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FARMINGTON – Just as the leaves begin to turn for fall’s big color show, Chanda Luker’s business of helping travelers find their way in the world has gotten busy. It’s especially sweet for Luker because after serving her clients’ travel needs for 16 years she is now the new owner of Farmington Travel on Lower Broadway.
She’s discovered that many people who have worked hard and saved for their dream vacation had to put off going because of the wobbly economy. But, now that things are on the upswing, her clients are ready to go.
“People are taking long trips now,” Luker said. Lately, Hawaii and Alaska are popular destinations and many tend to be last minute decisions.
“One couple saved their money for a long time to go to Alaska but didn’t know where to visit,” she said. Take a cruise or rent a car and tour the state? Luker suggested RVing, so for 16 days they traveled where they wanted in a recreational vehicle with all the comforts of home, from Fairbanks and the Denali National Park to the southern coast where they took a short cruise. They got the best of all worlds for their hard-earned vacation.
The trick is not only knowing where to travel but how to travel and that’s where Luker comes in to help. These days with travel restrictions changing at the whim of world politics, safety becomes the number one concern when going abroad. Knowing where to find the latest information is just one of the details Luker will research when considering a destination. It’s something that comes with her years of experience.
Just 21 and fresh out of travel school, Luker was hired by Farmington Travel former owner Peter Smith. Farmington Travel was established in 1963 with Smith taking over the reins in the late 1970s. In 2001 Bruce Miles took over and Luker worked with him until he decided to sell the business to Luker this year. Miles is working with her part time to make sure the transition is a smooth one.
“Peter was a great teacher; he taught me the correct way of doing things,” she said. “I really need to thank Peter because he stressed continuing education and customer service come first.”
Since becoming the owner of a local travel agency in these times of online booking and uncertain economic times, Luker is happy with how things are turning out. When she signed the papers to become the company’s owner on June 16, she worried the business wouldn’t keep coming.
“I was very scared at first, but it’s been very positive and it’s a huge relief to see it’s getting busy,” she said.
A Mt. Blue High School graduate, Luker was 10 when she arrived here from Cambodia with her family. After surviving the horrific life inside Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge government’s concentration camps for four years, Maine’s Sen. George Mitchell sponsored her family’s settlement here.
Local support came from Jean and Claude Vachon in a program sponsored by the Old South Congregational Church in Farmington.
As refugees of a war-torn nation that resulted in the genocide deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people by execution and starvation by the government, Luker and her family arrived to Portland, Maine, in January 1981.
Getting off the plane in sandals and sundresses, Luker and her sisters looked outside and into the winter landscape of Portland and thought the snow was sand.
“We looked around and saw all the white and thought it was sand,” she said smiling. “Sand on roofs, sand on roads, everywhere.” Prepared for the family arriving in summer wear, the Vachons and others greeted them with warm clothing for the ride home.
Luker entered the third grade at Mallett School and settled into life in Maine.
“If everyone would care and be as kind as the people who helped us were, there would be world peace,” Luker said.
Perhaps it was her dramatic passage from the horrors of life in Cambodia to the quiet hills of western Maine or her arrival in winter wearing summerwear, Luker loves to see people travel to places they’ve never been and be prepared for every eventuality. And to give them a vacation they’ll never forget.
According to extensive traveler Beanie Ross of Phillips and Arizona, Luker is the travel agent to see.
“Chanda Luker will go above and beyond her profession to make sure you are completely happy and satisfied,” Ross said. “She will make sure your vacation is one of the most enjoyable moments of your life.”
“It excites me when people come in here and they don’t know where to go. They’ve saved their money and want to find the best places to go and I love helping them do that,” she said.
For more information, call Luker at Farmington Travel, 125 Broadway, Farmington, 207-778-9811 or write her at: cluker@farmingtontravel.com
