Tour Guides Selected for ‘On the Road with Free Enterprise’

Cross-Country Road Trip to Tell the Stories of American Businessesand Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today announced the selection of two “Tour Guides” to lead its summer “On the Road with Free Enterprise” tour, a two-month cross-country road trip to tell the story of free enterprise and what it means to the American economy. Beginning in June, the team will travel to more than 15 cities across the U.S., visiting with small businesses, participating in local events, and stopping at famous landmarks.

The Free Enterprise Tour Guides, Nate Hindman and Joe Epstein, will document their experiences “on the road with Free Enterprise” with blog posts, photos, and videos on FreeEnterprise.com. The duo was selected from a pool of more than 900 teams to be one of two finalists vying to be named the tour’s official guides. Members of the public then voted online for the team they thought should lead the tour based on team videos, blog posts, and interviews. After mounting a rigorous social media campaign that resulted in nearly 13,000 views of their submission video on YouTube, Hindman and Epstein were selected as the official Free Enterprise Tour Guides.

“The tour will be a true celebration of American free enterprise, the people and businesses working hard to grow the economy and create jobs,” said Tom Collamore, senior vice president of Communications and Strategy at the Chamber. “The Chamber is excited to share the stories of so many small businesses across the country, and we look forward to having our Tour Guides lead the way.”

Both Tour Guides have backgrounds in online journalism where much of their work focuses on small businesses and start-ups.

“As journalists, we spend time talking with business owners across the nation and sharing their stories with our readers,” said Hindman and Epstein. “Now, we want to be a part of the story. No more phone interviews or email Q-and-A. We are ready to meet these business owners face-to-face to better understand the entrepreneurial spirit that built this country.”

The “On the Road with Free Enterprise” tour kicks off June 5 with an event at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.