Use the “Prev” and “Next” links to click forward or backward through the images in this gallery.[portfolio_slideshow]The TCC Texas/Oklahoma Chapter held it’s fourth and final meeting of the year on Oct. 5 at the incredible new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. On many levels, the meeting was a very special one for the 34 members and guests that were able to attend from Austin, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, the Dallas and Houston metros, and our first member from Oklahoma (Edmond).
The museum was amazing not only because of its structure and content, but also because one of our own TCC members, Lyda Hill, helped to create the museum and offered one of the auditoriums for us to hold our meeting. Since she was also generous to provide the lunch, we took $620 in donations from the attendees that will be given back to the museum in her honor. On top of that, we had the pleasure of having our TCC Chairman, Klaus Billep, join us in our networking time and as the featured speaker. There were several members that were attending a TCC meeting for the first time, and many returning members, though it was certainly one we will all remember for many years to come.
Following are some highlights from the meeting:
- TCC Chairman Klaus Billep shared his insights on the TCC and how it has evolved over the years, along with how the TCC differs from other travel organizations. He also told us about some of the most difficult places to reach in the world, like the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) or Chagos Islands, and that you can cover the seven places in Antarctica if you go to one part of the South Pole. He took several questions from the group and was entertaining along with being informative.
- Lyda Hill shared the history of this newly opened Perot Museum of Nature and Science, which serves as a living science lesson through hands-on discovery. It was clear that Lyda has a passion for helping children and adults appreciate science. Many of the TCC members toured the museum after our meeting and were impressed.
- There were no new travel milestones hit, but it was great to have a new provisional member join us (Terri Beauchamp) and to celebrate Dick Ebrey‘s birthday.
- The results of the annual chapter member survey were shared in an earlier email and highlights were noted. The side discussions that I had with many of you about the survey have also been helpful. Jeff Scherbarth even showed me some interesting metrics he’s been tracking on attendance vs. member location that will be provided at our next meeting.
- Finally, our around-the-room sharing of recent travels included Rene/Brooks‘ honeymoon in Bali, Terri‘s Israel/Palestine adventure, Jeff‘s Kenyan trip prior to the mall terrorism, Cynthia‘s pillow rat, Jack‘s Caribbean trip and upcoming Olympics, Bill‘s high school reunion, Dennis and Betsyanne‘s driver and motorbike incident, Ron‘s Baltic trip with his family, George‘s Graceland visit, Diane‘s Amazon adventure, Charles‘ Madagascar remoteness, Diana‘s Cuba visit, BJ and Cathy‘s New Zealand connection to Norway, Dick‘s England visit, Judy‘s cruise for special people, Maria‘s cruise for children, Debbie‘s bat adventures, Pat‘s baboon chases, Susan‘s UAE trip, Jim and Sue‘s Blue Lagoon preference, Katie‘s tour of Paris and London with the grandkids, Geoff‘s bear hunt that was missing bears, Lyda‘s 22-country count just this year alone, Terry‘s admission of being a “travelholic,” Barbara‘s five Stans trip with no sleep, and Kay‘s Pitcairn adventure.
Our next meeting will be held in San Antonio on Jan. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and we are fortunate that the current TCC President, Pamela Barrus, will be our featured speaker sharing her “Overland from Cairo to Cape Town” experience! I’ll send out logistics and rsvp requests one month in advance of the meeting.
Safe travels.
—Kim-Kay Randt, Area Coordinator
