Virginia Tech Alumni Association News - Fall 2001
Alumni Tours Abroad
Alumni enjoy traveling together to see all parts of the world. That is what inspired our Alumni Association to launch a travel program some 30 years ago. Gone are the days of charter flight tours and minimum capacity tours that occasionally didn't make required minimums. Today, the Association sponsors 12 to 15 tours annually and averages a total of 200 travelers a season. There are no minimums anymore, just great values and destinations. Even with greater access to tours through the Internet and travel agencies, many Tech alumni prefer the convenience of joining fellow alumni on specially led group tours.
Most alumni tours are bound for international destinations that range from cruises down the Nile, skiing in Switzerland, safaris in Africa, to the majestic river cruises in Europe on the Danube, Rhine, Moselle and Rhone. Travelers cite the camaraderie of other alums as a prime reason for traveling on alumni group tours. "Traveling with Virginia Tech brought me back to group travel," says Sam Gay '60. He and his wife Shirley have traveled on two Alumni Association tours.
Tech's Alumni Association engages several reputable travel operators to provide a variety of quality group travel opportunities, ranging in price, destination, and in length. A typical season offers land tours, cruises and occasionally a domestic tour. Sometimes, Alumni Association tours are accompanied by university faculty and administrators, deans, and Association staff. For example, this past summer the Alumni College in Scotland tour was hosted by Executive Vice President Minnis Ridenour, while Dean of Human Resources and Education Janet Johnson accompanied a group to Tuscany. Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations Debbie Shelton hosted a river cruise from Hungary to Holland on the Big East Waterways tour in August. Each year at least one tour is arranged for Big East Conference university alumni travelers.
In the past, individual alumni tours have had as many as 100 Tech alumni participate. However, most trips attract from 15 to 30 Virginia Tech travelers small enough for everyone to get to know each other. Tech groups are often paired with alumni groups from other universities. From her recent experience, Dean Johnson shared "Hosting Hokies, along with a few travelers from the University of Wisconsin and UNC - Greensboro, was a real treat. Not only did we learn and tour together, but we made some new friends as well. I would highly recommend these tours to all alums."
In the last several years, the Alumni College Abroad® (ACA) programs have become quite popular among Tech alumni. "Off the beaten path" locations in Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Norway, Greece, Switzerland, England and France provide the venues for these fun and educational programs. They are generally favored for their shorter itineraries, educational focus, and value pricing which includes airfare, lodging, all excursions, and meals featuring regional cuisine ($2,200 - $2,600). They attract a diverse group of alumni, ranging in class years from the 1930's through the 1990's. Single travelers and friends of the university also enjoy these programs. The coming 2002 season offers four different ACA programs to Ireland, France, and the northern and southern regions of Italy.
After her recent tour on the Alumni College in Sicily, Patty Bartlett '65 wrote us "The trip to Sicily was truly FANTASTIC!! And would you believe that Mt. Etna erupted on July 4th and, for three hours, we witnessed a lava flow that was magnificent. We all sat on the terrace of our hotel and watched. Everything about the trip was so well organized and comfortable."
About a third of the travelers in any given season are veterans of our Alumni Association travel program. They keep coming back. Of her third Alumni College Abroad program this time to Tuscany Elizabeth Moran '78 remarked "It exceeded my expectations. The countryside was picturesque, and the architecture was amazing. Cortona was a great choice for our stay... the town, the people, the hotel, the food, the shops... everything was perfect." Also a veteran of the Switzerland and Ireland ACA programs, Elizabeth says, "As a single woman, traveling abroad can sometimes seem daunting. But traveling with the Tech group has been so very comfortable. The accommodations, meals, tours and lectures have all been first rate. And of course, the people have been wonderful. I have returned home reluctantly after each trip."
Not all of the Alumni Association travel programs are designed for veteran travelers. This past summer the Alumni Association sponsored its first "Essential Europe" tour especially for brand-new Tech grads in the Class of 2001. Megan Fuller '01 called this whirlwind 25-day tour "a trip of a lifetime." Coming in 2002, the Association will offer a new Young Alumni Abroad program in Amsterdam, with several departures in winter and spring, which will feature a 6-night stay in first-class accommodations, transfers and airfare for only $895 per person. All ages are welcome!
Destinations in 2002 will include the four Alumni College Abroads already mentioned, plus cruises to Alaska, Central Europe, Mediterranean, Japan and China, and the Caribbean through the Panama Canal. Also included are a Swiss Winter Escapade, Cuba educational tour, and ever-popular Australia/New Zealand tour. These are described in greater detail on the following pages. If you would like more information, just return the coupon in the section with tour descriptions, or visit "Alumni Tours" on the Association website at www.alumni.vt.edu.
Yes, it has been 30 years since Tech's Alumni Association entered the travel business. Thousands of alumni have enjoyed traveling together, often making new friends, sharing adventures, and enjoying Hokie hospitality as only alumni can.
By Laura Wedin, Alumni Travel Coordinator
Hokie Flag Aross the Seas
An Alumni Association Hokie Travel Flag made its official debut
on the fall 1999 Trans-Panama Canal
cruise.
Since then the 3 x 5 foot nylon Hokie flag has flown on alumni cruises all over the world along the Yangtze, Nile, Danube, and Rhine Rivers, around South America and through the fjords of the Alaska coastline. Hokie flag keepers have included Virginia Tech alumni and staff hosts. Thanks also to Sam Gay '60, Duncan Kennedy '60, Bill Harvey '44, Ken Motley '52, and Richard Norman '55 who have helped keep the flag-flying tradition going.
A photograph of the flag by
Richard Norman '55 on the Cape Horn Cruise in 2000 has been featured
on the alumni travel website. Nine cruises and two years later, the
Hokie flag, now faded, has acquired authentic ship's rigging and a characteristic
ocean smell. Its ocean and river travels have been proudly documented
on the halyard edge (also called the "hoist edge") using a
permanent marker.
Photographs Courtesy of Sam Gay '60