"Get ready for the atmospheric adventure of a lifetime"TM
History:
Silver
Lining Tours (SLT) formed in the minds of David
Gold and Bill Gargan in 1994. The idea finally became reality in 1997 when we
performed a trial run with one brave client. Chasing for 5 days in
mid-June, we saw spectacular storms, including almost-tornadic supercells,
4 of the 5 days. The participant had a fantastic time. We knew then that a
storm chasing tour operation was within our grasp and capabilities. In
1998, SLT launched its first full year of operations, running four 10-day
length tours from Oklahoma City. A high-visibility article featuring us in
the June 15, 1998 edition of U.S. News and World Report started a steady
stream of press coverage that gave us much-needed exposure. The following
year, a Discovery
Channel production, airing both in Europe and in the U.S. sustained the
press coverage. In 2000, National Geographic TV contracted the documentary
"Twister Tours" to professional video documentary producer
Alister Chapman. This special subsequently aired in several major world
markets and became one of the most watched NG documentaries in the history
of that venerated company in Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. I noticed
that in addition to being a skilled and dedicated videographer, Alister
possessed an amazing array of technical skills. Thus, I asked him to join
the SLT team the following year and we have been fortunate enough to enjoy
his services and amiable company ever since. Alister is constantly
conceiving, developing and deploying technological innovations that make
our tours increasingly better. For instance, Alister developed a
proprietary sound system that allows passengers to clearly hear the tour
leaders from any seat in any van within our two-van armada. In 2001, we were joined for over 1 month by none other
than The Weather Channel. Needless to say, the ongoing media coverage
enjoyed by SLT is largely responsible for increasing awareness of our
existence and the unique service we provide. Most importantly, SLT, while small by most standards,
continues to thrive and grow thanks to the continued interest of you, the
storm enthusiast. Our work ethic, skill and dedication to our clients has
ensured that many of them return year after year. New participants
continue to entrust their annual storm chasing vacation to us. Widely
acclaimed storm chasing legend Mr. Roger Hill was a
phenomenal addition in 2000 and has been working side-by-side with me,
leading our clients to the best storms and tornadoes. In 2002, Roger was
appointed SLT Tour
Director, continuing in that role through the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Finally, in 2005 Roger became an official partner and co-owner
of Silver Lining Tours. Customers can always look forward to experiencing the true
thrill of chasing with one of the greatest storm chasers of all time! Roger combines an
aggressive hunter's instinct for storms and never-say-die attitude with a
wide-open friendly and engaging personality, making him so very well-liked
and respected by all who have the pleasure of spending time with him. Looking ahead,
we are committed to focusing on the continued growth and improvement of Silver Lining Tours. As
we advance into the future, I hope that you will become a part of our
growing family of clients who have discovered the joy and wonder of storm
chasing.
Become a part of our history!
Sincerely,
Owner of Silver Lining Tours, LLC
The Silver Lining Tours Timeline:
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1996: Dave and Bill discuss the possibility of conducting storm chasing tours.
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1997: Silver Lining Tours is created and our first paying customer joins us on a wildly successful 5 day chase in mid June.
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1998: Silver Lining Tours' inaugural year of conducting full time storm chasing tours during the spring and early summer is under way. We end up having a very successful first season with many satisfied customers.
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1999: Our second consecutive year of delivering supercells and/or tornadoes to our participants during every tour offered.
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2000: We bring on board storm chasing legend Roger Hill as one of our lead tour guides. The legendary Gene Moore joins us for Tour 2. All of the tours continue to intercept supercells and/or tornadoes.
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2001: In addition to having Roger Hill with us, we hired storm chasing greats Tim Samaras, who accompanied us on Tour 2, and Gene Rhoden as co-leader of Tour 4. The tours continue with great success, intercepting supercells and/or tornadoes during every tour.
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2002: The Silver Lining Tours' Reunion Tour was a great success. We look forward to hosting another Reunion Tour during our 10th anniversary season in 2007. Even though The 2002 tornado season was much below average across the United States, we had a great year with every tour witnessing supercell thunderstorms, and during 5 of our 9 tours these supercell thunderstorms spawned tornadoes.
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2003: This year saw a record number of tour bookings. Significant technological advances were implemented, including the use of Tour Director Roger Hill's new state-of-the-art passenger van.
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2004: A new record number of tour bookings was achieved and we intercepted a record number of tornadoes (38). We were joined by several media organizations, including Australia's 60 Minutes.
Over our six+ year history of offering Storm Chasing Tours, every single tour participant has at least experienced a severe thunderstorm and over half of our tours during this time have witnessed tornadoes.
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