Redwoods, courtesy NPS
Home and Abroad
When Van Dam, an experienced financier, first started her job as CorClub director, she quickly learned that being a banker was quite different from being a group travel leader.
“I’ve always been good with people, but this is not a piece of cake,” she explained. “But I’m lucky that I’m a detail person and not a last-minute person.
“However, the lesson for me was learning how to pack, and to this day, I still forget things, but I don’t worry about it and just buy any forgotten necessities on the road. Consequently, I relate to my travelers who also forget things. I can remember one time when our motorcoach utilized a 24-hour Walgreen’s drive-through window to purchase diabetic needles.”
Raised with 10 brothers in a family where “laundry and cooking were nonstop,” Van Dam is especially appreciative of her travel opportunities.
“Naturally, we did very little travel. First off, there wasn’t a car big enough for all of us,” she said with a laugh.
Today, Van Dam travels not only via motorcoach and airplane throughout the country, but also by bicycle throughout her neighborhood and area parks.
“I have an old-fashioned bike with a basket, and my awesome kids and grandkids have all ridden in that basket. Riding my bike is the best therapy to relax and just enjoy the day,” she said.
CorClub has already booked many 2013 trips, and all are sold out. “We plan well in advance, and we’ve never had to cancel. We have very avid travelers who enthusiastically look forward to seeing something new,” she said.
Van Dam is keeping her fingers crossed and lucky shamrocks close by in the hope that her group will soon experience something very new: a trip across the Atlantic Ocean to experience her dream trip to Ireland. But when pressed to name her favorite destination to date, Van Dam needed only to think about the beachside decorating she has done in her own home.
“I’d like to spend my last days in the Outer Banks of North Carolina,” she said. “My sea shells and framed pictures always bring me back to this serene and peaceful destination.”
