Meet AAMC Member Wayne Ellis with Covenant Elite Charters & Tours LLC
Name: Wayne Ellis
Company: Covenant Elite Charters & Tours, LLC
City, State: Loxley, Ala.
Years in the Industry: 13
How did you first get involved in the industry? I worked in education and I sub drove school buses after I finished class. We had a reduction of force due to funding and I wasn’t allowed to drive buses anymore because I was in the classroom. Didn’t make sense to me but it happened. I had a friend with a motorcoach and he asked me to drive part-time for him, so I did. After about a month of keeping his bus in my yard, I began to get a lot of calls for trips. So, I purchased my own bus in 2009 to test the market and we never looked back.
Who has inspired your career? African American owners like James Brown, Clarence Gaten, Clarence Cox, Alan Robinson, Harold Lewis, Cliff Harmon, Walter Hubbard, Kelvin Long and many more once I got to meet them.
What has been the greatest challenge/opportunity in your career? Bus financing, the current social culture and navigating the pandemic.
What advice would you give to others about working in this industry? Take it “One Day At A Time”, it’s a process and you have to have a lot of patience.
Why is it important for you to belong to the African American Motorcoach Council? To have a voice in this industry so we can be treated equal and fair.
