ATI's CEO Noel Irwin Hentschel Brings Food, Medicine to China's Homeless Families at Quake Epicenter

Business Wire, May 22, 2008

BEIJING -- AmericanTours International (ATI) Chair/CEO Noel Irwin Hentschel and the ATI team entered China's Sichuan Province with the Chinese Red Cross Society Saturday to deliver desperately needed supplies to victims of last Monday's devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake.

"The people here continue to be at extreme risk; not only from lack of shelter, medicine, food and clean water," Hentschel reported, "but this entire area is extremely unstable due to the aftershocks and the imminent danger of dams breaking. Evacuations were underway in Beichuan and now are planned for Dujiangyan City. We felt the earth moving from the moment we arrived and it's evident that these people will need help for some time."

The ATI team landed in Chengdu to transport truck loads of humanitarian cargo donated by The Noel Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Noel Irwin Hentschel in 1989. Supplies consisting of badly needed medicine and medical equipment, masks, tents, food and water were delivered to Dujiangyan City near the quake's epicenter. "The masks will help prevent illness due to the contaminated air," Hentschel explained. "The team was advised by officials to wear masks and be covered at all times while working in the earthquake zone."

Their first stop was the Juyuan Middle School where an estimated 900 students were buried. The scene was heart wrenching watching hopeful parents and family members dig through the rubble with their hands looking for any signs of life, while others sat in quiet vigil. As a mother of seven children, Hentschel embraced the Chinese mothers and told them on behalf of all American mothers that "your children are our children."

Hentschel had the opportunity to speak with three surviving students Tan Xiau Dan, 12; Yuan Run, 12; and Tan Ping, 8. The children were fortunate to be safely on the playground when the earthquake struck.

After spending time and providing support to the grieving families the ATI team went on to meet with Dujiangyan City's Vice Mayor Wang Qing, who remarked, "On behalf of the Chinese people we thank ATI and The Noel Foundation for your help. We hope you can help us in our recovery by bringing tourists in the future to our beautiful city, which is known as one of China's top tourism destinations and home of the Pandas."

Hentschel responded that ATI worked with New York City's Mayor Rudy Giuliani in their successful effort to revive tourism after 9-ll and that "ATI will do the same for Dujiangyan City."

CEO Hentschel told Vice Mayor Wang that it was gratifying to see how well organized the Chinese government was, especially in a disaster of this magnitude.

Arriving in Beijing on the day of the quake, Hentschel reacted immediately by activating her company's disaster recovery plan, in place since 1977. Arrangements were made for an international rescue task force, including some members of the original 9-11 team, to be on the ground in China within 48 hours. The task force donated all of their rescue equipment to Sichuan Province.

"We have a responsibility to help alleviate human suffering," stated Hentschel. "ATI's long experience with complicated logistics and our strong international relationships enable us to react quickly in a crisis situation."

Hentschel added that on behalf of the parents who have lost their children and the children who have lost their parents, "we will now help to build a school for orphaned children in this devastated region following the rescue efforts."

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a key component of ATI's mission and The Noel Foundation, a 501c3 organization, implements the company's charitable endeavors. The China Earthquake Children's Fund has been established by The Noel Foundation to assist with rescue, recovery and rebuilding. All earmarked contributions will fund this effort in their entirety. Additional information will be available on the Foundation's website www.thenoelfoundation.org.

ATI is America's largest American-owned, privately held, inbound/outbound tourism and marketing organization, serving one-million visitors annually from more than 70 countries around the globe and is responsible for bringing $3 billion into the U.S. economy, annually. Based in Los Angeles adjacent to LAX, the company has offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Orlando, Honolulu, Maui and Beijing, China.