Palmer named tourism employee of the year

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Samantha Palmer, Flagler College’s Manager of Retail Operations, has been named the 2014 St. Johns County Tourism Employee of the Year by the Visitors and Convention Bureau in St. Augustine.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (05/27/2014)(readMedia)-- Samantha Palmer, Flagler College's Manager of Retail Operations, has been named the 2014 St. Johns County Tourism Employee of the Year by the Visitors and Convention Bureau in St. Augustine.

Palmer, who won the award in the attractions category, was one of 22 finalists selected from more than 12,500 people employed in the local tourism industry.

"It was a complete surprise. I didn't even know I was nominated or a finalist until this morning," said Palmer on the day she received the award. "I'm still a little shocked and humbled to have won among all the other amazing people nominated from the area."

Palmer, who manages the college's Flagler's Legacy shop on St. George St., also oversees the Legacy Tours of the historic Hotel Ponce de Leon. The centerpiece of Flagler College, the former Hotel Ponce de Leon was built in 1888 by Henry Flagler and is now recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

To learn more about Flagler's Legacy, visit legacy.flagler.edu.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.