A Tinley Park Welkommen: It will take more than one jumbo jet to get this group from Point A to Point B. Though they plan to travel in three separate groups, a total of 302 German visitors will embark on a journey this June that will take them to the same place-Tinley Park and the surrounding area.
”It`s the largest exchange documented yet that`s just people-to-people,” said Reta Brudd, referring to the fact that the visitors are not affiliated with any professional, social or political organization.
Many of the visitors have been to Tinley Park before and have hosted visits from Tinley Park resident in their homes in Germany.
Brudd explained that the long-distance relationship began in the 1980s when Pat Rea, a village trustee and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve, was invited to Buedingen, Germany, a town located about 40 kilometers northeast of Frankfort. Rea discovered that many Buedingen natives had years ago immigrated to the Tinley Park area, Brudd said.
Though accommodations for most of the visitors have been arranged-28 will stay in a hotel and the rest will stay in private homes-Brudd said lodging for about 15 visitors has not been found. People interested in hosting visitors should call 708-532-7700 and ask for Beverly. Hosts need not reside in Tinley Park.
