On December 7th, 2013, the Potomac Area Council’s local members voted in favor of setting Hostelling International USA (HI-USA) on a new road: Unification. As a unified organization, HI-USA will be better positioned to improve and expand delivery of its mission “to help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling.”
HI-USA CEO, Russ Hedge has outlined the unification’s intended achievement in Vision 2020: Hostelling will foster a dynamic, enduring community of travelers with the wisdom, humanity and leadership skills to improve our country, our communities, and our world.
HI-USA’s Organizational Vision is to be:
A leading hostel provider in the world.
A valued source of experiential learning.
A widely recognized champion for intercultural understanding.
An effective advocate for youth travel.
A vibrant presence in communities across the United States.
Vision 2020: We welcome you to join in the future. If you are interested in joining our pool of local volunteers, please contact Jennifer Burnett at Jennifer.burnett@hiusa.org.
We are delighted the Potomac Area Council embraces this vision and are already developing activities that help fulfill the promises of Vision 2020 to be used as a model for the rest of the country. We are on our way to increase awareness about the many benefits of hostelling while keeping it local. HI-USA, as part of the unification agreement with PAC, is taking on a new hostel development project that you may be aware of – the Richmond Hostel Project. This hostel is located in historic downtown Richmond and will be a part of the HI-USA network, along with the other southeast hostels HI-DC, HI-Baltimore and HI-Harper’s Ferry. We are excited to be working on this hostel and more information about how you can be involved in the project will be coming shortly.
We are thankful for those who have made the Potomac Area Council a successful organization for so many years. We are committed to keeping the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast area a vibrant part of the unified HI-USA by focusing our efforts locally while also engaging and inspiring the larger community to see the world, one hostel at a time!
Dominic Petruzzelli, Vice President, the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast region of Hostelling International USA (HI-USA)