The Georgia Tech Alumni Association’s Travel program is celebrating its 50th year in 2012, marking five decades of providing high quality educational travel opportunities for alumni and friends through its partnerships with select tour operators.
The Travel program’s inaugural trip, billed as “First Georgia Tech Holiday in Europe,” took place in May 1962. Organized by Roane Beard, IM 40, then executive director of the Alumni Association, the trip was a three-week tour of Western Europe. In the years since, thousands of Tech alumni and friends have enjoyed countless experiences on hundreds of trips across all seven continents. As one traveler said, “Traveling with Georgia Tech is a delightful way to see the world.”
Of course, the program has faced a number of challenges over time. I started as director of Travel the second week of September 2001. The morning of Sept. 11, there was a group of Tech travelers flying home to the United States around the time of the attacks, and I hurried to ensure they made it home safe and sound.
Such events may have caused people to have doubts and fears about traveling, but Georgia Tech alumni have remained resilient and continued to explore the world and support the program. The program has grown from a single annual trip to more than 30 excursions and about 500 travelers each year.
As I look back over my 11 years as director of Travel, I remember the wonderful people I’ve had the opportunity to travel with as well as the many others for whom I’ve been able to plan future excursions.
The Georgia Tech Alumni Travel program will continue to provide alumni and friends with enriching educational, cultural and recreational experiences and the opportunity to strengthen their connections to Georgia Tech and each other. A commitment to these fundamentals is the reason the Travel program is stronger than ever after 50 years—and it is this same mission that will carry us forward as we move into the next 50 years.
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