National Park Travelers Club 16th Annual Convention in New Bedford, July 19-21

The National Park Travelers Club (NPTC), a diverse group of over 2,200 National Parks enthusiasts representing almost every state and multiple foreign countries, will hold its 16th annual convention from July 19th through 22nd, 2018, in New Bedford, Mass.

The Fairfield Inn New Bedford will serve as the host hotel while the New Bedford Whaling Museum will serve as the host venue for the Club’s Annual Meeting on Saturday, July 21, 2018. Over the four days, the club will hold various group outings to the area National Parks including Cape Cod Nat’l. Seashore, Roger Williams Nat’l. Memorial, Blackstone River Valley Nat’l.

Historical Park’s Slater Mill, Touro Synagogue Nat’l. Historic Site, as well as New Bedford Whaling Nat’l. Historical Park. They are anticipating nearly 175 members will be in attendance this year.

The NPTC was founded in 2004 to connect and provide fellowship to all those who enjoy visiting the currently 417 units managed by the National Park Service. Following the 2016 year-long Centennial Celebration of the National Park Service, interest in America’s National Park System is higher than ever. Through the Club’s website, www.parkstamps.org, members of the NPTC share park experiences, travel tips, pictures, upcoming events, and other relevant information that promotes park travel and federal protection of historically, environmentally, or culturally significant sites within the United States and its territories.

Members typically seek to document their visits via stamp cancellations in the Passport to Your National Parks® program. Passport books for this program are available for purchase in nearly all park visitor centers. The visitor centers provide rubber ink stamps that imprint the name of the park, the city and state of the Park’s location, and the date of the visit.

This program was created in 1986 by Eastern National, Inc. (formerly the Eastern National Park and Monument Association).

The 2018 NPTC Convention will recognize eight members (Jim & Donna Bischoff, Glenn Fankhauser, David Kroese, Dave & Sue Lutz, Carl Raboi and Thomas Wright) with its highest honor, the Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award, given for visiting all 417 units of the National Park System. To date only 56 individuals are known to have ever achieved this challenging goal of visiting every National Park Service unit in the country; this includes not only the 60 National Parks but also National Monuments, National Historic Sites, National Battlefields, National Seashores, etc.

Convention speakers include Acting Superintendent Jennifer Smith and Park Ranger Mark Mello of New Bedford Whaling Nat’l. Historical Park as well Park Ranger Andrew Long who is assigned to the developing Coltsville Nat’l. Historic Site in Hartford, Conn.

For more information, please contact NPTC Secretary Craig Bailey at 719-740-0196 or secretary@parkstamps.org for more information. See also: The National Park Travelers Club website: http://www.parkstamps.org.