Over 15 Years of Group Tour Excellence
When traveling is a passion, the focus of a trip goes far beyond the destination. With over 15 years of industry experience, Teri's Group Tours has crafted remarkable trips both large and small. By concentrating on the details, every trip is ensured to be an unforgettable experience. Based out of Reading, Pennsylvania, trips range from day long excursions visiting nearby attractions, to multi-day vacations across the United States and Canada.
With a primary focus on planned group travel to select destinations, Teri's Group Tours has the unique ability to cater to individual needs that larger travel agencies simply cannot accommodate. Every trip is thoroughly researched, examined and constructed to meet the high expectations our travelers have come to know from Teri's Group Tours. While we are technically a group tour company, we are foremost a people company that is trusted to put our customers first. If there are any special need requirements that are not identified in our travel plans, we will be more than happy to discuss them with you.
Featured in the Reading Eagle
Retiring? Well, not quite
Post-retirement employment gives purpose, a way to make a contribution to the world
Written by Bruce Posten, Thursday February 7, 2019
Tapping Into Dreams
While Teri Hettinger, who recently retired in 2018 as recreational program coordinator in Spring Township, doesn't make any items for sale, her talent is tapping into other's dreams of where they want to go and what they want to see. That affinity has inspired her to continue planning vacations for senior citizens.
Now operating Teri's Group Tours, Hettinger planned trips for seniors, sometimes filling as many as two coaches, when she worked for the township.
“As a recreation director, I had other duties, but planning the trips for seniors for some 16 years was my passion and my baby,” she said.
When Hettinger, who also worked as a sports vision therapist for 14 years, announced her retirement, she said some of her seniors were almost in tears, feeling her departure was bittersweet, since they developed such a close connection with her.
“I felt bad, and I finally decided on my own that I would continue to plan trips for seniors even though I was retired,” she said.
Since she's been retired, Hettinger has organized five trips, some of them day trips or mystery trips (where the destinations are always a surprise) and some that lasted a week, such as the one to Tennessee.
“I can have as many as 90 seniors or as few as 35,” she said, adding that costs for bus trips can range from $60 to $100 per person per day or $600 to $1,000 for a weekly trip.
Hettinger said she decided to retire because she had a brother who retired at age 60 and died with cancer one year later.
“His death influenced me, but I also wanted to spend more time with my four grandchildren,” she said.
