The City of Aiken Tourism Division, Visit Aiken, wants to elevate our guest experience by providing the Visit Aiken Ambassador initiative to local business owners and community leaders. Complete with customer service training, think tank sessions with local tourism experts, and education on points of interest in our city, this program will improve frontline staff interactions and create repeat visitors for years to come.

Four hours of classroom instruction on the USC Aiken campus with the esteemed professor, Karen Edgington, MBA, PMP is the first step to becoming a Visit Aiken Ambassador.

This program is free for all participants. Register today for classes beginning February 8, 2022. Space is limited. The exclusive full schedule of events will be announced to those who register. Together, we can showcase Aiken for the gem that it is.

Course Objectives Include

• Why Is Customer Service Not Only Important to an Organization but Also to Each and Every Employee?
• What Can We Anticipate from Customer Expectations and How Do We Handle Various Customer Emotions?
• Why Is the “First Impression” So Significant?
• Why Is Listening So Important in Communication and How Do We Learn to Be Better Communicators?
• What Can We Do to Become More Professional and Build Solid Customer Relationships?

The course will be led by Professor Karen Edgington, who is presently teaching Economics for the School of Business at the USC Aiken, where she was previously the Director of External Programs. During her time as Director, she arranged online training courses, professional certification programs, and continuing education classes. Prior to her return to USC Aiken, she was hired as the Director of Continuing Education in the Office of Extended Learning and Community Outreach at Coastal Carolina University (CCU).

Before Coastal, Edgington was the Director for The O’Connell Center of Executive Development at the USC Aiken and taught courses in statistics, economics, and business communications.  Previous to joining the USC Aiken faculty, Edgington was the Director for The Center for Executive Development (CED) at Colorado Mesa University.  She initiated the program in 1996 to offer non-credit programs to businesses and governmental entities throughout Colorado.  Previous experience also includes being senior manager within the not-for-profit, banking, and retail industries in areas of customer service and business development.

Edgington’s teaching career includes Colorado Mesa University, USC Aiken and Augusta University. She is a published author and has created supplemental materials used in statistics texts. Edgington has been a consultant and advisor to universities and not-for-profits, assisting in increasing revenue generation for the respective organizations. Among her awards are the “Excellence in Teaching Award” and the “William H. Marsh Award for Service” from USC Aiken, “Who’s Who for Female Executives” and “The El Pomar Award for Excellence” which recognizes Colorado nonprofit organizations and individuals that serve their community with distinction and excellence. 

Edgington holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics and Finance and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She earned her Project Management Professional Certification in April 2021.

If your business or organization is interested in participating in this program, please visithttps://campscui.active.com/orgs/UniversityofSouthCarolinaAiken1?orglink=camps-registration to enroll. For more information, call the Aiken Visitor’s Center & Train Museum at 803-293-7846 or visit https://www.cityofaikensc.gov/visitaikenambassadors/.