December 2007: ARCHIVES of December 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
The month was highlighted by a celebration of tourism to Egypt as Sandy dedicated much of her programming to the historic participation of the Egyptian Tourism Authority in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and the Cairo-Los Angeles Friendship Committee presented a stunning float made of roses, to celebrate the “Egyptian Treasures”. Millions of viewers around the world watched the event live and Sandy and team were on hand to cover the story. More big news was on store as Sandy’s longtime friend from high school days, John R. Johnson, joined the TravelTalkMEDIA as a Director based in New York City. John has a deep experience and an international banker and as a consulting specialist in privatization in over a dozen countries. He is fondly known as the “Father of Privatization of Kosovo” and his experience in tourism and economic development provides a powerful and pivotal presence for TravelTalkMEDIA in New York City, home to hundreds of national tourism ministry offices, consulates, travel-based associations and corporations. Also in December, Sandy addressed travel professionals at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Industry Day in San Francisco. Sandy also moderated panels at the conference and was delighted to be joined by the President of PATA, Mr. Peter deJong, in talking about the future of Asia Pacific travel, global effects of travel on the environment and why PATA is relevant to the growth of tourism products

Sandy’s guests in December included Peter Pantuso, President of the American Bus Association,  Ron Salk, Author of the  Airport Transit Guide, Ruben Toral, Chair of the International Medical Tourism Association, Tara Riordan, TravelTalkMEDIA’s European Correspondent, Jonathan Edelheit, President of the Medical Travel Association, Abderahman Salaheldin, Consul General of Egypt, David Maxwell, Author of AIRBUS 380 , Fred Krakowiak, Author Africa – An Artist’s Safari, Mark Wildman, VP of The Parking Spot, David Parry, Chairman of Academic Travel Abroad, and Rob Gulick, Albania and Kosovo travel expert. Also joining Sandy on the program were Greg Baxter, SuperClubs expert, Gina Snow, Northern California Pacific Asia Travel Association, Simhananda, Author of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Khadromas and the Way of the Pilgrim, Polly Yu, President of Asia Getaways, Janos Damon, recipient of lifetime achievement award in Israel, Randy Durband, President of TRAVCOA, and Dr. Wasfy Shindy, President of the Cairo-LA Friendship Committee.    
ARCHIVES of December 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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November 2007:  ARCHIVES of November 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
This month brought a huge new collaborative initiative with the announcement that the SAAGII, Inc. Healthcare Network had become a working partner with TravelTalkMEDIA to promote medical travel. Shortly after the announcement, Sandy and crew headed across the Atlantic on Silverjet, the all business class airline, to London for a retreat at the historic Hartwell House in preparation for the annual World Travel Mart (WTM).  Sandy hosted the World Tourism Awards for 2007 at WTM and presented awards to several recipients for their achievements including Alex Harris, President of the American Tourism Society, His Excellency, Akel Biltaji, and Michael Stolowitzky, CEO of the American Tourism Society. Also present on stage with Sandy were award sponsors, Tony Potter, CEO of Corinthia Hotels International, Tom Nutley of Reed International Exhibitions, as well as representatives from sponsors American Express, the International Herald Tribune and Karen Hoffman, Senior VP of The Bradford Group of NYC.

Sandy’s guests in November included Wolfgang Arlt, Professor of Tourism, Henry Gold, Tour d'Afrique, Rick Wilmett, Assistant Manager of the Hartwell House, Thomas Steinmetz, Publisher eTurboNews, Scott Rains, Rolling Rains Accessible Travel, Mike Mendoza, Presenter of Through the Night on TalkSport Radio United Kingdom, David Browne, European Editor for eTurboNews, Jeannette Kravitz, CEO Peace Journey, Sharron Livingston, Editor of Travel Magazine,  Lawrence Hunt, Founder and President of Silverjet Airlines, Fevzi Turkalp, the Gadget Detective, Jonathan Thompson, General Manager of the Hartwell House, and Tara Riordan, US Student at Oxford University.
ARCHIVES of November 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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October 2007: ARCHIVES of October 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
Tragedy nearly struck this month as Sandy and the TravelTalkMEDIA team were forced to evacuate their studios in Rancho Santa Fe, California, due to the catastrophic wildfires that swept through the southern part of the State. This fire came with a few miles of the studios with tremendous winds fueling and spreading devastation and generating cinders as large as loaves of bread flying wildly through the air in some places Thousands of Californians lost their homes and their livelihoods and there were several deaths. We were truly grateful that our Southern California Studios were spared and no on in our immediate circles was injured or worse. Also in October, Sandy celebrated Convention and Visitor Bureaus around the world by devoting an entire program to the thousands of organizations around the world dedicated to bringing tourism to their regions. Also, Sandy broadcast TravelTalkRADIO LIVE from Poland at the American Tourism Society annual meeting. During the ATS conference, the attendees viewed the premiered the new ATS promotional video, written and produced by Sandy and the TravelTalkMEDIA team. The film was crated using TravelTalkTV footage captured from the past 5 years of ATS meetings and several historical photos of the group’s activities in the early days. This was a long anticipated marketing, educational and informational piece for the association covering its history from the end of the Cold War in 1989 to the present day and was warmly accepted and hailed by all in attendance as a resounding success.

Also this month, Sandy broadcast TravelTalkRADIO LIVE from Beijing at the World Tourism Marketing Summit. WTMS is a world class event with participants from more than 50 countries and Sandy has worked very close for the past several years with the organizer of the event, Mr. Sujit Chowdhury.

Sandy welcomed guests Basil McCall, Creator of the Chiang Mai, Thailand Charity Calendar, Henry Gold, President of Tour d’Afrique, Sandy Ward from Boeing Aircraft headquarters and Future of Flight Aviation Center, Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of World Travel Market, David Peckinpaugh, President of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, Stephen Perry, CEO of the New Orleans Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Tim Buckman, Marketing VP of Silverjet Airlines, Karen Hoffman, Senior VP The Bradford Group, Hisham Refaat, EMECO Travel, Bruce Bechkam, Executive Director of Tourism Cares for Tomorrow, David Parry, Chairman of Academic Travel Abroad, Jan Rudomina, Director of Business Development for American Travel Abroad, John Martinen, Principal of Safe Passage International, Louise Shambris from TRAVCOA, Knut Haneschke with the American Tourism Society, Anthony Moorehouse, Founder of Dynamiq Group out of Australia, and George Deeb, Founder of iExplore.com.
ARCHIVES of October 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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September 2007: ARCHIVES of September 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
Sandy took off for New York to work with a dear friend of TravelTalkMEDIA, Karen Hoffman, Senior VP of The Bradford Group, one of most influential Public Relations firms in world. Bradford represents several the tourism ministries of several countries around the world as well as many other key players in the travel industry. While in NY, Sandy met with His Excellency Professor Jumanne Abdallah Maghembe, Minister of Tourism for Tanzania. He also attended a celebration for the Corinthia Hotels International and meet up with the executive staff of the American Tourism Society (ATS).

Joining Sandy as guests in September were David Barna, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, National Park Service Washington, DC, Johnny jet, travel newsletter publisher, Mama Margaret, Founder of Italian Cooking Tours, Sharron Livingston, Editor of The Travel Magazine, Cheryl Hudak, President of the American Society of Travel Agents, Peter Pantuso, President of the American Bus Association, Henry Gold, President of Tour d'Afrique President (LIVE from Istanbul, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan!), Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, David Browne, European Editor of eTurboNews, Wanda Radetti, Founder of Tasteful Croatian Journeys, Greg Baxter, District Sales Manager of SuperClubs, Alfonso Martinez Fonts Jr., Special Assistant to the Director, Department of Homeland Security, Lawrence Hunt, CEO of Silverjet Airlines, Elisa Bernick, Author of The Family Sabbatical Handbook: The Budget Guide To Living Abroad With Your Family, His Honorable Excellency Jumanne A. Maghembe, the Minister of Tourism for Tanzania, Janos Damon, Secretary General for Tourism4Peace Forum, David Field, Americas Editor of Airline Business Magazine,  and Bob Rauch, Owner and Homewood Suites by Hilton in Del Mar, CA
ARCHIVES of September 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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August 2007: ARCHIVES of August 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
This month celebrated the 100^th issue of the TravelTalkMEDIA weekly newsletter, and the start of the 7th season of TravelTalkRADIO. On the travel scene, Sandy was in Washington, DC this month for her regular meetings on the Secure Borders Open Doors Advisory Committee with the Department of Homeland Security. Then she flew direct from Reagan National Airport directly to Las Vegas for meetings with clients, sponsors and friends and celebrated the city with dinner from the Top of the World Restaurant in the Stratosphere Tower. Having dinner at the roof top of the highest building between the West Coast and the Mississippi is an unforgettable with an eye candy view of Vegas and food that is out of this world. Don’t miss it! From Vegas it was directly off on a seven and a half hour road trip to Yosemite Village to meet with representatives of over 60 local destinations and service providers including the US National Parks staff to talk about TravelTalkMEDIA programming and promotion.

On the business side of things, TravelTalkMEDIA announced its new alliance with world-renowned international attorney, Prof. & Dr. George K. F. Wang, Esq. (Taiwan, USA & China) to create special travel and tourism programming for distribution to Chinese audiences and with additional distribution worldwide.

Joining Sandy as special guests this month were Naima Remadi, Director of The Tunisian Cultural & Information Center. Zein Nakash, VP Super Clubs, Jami Cordry, Feng Shui expert, Mike Luongo, Author of Gay Travel in the Muslim World,  Keith Reinhard, Chairman Emeritus of DDB Worldwide and Founder and President of Business for Diplomatic Action, Thomas Steinmetz, Publisher of eTurboNews, Alexander Anolik, renowned travel attorney and author, Sujit Chowdhury, Secretary General, World Tourism Marketing Summit in Beijing, Meg Graham, Author of Ahora Hablo! Travel Edition, Seven Simple Steps to Authentic Spanish, and Imtiaz Muqbil, Editor of Travel-Impact-News.com.
ARCHIVES of August 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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July 2007: ARCHIVES of July 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
We were delighted to announce this month that CHN University, one of the worlds’s leading hospitality schools, appointed Sandy a member of the board of advisors for the university’s Department of Media and Entertainment Management. In addition to advising the department on current and anticipated developments in the field of media and entertainment, Sandy will be instrumental in the development of the department’s curriculum for the university’s international students. Also in July, TravelTalkMEDIA announced its new alliance with Mochila, one of the premier online news services. Along with 1000 other news services, TravelTalkMEDIA now offers programming to the 1500 member publications that align themselves with Mochila. As part of this unique global online marketplace e alliance, TravelTalkMEDIA launched its customized news feed that offers our Web site visitors the latest in travel news from around the world. This new, up-to-the-minute RSS feed of worldwide travel and tourism news is now availble 24x7 at www.TravelTalkNEWS.com.

Sandy was out the door this month to New York City week to meet with the private sector advisory committee to the Department of Homeland Security. As part of her agenda, Sandy visited the recently completed New York City Crisis Management Center and signed the monument at Ground Zero with Southwest Airlines Founder and CEO, Herb Kelleher. While in THE CITY, Sandy broadcast TravelTalkRADIO “LIVE from New York” with the help of special co-host, Karen Hoffman, Senior VP of The Bradford Group.    

Joining Sandy as special guests were Kevin Nance, Renmin Square Hotels Xi'an China, Louie D'Amore, President and Founder of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), Stacey May, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), Tara Riordan from the Dept of Homeland Security in Washington DC, Dr. Gary Brunette from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Lawrence Hunt, Founder and CEO of Silverjet Airlines, Todd Basche, Founder and Creator of  Word Lock, J.M. Pasquesi, Author of Rome & Kids, Anne Crawford from  Asia Getaways, Michael Stolowitzky, CEO of the American Tourism Society, Rob Gulick, AltaVia Travel, and Kip Hawley, Chief of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
ARCHIVES of July 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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June 2007: ARCHIVES of June 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
Summertime always provides a bit of a rest for folks in the travel industry as hopefully we’ve convinced the rest of the general public to go on holiday! Even so, TravelTalkRADIO broadcasts live each and every week. This month’s guests included Ron and Sylvia Mracky, Publishers of AFRICA Times News,, Rod LaBranche from Old Towne Trolley Tours, Sharron Livingston, Publisher of The Travel Magazine, Harry Medved, Author of Hollywood Escapes, Illian Lugwe, General Manager of the Serena Hotel Kampala, Uganda, Doug McLeish, Asia Getaway, P.T. Wright, Deputy Director of US Visit at the Department of Homeland Security, Karen Hoffman, Sr. Vice President at Bradford Marketing Group, Mike Alvich, VP at Gray Line New York City Sightseeing, Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky from the Center for Disease Control, John R. Johnson with Alta Via Travel Tours, Victoria Ramani with Avianca Airlines, Paul Kiehl, City of Glendale – Passport Assistance, Akram Touma, General Manager - Le Royal Méridien Shanghai, Naoko Marutani, Director, Japan National Tourist Organization, Los Angeles Office, Sayed Khalifa, Egyptian Tourist Authority, and Rob Kelly, Filmmaker and Founder of RAK PRODUCTIONS.
ARCHIVES of June 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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May 2007: ARCHIVES of May 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
May was an opportunity for TravelTalkMEDIA to announce the creation of a podcast version of Universal Air Travel Plan’s monthly Airline Distribution newsletter. On the heels of this announcement, Sandy left for Kampala, Uganda to speak at the International Institute for Peace through Tourism and met with leaders in African tourism. While Sandy was on the road to Africa, the TravelTalkMEDIA film crew headed to Virginia City, Nevada to participate in and cover the annual Tourism Cares for Tomorrow weekend where nearly 300 travel industry professionals converged for a huge voluntourism event and did a huge cleanup of this vibrant “ghost town” that was once the largest city between Chicago and San Francisco.

Also in May, Sandy was the featured keynote speaker at the International Facilities Managers Association annual trade fair where she addressed and audience of 250 and talked about the latest trends in travel and security.

National Tourism Week was observed May 12-20, 2007, and to celebrate the event, Sandy was joined by David Peckinpaugh, President of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau.

To promote TravelTalkMEDIA’s “Trip of the Year” to China with Asia Getaway Tours, Sandy connected to the East Queen, a cruise ship on the Yangtze River and talked with its captain, Teddy Garcia!

Also joining Sandy as special guests were Brad Barker of the HALO organization (Humanitarian Aide Logistics Operations), Susan Foster, Author of Smart Packing, "YOSEMITE” Dan Carter with Yosemite Sierra Valley, Akel Biltaji, Senator and Advisor to King Abdullah II from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Thomas Steinmetz, Publisher of eTurboNews, Dr. Christie Reed from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Bruce Beckham, President of Tourism Cares for Tomorrow, Polly Yu, President of Asia Getaway Tours, Boris Miketic, President of Croatia Travel, Louis D’Amore, Founder of the International Institute of Peace through Tourism, Jennifer Archer of Priority Pass, Patrick Peartree reporting LIVE from Virginia City, Lori Pearlman with the NBC Travel Expo Los Angeles, and Bill St. Claire of Tauck Tours.
ARCHIVES of May 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

April 2007: ARCHIVES of April 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
TravelTalkRADIO headed for the Dalmatian Coast in April to visit beautiful country of Croatia across the Adriatic Sea from Greece. The travel press has frequently referred to Croatia as the hot destination for 2007. Sandy and crew toured Zagreb, Split, Kocura and Dubrovnik in connection with the American Tourism Society’s (ATS) annual conference. This provided a wonderful opportunity to meet face to face with the people who represent Croatia tourism industry and to fulfill the ATS mission of “Bringing the World Together.” Sandy has rated Croatia as a “definite must see!” 

Shortly after Croatia, we joined our long time sponsor Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) for their annual Airline Distribution Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Also in the month of April, Sandy and the TravelTalk crew journeyed to Arizona for a LIVE remote broadcast. Joining Sandy for this special broadcast from the beautifully restored train depot in downtown Wickenburg were His Honor, the Mayor, Ron Badowski, Royce Kardinal, Executive Director of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Cathy Weiss, Director of the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts, Jeff Deming, General Manager Rancho del los Caballeros, and Julie Brooks, Executive Director of Wickenburg Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
Sandy was joined in April by special guests Maura Harty, US Department of State Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Nena Komarica, General Manager of the Croatia Tourism Board, Karen Hoffman, Sr VP Bradford Marketing Group NYC, Dr. Sujit Chowdhury, President and CEO of the World Trade University and Secretary General of the World Tourism Marketing Summit, and Dr. Gary Brunette, MD, from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta Georgia.

Also joining Sandy in April as special guests were Roger Dow, President and CEO of the Travel Industry Association of American (TIA), Ken Murphy with Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP), Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Author of 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, Bruce Berger, Author of Oasis of Stone: Visions of Baja California Sur and the book’s Photographer, Miguel Angel de las Cuevas, and Porterhouse Bob, one of the best musicians in the country.
ARCHIVES of April 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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March 2007:  ARCHIVES of March 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
This month marked TravelTalkRADIO’s 58th live remote broadcast and this live one was from the Bay Area Travel Show at the Santa Clara Convention Center near San Francisco. Sandy and TravelTalkMEDIA were honored to receive international acclaim by being awarded 1st Prize for the 2006 Final Radio Report Contest in Nanjing, China for the special radio program on Sandy and Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a special documentary in Chinese and English. Sandy also announced a new radio station joining the TravelTalkRADIO family: Old Dominion Broadcasting in Norfolk, Virginia, KHBI 1160AM. Enhancement to TravelTalkMEDIA’s podcasting capabilities were announced and launched making it even easier for people from around the world to hear TravelTalkRADIO anytime they want and no matter where they are.

During the month of March, Sandy traveled to Washington DC to attend the monthly meetings of the private sector advisory committee working with the Department of Homeland Security on the Secure Borders and Open Doors initiative. TravelTalkRADIO also broadcast live from the San Diego Travel Show.

Special guests this month included, Dr. Peter Tarlow, well known author and speaker on tourism safety and security issues, Ruoyi Liu, Chief Editor of the Voice of Jinling Radio, Nanjing China, Cheryn Flanagan, Author of the Me No Speak series of translator books, Elisabeth Eaves, Forbes Online Staff Writer and Author of China Business Dos And Don’ts, Louis D’Amore,, President of the Institute for Peace Through Tourism, Kiren Mitruka, MD, Center for Disease Control, Sandi Pufahl, President of Fancy Free Holidays, Eric Zmolek, Study Abroad Program at University of Okayama in Japan, Gwen Chambers, Founder of HobbyMatch.com, Dan Carter, Executive Director for Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau, Julie Brooks, Executive Director Wickenburg Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Sondra Glazer, President of Regency Travel, Rami Levi with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, and George "Skip" Muns of Viking River Cruises

Also joining Sandy were Chip Caruso, President of Travel Industry Shows, Daniel A. Pedelaborde, CTC, Star Clippers luxury cruises, and Lorene Palmer, President of the Juneau Alaska Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
ARCHIVES of March 2007 programming CLICK HERE.

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January 2007:  ARCHIVES of January 2007 programming CLICK HERE.
The New Year always seems officially kick the travel and tourism industry into high gear and this January was no exception with events, conferences, expos, and live remote broadcasts flooding the schedule from around the world. In addition, Sandy announced several special guest segments that would be available on a regular basis throughout the year on TravelTalk including a monthly appearance by representatives from the Center for Disease Control to keep audiences informed and educated on the latest information regarding health issues for travelers both abroad and domestically. TravelTalkRADIO also announced the continuation and expansion of special appearances by officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the US Customs and Border Protection Service to cover topics related to passports, model ports, visa control and much more. Serious discussions on major issues are on tap for this year including the impact of travel and tourism on global warming and climate change and guests such as Stella Bell of UK company Climate Care joined Sandy to talk about the trend toward CO2 “give back” plans that will offset omissions. Will this be enough to stop this fast moving freight train called Global Warming? To discuss how we can reduce transportation emissions, one of the pioneers in the field and a proponent of Magnetic Levitated trains in California. Albert Perdon, Executive Director of the Orange Line MagLev Development, is also scheduled to be a regular contributor on TravelTalkRADIO. Al will tell us about what the future holds for lowering travel-related emissions and in raising hope for the future welfare of our great planet.

SuperClubs, the original – and best – all inclusive, Caribbean resorts was also slated for frequent segments as one of our favorite and long-time sponsors. And to kick off our promotion for this great company, on January 21, 2007, Sandy and crew traveled to SuperClubs’ Breezes Runaway Bay newly renovated property in Jamaica for another remote broadcast aired on radio stations throughout the Western Hemisphere. It was non-stop LAX to Montego Bay via Air Jamaica. What a luxurious ride!

In late January, Sandy and crew traveled to the Dallas / Fort Worth area to the historic Western town of Grapevine, Texas to attend the American Bus Association Marketplace at the Gaylord Texan Convention Center and Resort. This was our 4^th annual live remote broadcast from the ABA gathering and, in joint participation with SuperClubs, TravelTalkMEDIA donated a 7 night stay for two at one of SuperClubs’ fabulous 5 star Grand Lido Resorts to the American Bus Association’s Marketplace Silent Auction. Through these fund-raising efforts, the ABA Foundation provides scholarship funds to deserving students in the US and Canada

Some of Sandy’s special guests in January included: P. W. McCallum, Executive Director Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Grapevine, Texas. Pat Ziska, Vice President, Chief Customer Officer Motor Coach Inc, Jenny Lynch, Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, Don Ferrone (celebrating 100 years of running the family coach business), Owner of American Sightseeing in Chicago, Steve Haddad, Chairman of the ABA Marketplace, Peter Pantuso, President of the ABA,  Zein Nakash, Owner of  SuperClubs, Tim Smith,  President and CEO of The San Diego Travel Group (one of the top 100 Travel Agencies in the US), Eva Etzioni Halevy, Author of The Garden of Ruth ,  

Colleen Miller, Director of Admissions for Cultural Experiences Abroad (CEA).

Eddie Bergman, President, Africa Travel Association. Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky,