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March 2008: Village announces the purchase of a 2008 MCI J-model. With the sale of an older coach, the fleet totals 26 coaches. January 2008: Village is awarded the "2007 Distinguised Service Award" from the Wichita Convention & Visitor's Bureau for work with the National Square Dance Convention, Diamond W Chuckwagon Supper, and overall support of local tourism. January 2008: Village takes 16 coaches and 32 drivers to Washington, D.C., for the annual March For Life. December 2007: Village reports traveling 1.4 million miles in 2007. A new record! October 2007: Village announces the delivery of a 2007 Prevost H3-45 coach. This coach is equipped with 50 seats for more leg room and will be used primarily on tours. August 2007: Village announces that they have joined with the Prairie Wranglers to form the Diamond W Chuckwagon Supper. The new dinner show will be located at the Visitor's Center at Wichita's Old Cowtown Museum. Visit www.diamondwchuckwagon.com for more details. August 2007: Village Tours Oklahoma City moves into its new location at 3021 NE 50th Street. The completely new facility features a customer parking lot, shop, departure room and offices. June 2007: Village announces the purchase of a 2002 Prevost H3-45 VIP coach. The coach will be converted into "Supercoach #2" and will be the new coach used for the Wichita Thunder hockey team. The coach was previously owned by the recording artist Eminen. May 2007: Village is contracted by FEMA to assist in transportation needs in Greensburg, KS, after a tornado destroyed the town. Four coaches spent nearly two weeks to assist in evacuations when necessary. February 2007: Village organizes and operates their first "Red Hat Cruise" that takes over 150 Red Hat women on a cruise together! August 2006: Village Tours announces plans to build a new office & maintenance facility in Oklahoma City. The 5.5 acres of land is located at I-35 and N.E. 50th. Construction will begin in October with an estimate completion in April 2007. July 2006: Village purchases a 2003 Prevost H3-45. The coach, which features extra legroom, will allow for the expansion of a fifth coach in Oklahoma City. May 2006: In a continued partnership with KPTS (Wichita's PBS affiliate), Village Tours takes over 100 people to Branson to see Daniel O'Donnell perform. Mr. O'Donnell took time to meet & greet on the Village coaches! April 2006: Village Tours partners with Wichita fast-food restaurant, Spangles, for a 5-week ad campaign. The ad, featuring a Village coach, will be seen over 100,000 times throughout the state of Kansas. March 2006: Village Tours takes 172 people to China on a 10-day tour that featured four Western Music concerts with the Prairie Rose Wranglers of Wichita. This record-sized group was escorted in China by Jeff Arensdorf, Arlene Logan, and Dave Smith. March 2006: In a 4-bus trade, Village adds 4 1999 Prevost XL coaches to the fleet. The coaches will be used primarily for charter service and are considered "Mid-Sized." January 2006: Norman & Jeff Arensdorf (owners of Village) are presented with the Bus Ride Magazine Achievement Award at the 2006 UMA Convention in Tampa, FL. December 2005: Village takes delivery of a new 2006 Prevost H3-41 motor coach (unit #138). The 48-passenger coach is white in color. November 2005: Wichita Thunder professional hockey team contracts with Village for on the road transportation for the 2005-2006 season and is the first customer to use the all new "Supercoach"! August - September 2005: Village sent 2 buses to New Orleans for 16 days to help transport victims of Hurricane Katrina. Just a few weeks later, Village sent 3 buses to Houston for assistance during Hurricane Rita for 6 days. To help restore electricity to Louisana, Village transported Westar Energy's relief crews to New Orleans every two weeks. March 2005: Village celebrates its 25th anniversary with a 3-day tour to Branson and St. Louis. Thirteen motorcoaches took the tour that included private rail cars from St. Louis to Kansas City. A record 575 people took the tour over a six day period! February 2005: Village takes a record SEVEN buses of fans to watch the KU Jayhawks battle the K-State Wildcats in Manhattan. That's 350 people! January 2005: Village is awarded the remainder of the 2004-2005 travel for the Oklahoma City Blazers hockey team. January 2005: Village takes over 300 guests on its "2nd Annual Cowboy Cruise." The cruise departed from Galveston aboard Carnival Cruise Lines Elation, and featured entertainment from the Prairie Rose Wranglers and Johnny Western. January 2005: Village is featured in a special insert in the Wichita Eagle. The 8-page article commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the company. December 2004: Village announces that over 1.2 million miles have been on their motorcoaches in 2004...a record! December 2004: Village hires its first full-time driver that will be based out of Oklahoma City. Randy Gafford will operate tours and charters out of the Oklahoma City area. November 2004: Village annnounces the first of several special events that will commemorate their 25th anniversary. The first, a tour to Branson and St. Louis, generates over 500 reservations in just three weeks! October 2004: Village announces the purchase of two 2000 H3-41 Prevost coaches. These coaches were previously owned by Good Will Tours of Erie, KS. With this purchase, Village now operates 22 coaches with an average age of less than 5 years old! September 2004: Village announces the purchase of a third ABC M1035 coach. This coach is equipped identical to the two purchased in February of this year. July 2004: Village announces the results of its recent contract with the WIBC Tournament in Wichita. Over a 12-week period, Village hauled over 5,000 women bowlers on 151 tour departures. |
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