Our Owner, Steve Sulligan: A Life of Service

Meet Steve Sulligan, the founder and owner of Blue Ridge Tours.

When he was a young boy growing up in New Jersey, Steve always wanted to be 3 things: a fireman, a policeman, and a bus driver.  He accomplished all of them and more!

Steve became a volunteer EMT with his local fire department while he was still in high school.  He worked along side the fire and rescue crew providing on-site emergency and medical care.  He enjoyed his work and service immensely, but after graduating high school, he decided to continue his education in college and move on to his next goal of becoming a police officer.

After two years of college in New Jersey, Steve moved to Columbia, South Carolina to finish his degree at University of South Carolina.  He graduated from USC in 1980 having already reached his goal of serving as police officer, and he became a South Carolina State Trooper shortly afterwards.

Steve spent 25 years in law enforcement servicing and protecting the citizens of South Carolina.  He also served on the protective detail of many national and state dignitaries, and he was selected as part of the FEMA law enforcement response unit to New York City in the days after September 11, 2001.

Steve is still active in law enforcement, and he makes it a point to meet with police officers wherever he travels.

While serving as a state trooper, Steve decided to fulfill his final dream, and he became a trained and licensed commercial bus driver. But he didn't stop there. Because of his love for New York City and traveling, many of his friends started asking him to help them plan trips to experience and learn about new places. Steve so enjoyed planning the trips, working to find new places to explore, and educating the groups about the history of the different destinations; he opened Blue Ridge Tours in 1988.

27 years later, Blue Ridge Tours has grown into one of the largest locally-owned educational tour company in South Carolina.  Steve still drives buses for Blue Ridge Tours' trips and for numerous sports teams in the area (he has been the driver for the NC State baseball team for over 6 years).  But, Steve still continues to plan itineraries of fun and educational trips, and he guides many groups to New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

Steve in front of another company's bus

Steve's dreams have led him to a lifetime of service, and he is still serving students and adults through Blue Ridge Tours today.