Auto Club Executive Joins Pleasant Holidays

    LOS ANGELES--Jan. 7, 2002--Tim Irwin, vice president of travel for the Automobile Club of Southern California, will leave the Auto Club in January 2002 to become president of Pleasant Holidays. Ed Hogan, who started the company in 1959, will continue with Pleasant as founder and chairman.
    "While it is a very difficult decision to leave the Auto Club after 34 years, the opportunity to work with Ed Hogan and the Pleasant Holidays staff offers new opportunities," said Irwin. "Pleasant Holidays has been successful for over 40 years, its management is creative and forward-looking and its future is bright. The outlook for travel to Hawaii, the South Pacific, the Orient, and Mexico is outstanding."
    Irwin will be responsible for overall strategy and planning and the development and implementation of corporate goals and policies. During Irwin's tenure as vice president of travel for the Auto Club, the AAA Travel Agency's revenues have doubled. He has worked with Pleasant during the five years it has been a preferred provider for the AAA Travel Agency.
    Irwin currently serves on the Holland America Advisory Board and the Canadian Tourism Commission Advisory Board. He is on the Advisory Board for the California State University, Fullerton School of Business, Entertainment and Communication and has served on the Disney AAA Advisory Board.
    The Auto Club will retain its majority ownership interest in Pleasant Holidays. The Auto Club made its investment in Pleasant at a time when the travel industry was experiencing mergers and acquisitions. The club wanted to ensure that AAA members would continue to have access to Pleasant Holidays and that the club could compete effectively in the travel industry.
    The investment has allowed the Auto Club to continue to offer high-quality, low-cost travel to members. Pleasant is one of the highest rated preferred providers of travel available to AAA members and is one of the most financially sound in the industry.
    "Pleasant's ongoing relationship with other travel companies has not changed over the past three years and will not change," said Irwin. "Pleasant remains committed to offering all travel agents superior travel packages that will be attractive to their clients."
    The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services, and highway and transportation safety programs. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.