Ron Szpatura - Founder / President

A vacation, a business trip, a weekend getaway, or just learning more about the area –  Landmark Marketing is determined to make your time away from home the best it can be with quality destination information guides that help you make the most of your out-of-town stay.

“I enjoy telling people that our job is to eat in all the best restaurants, stay in all the best accommodations, and shop all around town,” says Ron Szpatura, Founder and President of Landmarks. “We enjoy our work and hope others enjoy the work we do.”

When Ron moved to the Annapolis area, he became involved in the founding of what is now the Annapolis and Anne Arundel Visitor’s Bureau and recruited its first 100 members. As one of the original directors, Ron helped to create the vibrant visitor market we have here today.

Based in the historic Maritime Republic of Eastport in an office building overlooking Spa Creek, Landmarks has grown in size, area coverage, and reputation over the past 20 years since it was founded. From beautiful hardbound publications, enticing in-room visitor channel, and hotel check-in booklets to one of the most robust travel websites online, Landmarks has developed some of the most comprehensive and quality area information resources in the industry, gaining the trust of both visitors and business owners in the towns we serve.

“We pride ourselves in being the ‘go-to-guides’ for Mid-Atlantic travel – whether you’ve just opened our book in your hotel room or used our website to plan your next vacation. Our www.visitlandmarks.com internet site takes the information we’ve developed over the years and gives the traveler advance tips on making the most of their trip.”

Ron, his wife Angela, and their faithful Golden Retriever, Shep, have made Annapolis their home. Since moving to the area over 20 years ago, the Szpatura’s have become part of both the business and residential community. Although the Chesapeake Bay lifestyle attracted Ron to the Annapolis area, he also had fond memories of many other places.

“If people enjoy reading our book about Annapolis, why couldn’t we do this in other places?”  Charlottesville, home of Ron’s alma mater, the University of Virginia, was the next place Landmarks chose to produce a hardbound, in-room publication. Then Landmarks continued to venture into other areas throughout Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – all of which now enjoy a variety of Landmarks products. 

But it’s more than just the market and product that makes Ron’s job fun. “It’s the people!” exclaims Mr. Szpatura.  “The team of people I work with and the clients we work for are what make our work and play one and the same,” he continued.  Ron’s emphasis on fun makes for an enlightened work group that enjoy company summits and office parties throughout the year. “We have a unique corporate culture developed from a desire to play as hard as we work,” Ron says with pride. 

Sales, sales training and entrepreneurship are three of Ron’s passions. He has been involved in the training and development of over 2,000 sales representatives and is currently writing a book called “Selling Your Way to Margaritaville.” A member of Vistage, the world’s largest CEO organization with over 13,500 members, Ron also serves on the Vistage Board of Advisors.

So what would Ron want people to think when they think of Landmarks? “We present quality destination information in a variety of ways that help the 20 million visitors we reach each year have a better experience.”