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Gary Knowles on Muck Rack

Gary Knowles

Madison, United States
As seen in: Journal & Topics, Shepherd Express, Arlington Heights Journal, Des Plaines Journal, Mount Prospect Journal, Niles Journal, Park Ridge Journal
Covers:  Art, Architecture, Touring (by car), Rock & Alt Music - concerts & fests, Food & dining, Upscale, Islands, Travel -US and beyond, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Western States - Unusual Events, Off Beat ,
Doesn't Cover: I'm open to most anything of significant interest not already well covered...but I'll get back to you - don't call to see if I got your release, thanks!
Getaways Columnist:Journal &Topics News; Travel Adviser WPR; Great Lakes & beyond; photographer, auto enthusiast and OpenAir tour leader
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Gary Knowles’s Biography

Gary Knowles

Gary Knowles, travel columnist for The Journal and Topics Newspapers (sixteen suburban Chicago papers based in Des Plaines, IL) is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer and is featured seasonally as “Travel Advisor” on Wisconsin Public Radio’s statewide “Morning Show.” He also does a weekly Wisconsin Events report of WEKZ (Big Easy Radio) stations based in Monroe, WI. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, he previously served (1993-2014) as marketing consultant for hospitality, wine, entertainment and historic preservation clients. A native of Wisconsin, graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison with post-graduate work at Garrett Seminary at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) and New York University – School for the Arts (Alternate Media Center; National Endowment for the Arts grant) Knowles has spent most of his career in media and travel communications.

He was the chief spokesperson and Director of Communications for the State of Wisconsin Division of Tourism from 1979 to 1993. He served as editor of award-winning Wisconsin travel publications, directed media relations, worked with the governor and legislature to establish and operate Wisconsin’s first Film Office, and produced radio and TV programs.

He is the author of “The Great Wisconsin Touring Book – 30 Spectacular Auto Tours” which was published by Trails Books and Big Earth Books. Since 2000 he and his wife, MaePatrice Knowles, have authored an on-going series of “Great Getaways,” articles reviewing automobiles and destinations for Madison Magazine. They also founded “The OpenAir Classic” - an annual August back roads driving tour taking 200 convertibles and 400 people on four day drives through the Upper Great Lakes Region. This August they will lead their 27th annual tour – this year (2019) visiting the spectacular Eau Claire, WI area. In 2017 he was the recipient of the Wisconsin Governor's Tourism Legacy Award.

Knowles serves as the President of the Midwest Travel Journalists Association (MTJA Inc.) and is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (Freelance Council.)