What a busy summer, with vacations and business trips locally and all around the globe. I ended the season visiting Indian Pass, Florida, for a few restful beach days and to explore the Panhandle. This was preceded by our 10th annual The Trazees awards (trazeetravel.com) at the beautiful The Joseph hotel in Nashville. Not only did we celebrate the award winners, but we also honored the legacy of Chef Joey Fecci and introduced the Joey Fecci Award for Culinary Excellence (trazeetravel.com/joey-fecci-
award-for-culinary-excellence).

In September I will host the Wherever Awards (whereverfamily.com) at the lovely Lotos Club in New York; please join us on Sept. 19. The day before, I meet our friends at Turkish Airlines for the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup, held at Inwood Country Club, with JFK airport’s active runways as a backdrop for many of the holes. From matches like this all over the world,
winning players (75 from more than 50 countries last year) compete in the championship tournament in Antalya, Türkiye.

All expenses paid and business class on Turkish Airlines — what a class act! This November we’ll hold our subscriber Globility Board meeting aboard Windstar’s Star Breeze in Tahiti. I will present ideas in our focus group sessions, a wonderful way to get inside the heads of entrepreneur travelers who make their own decisions about what airline to fly and what hotel to book. Any subscribers interested in joining the board can reach me directly at fran@globaltravelerusa.com to apply and go through the vetting process.

We are planning the GT Tested Reader Survey awards to take place Dec. 11 at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills. This marks the 21st year of the reader-voted awards, and we are excited to host the celebration poolside at L’Ermitage. Management tells me there has never been an accidental slip into the pool at any of their events, but we do have a track record of such.

I’m firming up a few ideas for a fall adventure around the date of my birthday (Oct. 10), and as I consider many options, I welcome your suggestions!

Please enjoy our Cruising Issue. I hope you can fit in a voyage on some of my favorite cruise lines — such as Regent Seven Seas, Windstar or AmaWaterways — before the end of the year. With fall in full swing, I look forward to more trips, travels and golf — join the adventure!

Francis X. Gallagher, CEO and Publisher