Wanda Minx of of Evan’s World Travel on Tuesday January 19, 2021. (Michael Cavazos/ News-Journal Photo)

Every year at Christmas, Wanda Minx and her daughter Chelsea pull out ornaments that are souvenirs from the many trips they have taken together and reminisce on their travels.

“Taking my daughter on these trips is very memorable,” Minx said. “She doesn’t remember gifts for birthdays or Christmas; I would try to give her every year or every other year a gift of travel. She doesn’t remember the iPhones, the iPads, whatever but she remembers those trips.”

Giving people memories like that is why the Evan’s World Travel CEO got into the travel agency business, because “it’s just about people.”

Anyone can use the internet to book a trip, Minx said, but why would you when an agency in Longview can book everything for you without charging additional fees?

People might think they can book a trip online for cheaper, but Minx said she can price match it.

“I just don’t see why people do it on the internet,” she said. “I can see looking for what you want but if you don’t know the location, wouldn’t you want to reach out to somebody who’s been there?”

Minx started working for Evan’s World Travel in Longview 14 years ago after she decided to return to Longview from Dallas, where she was working as an account executive. She bought the company in 2012.

Since then, she has learned how to manage and run the company, which took about a year just to learn all the new paperwork, she said.

She also survived cancer.

“I had cancer three years ago,” she said. “Obviously I’m OK, but I was lucky because I had stage 4 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in my femur. I thought for sure they were going to chop my leg off. After about six months back-and-forth to Dallas for treatment, I’m in remission.”

Before coming to Evan’s World Travel, Minx said she was not sure she even wanted to be a travel agent.

“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Minx said. “I either wanted to be a blackjack dealer or a travel agent, I don’t know why.”

Minx said her family trips growing up were piling in the station wagon to go to the lake. She wanted to give her daughter more. That desire led her to choose the travel agent path.

“I wanted her to start experiencing travel, and that’s how I started,” she said. “I just started working part-time, and then I went full-time and then they wanted to sell the company.”

As a travel agent, Minx and her colleagues book anything and everything needed for a vacation from the travel to the stay to experiences while there. They also fill out all paperwork which is especially helpful if traveling out of the country, she said.

Evan’s World Travel does not charge customers a fee. Instead, the company is paid a percentage from the vendors used. Minx said other travel agents charge clients, and while COVID-19 hurt her business, she is determined not to charge clients.

“We’ve been very lucky to keep our doors open because we have not had any income since April,” she said. “Maybe $40,000, and I do that in sales in January by myself. I’ve had to use my retirement to keep the doors open. But I’m just not going to shut down. I’ve put blood, sweat and tears into this place. There’s no way I’m going to shut it down.”

COVID-19 also has led to more paperwork the agents have to fill out, which often leads to bringing work home late.

For Minx, the financial hardships and little pay are worth it just for the clients to have a good trip, she said.

“We do it for enjoyment, we sure as heck don’t do it for the money,” Minx said. “When you get letters here and there that people have sent us and say it was the best vacation ever when we do family travel, that’s the best part. Getting feedback from them or little notes just makes me extremely happy.”

When someone comes in to book a trip, Minx said she and the other agents start by getting to know the client so they can give them exactly what they’re looking for.

“First, we have to qualify you on exactly what is going to fit you best,” she said. “We have to assess information from you like if you want adults only, all-inclusive, if you’re bringing your family, how old are the kids, are the kids boys or girls, all just to choose the best property. You’re not going to get that online; you’ll just say I want to go to Mexico, and they’ll send you someplace.”

The agency has employees who are experts in certain areas such as Europe, cruises, guided tours and Disney parks to help clients meet specific travel needs. Minx’s specialty is Mexico.

“I have fallen in love with Mexico,” she said. “That’s just where I go.”

When all of that work leads to a client having a great trip, it is worth the hard work. That satisfaction is why she encourages other women considering going into business to take the leap.

“It’s a major step, and I was 50 when I bought the company so it was later in life for me to start it,” she said. “It’s just hard work but if you have the perseverance to do it, you can do anything you want to — anything. If you fail, get back up and try again.”