, Florida, but will always be a mountain girl at heart. My background is in education and taught in various settings including a small classical, private school where my children attended, until they were early middle school.  Our family decided to homeschool for many reason, mostly flexibility and addressing the special needs of our family dynamics. This lifestyle and structure allowed for us to engage in a life full of experiences with domestic and international travel, involvement with developing our love and appreciation of a well rounded, liberal arts education including in the the fine and performing arts, and the ability to develop meaningful multigenerational and international relationships.  Trying new things, learning about new places and engaging in the diversity of humanity helps motivate me to be a better person and to value the world around me. I love to help others learn to appreciate and find the treasures in places they explore and value in the communities they visit. 

Tours Offered & Destination Knowledge

Bus ToursCultural/Specialty ToursDriver GuideFood & Drink ToursGeneral Walking ToursLarge Group ToursLocal GuideMulti-Day Tour Director/LeaderPerformance Group ToursPrivate ToursStudent Tour Director

Licensed in Washington and New York City; New England including local guide in Boston, Washington DC and NYC ; Interior Alaska from Seward to Fairbanks: Southwest Parks including Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon; Driver guide in Portland, Oregon and greater Portland area, including Willamette Valley, wine guide; Florida destinations including, Orlando performing arts groups; Educational tours in Miami, Key West, and college campuses throughout the state, Tampa Bay Food walking tours: Atlanta, Baltimore. 

Fun Fact!
Harry Connick, Jr wrote a song for me about my hair! It’s on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Hobbies & Interests
Love game and/or karaoke nights with family and friends. I’m a pre-mature cat lady, considered the ‘cat consultant’ in my neighbor and have 6 cats! I study wine… and share my collection with others.

Testimonials

"Heather was exceptional. Can’t say enough about her enthusiasm, her welcoming and warm manner, her exuberance and knowledge. You’re incredibly fortunate to have he a a guide representing your company!" Viking tour guest

"Heather was our engagement and inclusion guru.  She made sure everyone was participating and having fun. She made sure the group interacted and we got to know our fellow adventurers.  We were having so much fun on the train ride to Denali that I overheard a woman from the other group (Princess Cruise Line) say, "We should be with that group.  They are having fun."  As with Betsi, I found Heather to be high energy, caring and fun." Adventures by Disney guest

Example of feedback from an over the road tour, from multiple guests:

"TD Knowledge: She is the BOMB!!!' Double her pay. She definitely loves her job

TD Knowledge: Very personable and helpful

TD Knowledge: Excellent use of messaging on the phone for information

TD Knowledge: We have had extensive travel experiences and believe she is the best one so far. She combines positive experience, knowledge and personality to give her guests a very enjoyable experience.

TD Knowledge: Thank you for making the land portion of our trip fun and informative. We had a great group. Your shared perspectives and experiences were much appreciated

TD Knowledge: Heather is amazing! Caring, funny, well organized and knew the area. She's done her research. We don't think we could have had a better Tour Director!"

"Begin your Portland trip with this tour of the gorge and falls!!" Heather did incredible job with information ranging from geological, historical, interesting information and kept the entire van happy and able to experience these beautiful landmarks without the worries of driving and directions. It is not to be missed!!! Back in Portland for lunch and touring the local sights!”

"Heather was extremely knowledgeable and clearly enjoyed sharing her knowledge with others. She was patient and kind and went above and beyond with the extras that made our trip so enjoyable."

“Heather is a SUPERB tour guide! She is soo0o knowledgeable, personable, entertaining.…and she's quite the Renaissance woman! Everything was so perfect, and we give Heather TEN stars for making our wine tour so memorable! Thank you for a fabulous day, Heather!”

“We had a fantastic tour of the gorge and waterfalls with Heather P today. She was friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating and customized the tour based on our interests. Highly recommend her! Thanks!”

“Heather was our guide for our wine tour, and she was AMAZING! So knowledgeable, friendly, outgoing, funny, and just truly awesome! We would recommend this tour to anyone, too…and we would for sure recommend Heather!”

“On another note, it has been an absolute pleasure working with you this summer. I for one really enjoyed your attitude and ability to launch yourself into our tours with all the prep work you did prior to coming out here and then the self research you did when you got here. You picked up all of our tours faster than anybody I have hired before. I also really appreciated your ability to work through adversity, our company is not perfect and we are always trying to improve for our customers and our tour guides. Most people find the fluidity of the job and last minute changes very hard to deal with, you did incredible in this regard and your ability to adjust on the fly. Thank you for your hard work this summer, if you still plan on coming back next summer we would be more than happy to have you back. I hope I was able to get you on enough wine tours :) Thanks, JD”

”Ryan and Heather, I thought you would like to read what the director said about you in her evaluation.
Great job!! They were both perfect! They felt like family by the time we left. Ryan and Heather went above and beyond to make our trip run smoothly. Sonia Camisotti, Tour Manager Director”

Details

Gateway Airport(s)

TPA

Licenses

Washington, D.C., New York City (NYC)

Training

International Guide Academy, TripSchool Training: Tripschool Southwest Parks Training, TripSchool Northeast Cities Mega Training, TripSchool Start Your Own Business, TripSchool Storytelling and Video Production Workshops, TripSchool & ITMI New York Washington DC Training, various other detailed TripSchool online NYC and Boston Trainings; ITMI Master Class Certified Washington DC;

Language(s)

English

Additional Education

Virginia Tech, BS

State University of New York at Albany, MS

Florida Atlantic University, Hospitality and Tourism Management Certificate 

General Availability

Fall 2023

Photo Album