Meet LaVonne from Amish Heartland Tours

I am thrilled to have LaVonne DeBois from Amish Heartland Tours stopping by for a guest post! LaVonne has a exciting new venture called Amish Heartland Tours Information Kiosk which will be located on Main St. in Berlin. To celebrate she is graciously giving away a really fantastic prize. One winner will receive an Amish made pot holder and a recipe book that visitors get when they eat at one of the Amish homes. Let’s welcome LaVonne and good luck everyone!

Greetings from beautiful Holmes County, Ohio. My name is LaVonne DeBois, owner of Amish Heartland Tours in Berlin, Ohio. My life changed when I responded to a small ad in our local Bargain Hunter 20 years ago. The ad read: “Wanted ~ Driver for work route. Must like mornings. 555-1234. The owner of K & B Lumber South of Charm returned my phone call from the message I left on his answering machine. His main concern was, can I get up in the mornings. When I ask him, how early, he replied. “The first pick up is 4:15 AM”

Needless to say, I took the job. I had recently returned back to Ohio from living in Dallas, Texas as a nanny for 10 years. Coming back to Amish country was more of a culture shock than going to the city. Friends would ask what are you doing for work? My reply was ~ “I have a great job. I can pick up 11 men in 2 hours.”

Little did I know how bumping and grinding the narrow back roads would lead to what I love and that is sharing this beautiful area with visitors from all over the world.

Amish Heartland Tours started out as a one hour tour for $6.00. I stood along the main street in Berlin holding signs just in hopes to have someone take that tour. It has been a lot of work over the years. Purchasing tour vehicles, advertising, attending travel shows, meetings, and trying to meet the needs of the traveler.
The relationships that formed from 3 years of driving the work crews led to driving Amish on vacation, school trips, wedding, funerals, shopping trips, or just about anywhere they needed to go. Once the tours started to pick up, I gradually weaned off of driving the Amish to focus on the growing pains of business.

Till this day, 2 Amish women who are mothers of 2 of my former workers, remain as cooks for our visitors wishing to have a meal in an Amish home. They both seem like a mother to me. We have been through so many experiences together. My gift to them in the winter is a free shopping trip. Here I thought I take a long time to shop. The only difference is they don’t take time to try on clothes! Every Spring I invite my cooks and their families to my home for pizza and ice cream. We sit on the back deck and share stories. We now have 6 Amish homes that provide meals including an Amish Bishop and his wife.

Coming in September is the Pam Jarrell Whoppie Pie Book signing followed by Shelly Shepard Gray and Amy Clipston book signing tour in November.

Our season is mid April thru the middle of November. It takes 3 sightseeing vehicles, 4 office staff and 5 tour guides to keep up with the various tour packages. I have met the most wonderful people from all over the world. I have been blessed beyond measure. I believe the Lord knows the desires of our hearts. He had to align me with the many connections before he could assign me. I will be expanding my business in mid April when the Amish Heartland Tours Information Kiosk opens in downtown Berlin.

I believe what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz….there’s no place like “Holmes.”

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