Twenty-six members and prospective members attended the Texas & Oklahoma TCC Chapter’s fourth quarter 2018 luncheon meeting on Nov. 2 at Rudy Lechner’s German Restaurant in Houston. We tried a new agenda format of four 15-minute presentations rather than the traditional single one-hour presentation. Attendees were very pleased with this format.
Mark Russell’s presentation on traveling in Ethiopia engaged enthusiasm by others to visit there. Sylvia Hanna-Russell gave insight into Saudi Arabia, which is seldom seen by other travelers due to the visa restrictions that historically have kept many travelers away. Phil Fetterman’s presentation opened eyes to the pleasant destination of Robinson Crusoe Island (Juan Fernandez Islands), and included logistical tips for reaching there. And Paul Clites highlighted his visit to the four World Heritage Sites in Mali, including those in Timbuktu and Gao, which today can only be reached by charter aircraft due to security issues.
Two members were celebrated by the group for reaching new travel level milestones:
- Jerry and Nan Allen advanced to full membership by reaching 100 countries/territories
- Dianne Peterson Mathis reached Gold Level (200)
We also held a two-minute-per-person around-the-room travel story-tell, of whatever nature the person wished. All the stories were interesting and enthusiastically told from the cherished travel memories of each person.
The next quarterly meeting of the Texas/Oklahoma Chapter will be held Jan. 12 in the Austin area. The venue and details will be announced in due course.
—Paul Clites, Texas/Oklahoma Area Coordinator
