Jessica Luton
If you consider yourself a travel guru, but you’re looking to make a few friends and travel in an economical way, the Magnolia Partners Travel Club may be just for you.
Ed Sanders, a Magnolia State Bank and Bank of Eastman employee who organizes the trips, said the club offers many trips to far away and nearby locales, and traveling with the club is often more affordable than going it alone because the club offers wholesale rates.
“We do have some great trips and they’re reasonably priced,” said Sanders. “Our trips are wholesale and we don’t add a dime to it so they’re getting a good deal.”
The club, open to those who at least 50 years old with a Magnolia State Bank or Bank of Eastman account with a minimum balance of $4,000, is quite simple to sign up for, he said.
“They’ve got to maintain a $4,000 balance. It can be either a checking, savings or CD,” he said. “To sign up, they fill out a form, it’s sent in to the Eastman branch and processed and we just put their name on the list and mail out information to them on our upcoming trips.”
In addition to the sending out trip information in the mail, the club also meets once a year at the Milledgeville Country Club to discuss trip ideas and plans for the year.
“We have a luncheon out at the Country Club once a year to go over what trips we’re going on,” he said.
Magnolia Partners Travel Club offers a variety of destinations for all of its members, he said.
“We just got back from Vermont and we’re taking a trip to Biloxi, Miss., on Aug. 10, 11 and 12,” he said. “And we’ve got one trip to Boston where we’ll visit Plymouth Rock and even walk the route of the real Boston Tea Party.”
In addition, there are a couple of trips offered each year that are very popular among the members, he said.
“We’ve got another trip to Myrtle Beach from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3,” he said. “That’s usually a booked up trip. You get three shows. We stay at the Embassy Suites, a very classy motel right on the beach that serves a full breakfast every morning. The trip also includes two dinners all for just $329. We have had two bus loads to go on this trip before.”
The club also offers a yearly trip to Nashville, Tenn., around Christmas time.
“We’ve got a trip to Nashville, Tenn., — that’s in November. We go to a Christmas show at the Grande Ole Opry and we visit Loretta Lynn’s farm, but the trip covers the whole city of Nashville,” Sanders said.
Sanders said that trips are open to friends and family members of Magnolia Partner Travel Club members as well.
“They can take their friends, family members or children along if they’re a member,” he said. “We have a lot of people go with a friend that is a member.”
The club is a great way to travel, said Sanders.
“They have a great time on the bus,” he said. “We have movies and play bingo and sing songs. Right after we eat, we give everybody a chance to take a nap, and we stop every couple of hours to go to the bathroom and take a little break and get a snack.”
For more information on the Magnolia Partners Travel Club, call (478) 453-2265, (478) 414-2265 or (478) 986-2000.
