By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

BOSTON - With Carol Nashe at the helm, it's no wonder that Boston Duck Tours has become such an enormously successful local tourist attraction.

Nashe, a public relations dynamo long active in hospitality, travel, communications and charitable foundations, met with BDT founder Andy Wilson on her Back Bay deck in the spring of 1994. He had the idea and a proposal which he had worked on for two years; she focused on marketing and public relations planning. Though Duck Tours had already been in operation in the Midwest for decades, the two expanded and improved upon the system and worked to bring it to a major metropolitan area.

Wilson, an ex-banker disillusioned with the 9-5 working world, was able to borrow a million dollars and then maneuver through yards of regulations and red tape which included 30 required permits and skepticism over the crazy concept of Duck vehicles operating on both land and water. Nonetheless, the two were ready to go on October 4 for a very short season which began at a State House ceremony.

"It was a grand opening in all sense," Nashe recalls. "We had the Governor, miltary people, live bands, political figures and local celebrities."

And it hasn't diminished since. 1994's 15 employees, 600 daily passengers and four Duck vehicles have grown to 90 employees, 2,700 riders and 17 Ducks. Boston Magazine named it the "Best City Tour," the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year Luncheon honored the company with Andy named Small Businessperson of 1997; BDT also received a Spirit of Enterprise Award from the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The tour itself, as many readers may know, is a handicapped-accessible, 80-minute, historically-narrated sightseeing ride in authentic World War II amphibious landing craft (originally used to transport soldiers and supplies from ship to shore).

But Nashe is another story entirely.

A Quincy native, Carol, president of The Nashe Group, now lives and commutes from Las Vegas, where she operates talkshowhosts.com, a resource site for radio talk show personalities.

"I'm a believer," she maintains. "If you believe in the teachings of the Torah, you live that way in your life."

Nashe was bas mitvzahed at the Quincy Point Syagogue "many years ago" by Rabbi Jacob Mann. Her family members were traditionally Orthodox and from Russia and Poland.

Her list of accomplishments is literally exhausting. With over 25 years in the PR industry, she is the immediate past chairman of the board of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Executive Club, a director of the New England Broadcasting Association, overseer of the World Trade Club, past president of the New England Chapter of Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association, a board member of the Boston Organizing Committee, advisor to Radio TV News Director Association, national trustee of the National Kidney Foundation and past chairman of its Massachusetts chapter. She's on the Board of Massachusetts Special Olympics and is also the Associate Publisher of the Social Calendar, a calendar magazine for arts, sports, business and special events.

She has, not surprisingly, won numerous awards including the Humanitarian Award from Heaven's Children, a Matrix Award for Women in Communication, Woman of the Year Award from the Big Sister Association and the Massachusetts Kidney Foundation, and the Chairman's Award from Sheraton Corporation. She's listed in Who's Who Worldwide, Who's Who Executives, Who's Who in America, Who's Who Registry of Global Business, and Who's Who of Women International.

Nashe led a tour, featured on "Chronicle", throughout mainland China which included then Mass. First Lady Kitty Dukakis, a Mayor's Office rep, TV personalities and 12+ New England chefs on the tour's "Great Chefs" exchange program. She has led VIP tours and worldwide charity golf tournaments through Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and the Alaska pipeline.

Carol has developed strong relationship with members of the arts community, the hospitality industry, the broadcasting industry, and the political scene.

As a community member and a hardworking contributor to society, we and all Americans are indeed blessed to "have her aboard."