PARAGON EXPEDITIONS NEWSLETTER
ABOUT PARAGON Paragon Expeditions is a new, dynamic luxury expedition company offering handcrafted expeditions to culturally, historically, and geographically rich destinations around the world. Paragon Expeditions will provide a new, more meaningful approach to travel that combines luxury, adventure, and an opportunity for travelers to give back directly to local groups. While there are several companies offering tours and expeditions abroad, few, if any, combine luxury travel with the opportunity to personally give back to those in need. A maverick within the travel industry, Paragon Expeditions will structure a philanthropic component into each expedition whereby travelers will be able to contribute to a project that will have lasting positive impacts on the local community.
WINTER 2013
ISSUE 1
MEET THE FOUNDERS: TOM AND RYAN Ryan Weaver and Tom McNally met while studying abroad on Semester at Sea in Fall 2012. Surfers, mountaineers, and flyfisherman at heart, they soon became close friends and traveling buddies. They crossed the Atlantic twice, visiting four continents and venturing up the Amazon River. While many people traveled to popular beaches, museums, and other common sights, McNally and Weaver had a passion for geography and exploring the world, and often trekked to off the beaten path destinations to find hidden gems. Whether it was summiting a distant volcano, journeying through blizzards, or immersing
themselves amongst local inhabitants, they made the most out of each and every port and country. On their many journeys abroad, the beauty of the earth’s diverse cultural and physical geography humbled them, and the effects of these experiences continue to resonate in their personal lives. Profoundly affected by their sojourns in distant locales, they decided to create a charitable expedition company rooted in the principles of cultural and ecological sustainability. In doing so, they hope that travelers will come to cherish the unique cultural and physical geography of our earth as they do.
MISSION Our mission is to inspire travelers to become more socially and environmentally aware through philanthropic expeditions to some of the world’s most incredible places.
PARAGON DEFINED By definition, a paragon is a person or thing viewed as model of excellence, and the founders are steadfast in their resolve to make Paragon Expeditions the premiere expedition agency within the luxury travel agency.
GIVING BACK As guests in foreign lands, we feel it is our responsibility as a company to give back to the local community and the region that we will visit on our expeditions. In order to express our gratitude, each expedition will have a philanthropic component structured into the itinerary. A significant percentage of the income from every expedition will be allocated to a project specifically designed to better the lives of the local peoples that have welcomed us into their native land. The project will be determined on a case-
by-case basis, and we will work closely with the village inhabitants to determine a project that will have lasting positive impacts in their community. While most of our expeditions involve intimate cross-cultural immersion, certain itineraries will focus more on mountaineering, fly-fishing, or backcountry trekking than cultural encounters. In this case, a significant contribution will be made towards a project that encourages the sustainability of the local environment for years to come.