STEUBENVILLE - Brenda Wilson, manager of the SmartStyle salon in Steubenville's Wal-Mart Super Center for six years, recently returned from a five-day trip to Rome as a President's Award winner for high sales in services and retail.

Wilson was one of approximately 130 managers from other qualifying Regis Corp. salons in an estimated 12 divisions traveling to Italy for a combination of touring, business meetings and hair shows.

The President's Award distinction is based on total sales, salon sales per square foot and comparison to the previous year's sales.

"Our combined total to qualify our salon was $650,000 plus," Wilson said, noting the fiscal totals of the previous year must be exceeded to qualify.

"That was an awesome year," Wilson said of 2008.

"The experience of traveling to the Vatican City was amazing. I was in total awe," Wilson said. Of travels to Florence, she said, "It's so hard to believe those statues and sculptures that are 500 years old still look so amazing. The food was awesome, too."

This marks the fifth consecutive year the local salon has been a President's Award recipient, enabling Wilson to also travel to Portugal in 2008, Budapest/Prague in 2007, Greece in 2006 and China in 2005.

Wilson studied cosmetology at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School, graduating in 1988 when she began her career. She resides in Steubenville with her husband and daughter.

The local SmartStyle has 17 employees and is a full-service salon offering haircuts, perms, coloring, highlights and waxing. There are approximately 2,200 SmartStyles in the United States located in Wal-Mart Super Centers. SmartStyle is a division of Regis Corp.