Tauck And Its Boston-Area Customers Join To

Protect And Preserve Minute Man National Park

NORWALK, CT (October 31, 2005) Tauck World Discovery and its Boston-area customers joined together on Friday and Saturday in a volunteer effort to preserve and protect the very spot where American volunteerism began – Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington and Concord. It was at Lexington and Concord where colonial farmers voluntarily stepped forward as citizen-soldiers to first shoulder muskets against the British.

The Park clean-up and preservation effort were organized and funded by Tauck, the world’s leading provider of upscale, escorted travel packages. More than 150 of the company’s employees, their family members, and its Boston-area customers volunteered their efforts to assist the Park, and help mark Tauck’s 80^th anniversary this year. According to company President and CEO Robin Tauck, they couldn’t have picked a more appropriate spot.

“My grandfather and his guests visited Lexington and Concord on the first-ever Tauck trip back in 1925,” said Tauck. “We’ve been leading trips to the area ever since, so this is the perfect place for our employees and special friends to celebrate our anniversary by ‘giving something back.’ Our company’s roots are here, America’s roots are here, and the roots of our country’s volunteer spirit are here. We could have searched the entire country and not found a more fitting location.”

SUPPORTING THE AREA’S HISTORICAL SITES
This past weekend’s efforts aren’t the first time that Tauck has stepped in to help one of the Boston area’s historic sites. In 1976, the company largely financed the restoration of the steeple in the historic Old North Church, where the signal lanterns were hung that sent Paul Revere on his legendary ride. More recently, Tauck provided a $20,000 grant to restore Orchard House, the childhood home of author Louisa May Alcott in Concord.

Tauck is also very active in supporting other U.S. National Parks. The company has provided more than $1,000,000 in grants to the Parks, and last month a Tauck volunteer program in Yellowstone National Park was honored with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s “Take Pride In America” award. The award was for a program in which Tauck guests visiting Yellowstone with the company can spend three hours of their visit working on volunteer projects within the Park. In three years nearly 5,000 Tauck volunteers have donated approximately 15,000 hours of labor valued at more than $200,000 to over 75 Park projects.

PRESERVATION AND REHABILITATION
Tauck’s guests and employees took on various preservation and rehabilitation projects on Friday and Saturday, including brush removal near the North Bridge Visitor Center, landscaping and seeding at Hartwell Tavern and North Bridge, and scraping and painting at the Park Ranger’s station, Minute Man Visitor Center and North Bridge Visitor Center. The Tauck group also built storage lofts at the Ranger Station, and performed trail maintenance tasks and other assorted projects throughout the Park.

Park Superintendent Nancy Nelson voiced her strong appreciation for the work performed by the Tauck volunteers. "As with other National Parks, there's always a disparity between everything we'd like to do and what we can do. Having such a large, spirited and energetic group volunteer for two days really helps us to shrink that gap," said Nelson. "It's so gratifying to see people step up and truly help preserve our nation's history."

AREA VOLUNTEERS HAPPY TO PITCH IN
Tauck’s guest volunteers from the Boston area were equally excited about the event. Josephine Kennedy from Lynn, Massachusetts, has taken 19 journeys with the company, including a trip in August that visited Yellowstone, and her enthusiasm was typical of the Tauck guests participating in the clean-up effort. “As an educator, I have a deep affection for the National Parks,” said Kennedy. “I had participated in Tauck’s Yellowstone volunteer program last summer, and it was a wonderful experience. I wanted to help do more for our Parks and I enjoy volunteering, so when Tauck offered the chance to participate at Minute Man, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity.”