In 2000, our current Board Chairman Dan Mahar was launching our New Business Development group at Tauck, and one of our his first initiatives was to launch a business for family travel. I was hired to lead that work in May 2001 and set to work to put our plan together. Four months later I was driving along the Merritt Parkway into work when I heard the news of a plane crashing into one of New York’s twin towers. I thought it was likely a sightseeing plane—it was such a beautiful, blue-sky day—and kept going. When I arrived at the office, everyone was huddled around the television in our Operations center, and as I walked in, the second plane hit.
We all know what happened that day, and yet we had no idea what this all meant for our country and the world—much less Tauck’s future. I thought that would be the end of new business development, for sure. It was the busiest week of the year at Tauck. We had literally thousands of guests and many employees and Tauck Directors traveling all around the world.
The next day, our then Board Chairman Arthur Tauck, Jr. stood up in front of the company to give us hope. While I don’t remember everything he did to allay our concerns and give us hope, I do remember his saying clearly, “You take care of the guest, and we’ll take care of you.” At that moment I thought, while I don’t know what my future holds, if I have a choice, I’ll never work anywhere else again.