Jim Rink (313) 336-1513
If you’re visiting the Cowboy Hall of Fame, what state are you in? Which country is called the "Land of the Golden Fleece?" Where will you find the gateway to Acadia National Park? Teenagers with answers to questions like these may be on their way to an expense-paid trip to Orlando to compete for a first-place $25,000 college scholarship.
The trip and scholarships are part of the Third Annual AAA Travel High School Challenge, a contest to increase teens’ travel knowledge and geographic literacy while, at the same time, creating awareness of career opportunities in the travel and tourism industry.
The national contest is open to all U.S. students in grades 9-12 (public, private or home-schooled), with winners from all 50 states and the District of Columbia traveling to Universal Orlando in May 2005 to compete for scholarships totaling more than $100,000.
"The AAA Travel High School Challenge is more than just a geography contest,” said Cathy Green, vice president of sales and service for The Auto Club Group (ACG). “It also sharpens students’ travel literacy by focusing on aspects of travel and tourism destinations, including culture, transportation and history.”
The AAA Travel High School Challenge also encourages teens to study travel geography and consider careers in the travel and tourism industries, said Green.
The contest begins with a 40-question online quiz available January 10-19, 2005, at www.aaa.com/TravelChallenge. The top five scorers in each state will take a proctored, written exam in early March. The top scorer in each state will win an expense-paid trip for two to compete for one of three first-place $25,000 scholarships in the national finals, held May 7-10 at Universal Orlando. Interested students can sign up for the contest any time between now and January 19.
As an incentive to register early, all eligible students who register for the AAA Travel Challenge prior to December 31, 2004, and go on to complete the online quiz will be entered into a random drawing for one of two $500 U.S. savings bonds.
Corporate sponsors for the AAA Travel Challenge include Continental Airlines, Holland America Line, Marriott, MBNA America, Pleasant Holidays and Universal Orlando.
AAA offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to more than 47 million members in the United States and Canada.
AAA Michigan is part of The Auto Club Group, which has 4.08 million members in eight Midwest states. AAA Michigan serves nearly 1.7 million members statewide.
Oklahoma is home of the Cowboy Hall of Fame
The Republic of Georgia is called ’Land of the Golden Fleece’
Bar Harbor, Maine is gateway to Acadia National Park