Our History

In the fall of 1981, Bob Rogers set out to fill a need. The resources weren’t plentiful, but the vision was grand: to create a group travel company that understood the unique needs of student groups and made it easy for educators to take their students on amazing trips. Bob, a former band director with 10 years of teaching experience, knew the impact that travel could have on a student’s life. So he withdrew his retirement, converted his son’s percussion room into an office, and went to work.

From the beginning, relationships were key to Bob’s success – many of the company’s first clients were Bob’s friends and colleagues. In its first year of operation, Bob Rogers Travel took performance and education groups to the Walt Disney World^® Resort and the World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN. Bob traveled with every group, calling home to collect messages and returning phone calls from pay phones when time permitted.

With a year of trips behind him and a desire to continue building meaningful relationships with his clients, Bob typed up a single page newsletter and began mailing it to his friends so they could keep up with their colleagues. Bob’s son and daughter, Tami and Todd, made their first contribution to their father’s company by sitting on the family room floor, folding newsletters and preparing them for mailing.

Today, Bob’s vision for exceptional service and attention to detail is carried out by travel professionals in seven states, who help clients in over 30 states travel across the country and around the world. That single page newsletter has evolved to become the current TRAVELnotes magazine, which is distributed twice a year to over 9,000 group leaders. Tami and Todd now serve as the leaders of the company. Throughout this growth, Bob’s original vision for a company that cared about people, relationships and worry-free travel experiences hasn’t changed.

With Bob’s vision as our guide,

Bob Rogers Travel is making moments that matter.