CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE

I hope that all of you enjoyed a happy holiday season and are now making plans for your 2007 travel.

Special thanks go to our Area Coordinators for a successful 2006 season.

Invoices for 2007 dues were mailed out in December. As a reminder, if you have not sent your dues payment, please do so now. Life members – please return the form completed.

Our country list dated January, 2005, is the correct list at this time.

Attention internet users: We recently added a set of maps to our website (click the World Maps link on the left side of your screen to view).

Last year a number of members from distant points shared our programs in Southern California . We look forward to offering our hospitality to even more members this year.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Recently, respected 60 Minutes journalist Ed Bradley succumbed to cancer, at a relatively young age. A consummate professional who did over 500 stories for CBS, Bradley seemed to always present his pieces in an unbiased manner, and when CBS devoted an entire edition of 60 Minutes to his career, the week after he passed away, one clip struck a very poignant chord. He talked about a photo that hung in his office.

“I remember standing in the Khyber Pass,” he said, “and thinking: would you believe this? Little Butch Bradley, from West Philly, standing in the Khyber Pass? Alexander the Great came through here; probably stood right here and looked at this view, and here's little Butch Bradley,” he said. “I mean, that's wonderful! That made it worth everything.”

How many of us, in all the traveling we have done, have had this same feeling? I know I have. Sometimes, when you see one of the world's great wonders for the first time, it seems like a dream – too good to be true – and you feel like pinching yourself to be sure you're really there. Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt , the old city of Jerusalem, and the wonders of the Inca and Mayan civilizations have certainly inspired this feeling of rapture, as have natural wonders like the Grand Canyon, Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the incredible underwater beauty of the Rock Islands of Palau, and the atolls of the Maldives. One might include some modern wonders, such as Hong Kong at night and the beauty of Sydney Harbor, as well. But I could go on and on.

In places such as these, it is important to savor the moment; to allow enough time for some meditation; to let the magnitude of the experience settle in. We are all driven to see as much of the world as possible, but many places deserve a longer look than just a couple of days. Perhaps several or even many visits might be more appropriate.

It's not how many places you've visited; it's the quality of the experience that really counts.

Thanks to Ted Cookson , who has provided the following statistics taken from our most recent Roster of Members, published in June, 2006. There were 1,795 registered members (more have been added since that date). This does not include provisional members who had not visited 100 countries. Of these, 1,244 had visited between 100 and 150 destinations. Another 286 had been to at least 150 places, but not 200; another 161 had been to at least 200, but not 250; 54 had been to at least 250, but not 300. Only 50 had been to at least 300 places and some of these had been to all 315 TCC countries

New Travelers' Century Club Members:

Amor, Mr. Thomas
Armstrong, Ms. Barbara
Bloch, Mr. Louis John
Bounds, Mrs. Barbara A.
Brezic, Mr. David C.
Broste, Mrs. Claire Streng
Cline, Mr. Jeff M.
Darst, Mr. David Martin
Doil, Mr. Juergen E.
Emmons, Ms. Jenna
Fagundes, Mr. Frank E.
Ferguson, Mrs. Amy R.& Mr. Gerald
Frink, Mr. Gary R.
Groner, Mrs. Mildred Jean
Henderson–Cleland, Mr. William & Mrs. Judith
Mathis, Mr. Larry
Millward, Mr. Leo
Muller, Dr. Thomas E.
Novins, Mr. Michael
Pien, M.D., Francis
Scherbarth, Ms. Ruth M.
Starbuck, Mr. Richard
Tholander, Mr. Daniel
Toby, Mr. William & Mrs. Diane
Viener III, Mr. Rudolph
Warner, Mr. Scott D.

#501 Malawi , Prof. Kenyon B. De Greene
#502 UAE and Oman, Daniel Walker
#503 Jordan, James A. Smith
#504 In Search of Old Europe – East, Central Germany, Prof. Kenyon B. De Greene
#505 Israel, .James A. Smith

Note: The opinions expressed are those of the writers and not the Travelers’ Century Club.

A hearty thanks to all of you club members for sending in Info Files for our Centurian. They are enjoyed by all, so please send in your items of interest. Don't forget that these must be typewritten, single spaced and not to exceed two pages due to cost of postage. Those of you who have sent in your Info Files that have not yet been published, please be patient as they will be used in the future. Note: We do not edit or correct misspellings, since we cannot match your type. You can also send your info files to our e-mail address: tccclub3@gte.net.

Please note that when you request back issues of Info Files, there is a $1.00 cost per Info File. Click here for details.

We have a new permanent name tags with the TCC Logo and your name engraved. Cost $7.50 including shipping. If you wish to order, send us your check and you will receive your tag in six weeks. Magnetic backing available, add $4.00.

Club Lapel Pin – $10
Silver 150 Countries – $8
Gold 200 Countries – $8
250 Countries – $8

All pins are available with pin or tie-tack.
backing. Available only to regular members of the Travelers' Century Club.

One of our international members, W. Daniel
Walker, originally from Canada, but now living
in San Jose, Costa Rica, advises that he has
traveled to over 300 TCC destinations. His
300th country was Syria, reached last November.
Congratulations, Daniel!

The Centurian welcomes letters to the editor. Please mail to TCC. P.O. Box 7050, Santa Monica, CA 90406, or e-mail to tccclub3@gte.net. Submission of a letter to the editor constitutes permission to publish the letter in the Centurian and on our Web site.

Travelers' Century Club
P.O. Box 7050
Santa Monica, CA 90406-7050
Tel: 310-458-3454
Fax: 310-395-9511
E-mail: tccclub3@gte.net

Officers
Klaus Billep, Chairman
Kevin Hughes, President
Christopher Hudson, Vice-President
Sanford K. Smith, Secretary
Bart M. Hackley, Jr., Treasurer

Executive Board Members
Floyd D. Baker, Pamela Barrus, David J. Barry, Ronald L. Endeman, Diane M. Jarrett, Kenneth Ziegler

TCC Editor: Klaus Billep
Contributing Editor: Lorelli Embry