Page 64 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2025 - Online Magazine
P. 64
TRA VEL
King's Highway:
A New Chapter
by Vickie Walters
tour business grew to eight tours a
year, with charters remaining the
dominant division of the company.
At the end of 2023, Tom was
approached by another bus
company about selling his bus
business. Retirement had crossed
his mind several times after
om Walters started King’s Tom named his new business King’s enduring the catastrophic effects
Highway Charters and Tours Highway Charters and Tours to of the 2020 pandemic. He always
Tin February 1997, after being honor God and begin a mission that made decisions based on prayer,
laid off from Nabisco, the cookie and would grow beyond his dreams. and this one was no different. In
cracker company, on his birthday in January 2024, after much prayer and
1996. He had worked almost 20 years In the beginning, King’s Highway research, Tom decided to sell the
for the company and felt angry. He mainly chartered motorcoaches buses but continue tours and partner
did not understand why God would (transportation and a driver) for with the company buying the buses.
allow that to happen. Two days later, groups such as sports teams, After 18 months of negotiations, all
he received a call from Lubbock churches, schools, and bands. Then the buses sold, but the partnership
Christian University wanting to Tom’s mother had the idea to plan ended.
know if he would be interested in tours (vacations) during the slow Moving forward, we are excited
buying their bus. He had driven periods of the charter business. She about our future as a tour company.
many ski trips and group trips for suggested a bluebonnet tour in April King’s Highway Tours is not a
them and had thought about buying to the Hill Country of Texas. Tom travel agency, but we plan all our
a bus someday to transport church did not think people would pay own trips, and people sign up for
groups when he retired. After much money to go see flowers, but he was the ‘vacations’ that interest them
prayer, he realized God was opening proven wrong after his mother called most. Our groups have so much fun,
a door for him to touch people’s all her friends, and they passed and many folks make new, lifetime
lives through a hobby he enjoyed. the word around. They ended up friends as well. We still have tours
with a full bus! From that point, the
64 Lubbock Senior Link
