Name: Stephanie Klett
Title: Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Tourism
Organization: Wisconsin Department of Tourism
Years at Department of Tourism: Two
Primary responsibilities: “My job is to help make Wisconsin the premiere vacation destination in the Midwest.”
Department’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment so far, as it relates to tourism: “The relaunching of the Travel Green Wisconsin program with a lower fee structure.”
Department’s most significant sustainability-related challenge: “Getting the word out about Travel Green Wisconsin.”
MADISON, WIS.—Growing up in Wisconsin with a father who was an outdoor enthusiast and a “bird nerd,” Stephanie Klett was introduced early on to the wonders of nature. “You can’t be from Wisconsin without caring for the environment,” she says. Today, as Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Klett gets to travel inside and outside of The Badger State, promoting it as the Midwest’s leading travel destination.
Part of Klett’s responsibilities is highlighting Wisconsin’s green destinations and businesses, many of which are part of Travel Green Wisconsin. Travel Green Wisconsin is the state’s voluntary certification program that reviews, certifies, and recognizes tourism businesses that have made a commitment to continuously improve their operations in order to reduce their environmental impact. Launched officially in 2007, Travel Green Wisconsin now has 400 businesses certified, 150 of which are lodging establishments.
“My goal is 500 businesses,” Klett says.
Klett participates in the Travel Green Wisconsin Committee, part of the Governor’s Council on Tourism. Committee participants range from accommodation owners to a golf course owner. She is also active in organizations across the state and in her hometown of Beloit. She is a member of the Ice Age Trail Alliance and the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Foundation.
Revived Travel Green Wisconsin
Since Klett joined the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in 2011, Travel Green Wisconsin has undergone some important changes. “When I came on board two years ago, the program had been put on hold,” Klett says. The application process was complex and fees were too high for many participants. Under Klett’s watch, the program has been revised and now participants can complete applications online. There is a flat fee of $95. Renewals occur every other year and the fee to renew is just $75.
“The application takes just a small amount of time and it is easier than you think,” Klett says. “Before, so many said, ‘I started the form and was never able to finish it.’”
To qualify for certification, each Travel Green Wisconsin applicant must earn a minimum of 35 points from the application. First, the applicant must fulfill the Basic Requirements and meet the minimum point requirements in Section A, Communication and Education (seven points). The remaining 30 points can be earned from any combination of additional application sections. These include: Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling; Energy Efficiency, Conservation, and Management; Water Conservation and Wastewater Management; Air Quality; Wildlife and Landscape Conservation and Management; Transportation; Purchasing; and Local Community Benefits.
Numerous Marketing Benefits
Those businesses certified as part of Travel Green Wisconsin can benefit in many ways. In addition to bottom line savings, there are marketing benefits. AAA Wisconsin recognizes Travel Green Wisconsin Certification and includes the certification symbol in its guides. Certified businesses are also promoted in Department of Tourism marketing initiatives. Klett says the Travel Wisconsin monthly newsletter includes a section for Travel Green Wisconsin.
While Klett says there is no typical day in her Secretary role, chances are great that she is on the road traveling at any given time. “This job has even more travel than my last job,” Klett says. In her previous job she logged more than one million miles criss-crossing Wisconsin during her 20-year career hosting the Discover Wisconsin Television & Radio series.
Klett is a graduate of Beloit College, Wisconsin’s oldest college of continuing education. There, she earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Theatre Arts/Communications. She was Miss Wisconsin 1992, and a Bert Parks Talent winner at the 1993 Miss America Finals in Atlantic City—the first cornet player in the pageant’s history.
When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Klett said, “Highlighting the positive. I get to focus on the great things in our state. Everything I do every day is positive. That is the best part of my job.”
Go to Travel Green Wisconsin.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
