The students and chaperones will fly to Amsterdam, then sail through Belgium and the Netherlands in March

01 March 2023

60 EIGHTH GRADERS WON A EUROPEAN RIVER CRUISE; 7 IN NEBRASKA

THROUGH AAA’S DISCOVERY CREW TRAVEL CONTEST

The students and chaperones will fly to Amsterdam, then sail through Belgium and the Netherlands in March

Student interviews are available upon request

Media Downloads: B-Roll / Sound Bites / Promotional Video

OMAHA, NE (February 28, 2023) – AAA-The Auto Club Group is announcing the winners of its Discovery Crew travel contest for 8th graders, held last summer. Seven of the 60 contest winners announced live in Nebraska. The prize is an educational river cruise through Europe.

In the coming days, each winner and a chaperone will fly to Amsterdam, then sail together on an AmaWaterways river cruise through Belgium and the Netherlands. AAA partnered with AmaWaterways and Allianz Global Assistance to provide the river cruise, flights, travel insurance, and money for passports.

AAA Discovery Crew – Nebraska Winners

  • Aubry A. - Hay Springs
  • Levi N. - Lincoln
  • Harrison P. - Lincoln
  • Carter P.  - La Vista
  • Aubrey T. - Auburn
  • Ella M. - Kearney
  • Lena W. -  Lincoln

Interview opportunity: Many of these students are interested in sharing their story and their excitement about the trip. If interested in conducting a local story, reporters can contact Brian Ortner bortner@acg.aaa.com  to setup an interview.

MEDIA NOTE – Because of their age, AAA is only publicly releasing winners’ first name and last initial. AAA will coordinate media interviews with winners upon request, pending availability.

This is the second time AAA – The Auto Club Group hosted this contest. Reporters can click here to view b-roll of the previous trip in 2019.

This contest was open to all 8th graders throughout the 14 states that AAA – The Auto Club Group serves. A total of 60 winners were selected. The students won the contest by answering three essay questions and submitting a selfie showing their passion for travel.

“We were amazed by the passionate responses from the many students who expressed their interest in going on this trip,” said Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “The winners chosen are different in many ways, but each shares a similar enthusiasm for travel. Soon these students will immerse themselves in different cultures and see what it’s like to be an 8th grader in two different countries. The students who attended the previous trip called this a life-changing experience, so we are excited to share this opportunity with another group of people.”

During the trip, students will follow a custom-designed itinerary with ports of call and shore excursions focused on learning about local history, art, science, nature, and food. Besides sampling local cuisine and visiting historic landmarks like the Anne Frank House, students will enjoy tours that allow them to live out their passion for travel, like riding bicycles near the world-famous Holland windmills. On a more personal level, they will meet students at two different schools to see what life is like as an 8th grader in Belgium and the Netherlands.

About AAA - The Auto Club Group

The Auto Club Group (ACG) is the second largest AAA club in North America with more than 13 million members across 14 U.S. states, the province of Quebec and two U.S. territories. ACG and its affiliates provide members with roadside assistance, insurance products, banking and financial services, travel offerings and more. ACG belongs to the national AAA federation with more than 62 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA’s mission is to protect and advance freedom of mobility and improve traffic safety. For more information, get the AAA Mobile app, visit AAA.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.