"We show the way around community and vacation destinations, leading travelers to each area's premium accommodations, restaurants, shops, attractions, and services," said Vicki Starr, founder and president of Discovery Map International. "Our souvenir-quality maps illustrate popular travel spots with colorful, fun artwork. Visitors seek out Discovery Maps to use and have as a keepsake."

As a sales and marketing representative for a Sun Valley, Idaho newspaper, and later a radio station, Starr started her career selling advertisement space to local businesses.

Starr recognized that, while businesses had plenty of advertising avenues to reach local people, businesses needed a new tool to reach travelers who were only in town for a few days. To solve this issue, Starr looked to combine a creative advertisement medium for local businesses with a useful, fun product for the visitors.

"Visitors need maps," said Starr. "It's the number-one most-requested piece of information. We decided we could not only meet that need, but offer much more."

Discovery Map fills the need of local businesses by capturing the attention of visitors who may be in town for only a few days, with little or no knowledge of their vacation surroundings. In return, Discovery Map provides visitors with a hand-illustrated diagram of the entire area, depicting local restaurants, shops, hotels, and other hot spots. In essence, Discovery Map serves as a tourism catalyst, supplying visitors with a necessary navigational tool, and offering businesses the chance to reach those visitors. Discovery Map International transforms every community into Disneyland, added Starr.

Now, Starr's maps can be found in visitor's information centers, hotels, restaurants, and other locations in popular destinations across America. These maps not only provide fun facts and easy-to-read directions to local attractions, they also serve as a keepsake for a family scrapbook, Starr added.

After 12 years of steady growth, Starr began franchising as a means of expanding, yet keeping the "local touch" only a franchisee can provide. In 1999, Discovery Map International was formed to franchise the Starr Map concept. Today, you can find Discovery Maps in over 40 markets, and we publish over six million maps each year.

Ms. Starr serves as our President, Secretary, and CEO. She is the founder of Starr Map Company and the developer of the Discovery Map concept. A street-wise entrepreneur, Ms. Starr's leadership, hands-on responsibility, and participation in all facets of the company have taken us from one market in Idaho in 1987 to where we are today. Prior to 1987, she was an account executive in radio and newspaper businesses. She has accumulated over 25 years experience in advertising—20 as a business owner, focusing on providing effective marketing vehicles for businesses in communities with visitor-dependent economies.