The Gray Line driver's seat: Liz Smith runs without a dimmer switch.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: Gray Line Worldwide CEO and president

Liz Smith, president and CEO of Gray Line Worldwide, sits at her desk in a west Denver office complex, gazing through floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Elitch's Ferris wheel, Ocean Journey, the rising Pepsi Center and the skyscrapers of Denver beyond.

Fun, history, culture, a bustling city are just a stone's throw from the corner office of the world's largest sightseeing tour and destination company.

Gray Line, essentially a trade association, serves 200 destinations on six continents. It's a brand name for more than 150 independent tour operators. In all, it pulls $950 million in annual revenue under its umbrella.

Smith's philosophy: "I don't believe we're a bus company; we're in the entertainment and educational industry."

Gray Line president and CEO since August 1995, Smith was instrumental in moving corporate headquarters from Dallas to Denver in 1997. "Denver is such a great tourism destination," she said. "We wanted to be in the spirit of a tourism community."

And spirit she has - early on introducing "Growing Up with Gray Line," a program that takes Denver Public Schools third graders on tours of everywhere from the State Capitol, the Molly Brown House and Coors Field to the U.S. Mint, Black America West Museum and Heritage Center, and Union Station - to name just a few stops.

"As one of Denver's newest corporate citizens, we wanted to become involved in the local community, educate students about Denver and give them a taste of sightseeing," said Smith. "This way they'll be good tour directors when their friends and family come visit."

So what do the youngsters find most memorable about their city tours?

"That there are TVs on the buses," Smith laughed. "But they are very enthusiastic about everything. I had the leg of the tour from Coors Field to the Capitol, and it gave me a hard-core appreciation for teachers, because in 15 minutes I was worn out."

Worn out? Hard to believe for someone who rises at 4:30 a.m. to run seven miles a day before heading to the office, where she juggles phone calls, launches an ad campaign, oversees technological aspects of the company, and crafts "Growing Up with Gray Line' into a multicity program. And that's just for now.

"There's no dimmer switch with me," said Smith. "I'm either on or I'm off."

Smith...