Huge Celebration Marks Eagle Christian Tours 10 Year Milestone
Posted 1.18.2023 in Press Releases
On September 12, 2022 – Eagle Christian Tours celebrated their 10 year anniversary with a large party held on their newly expanded property. Eagle charter buses lined the lot, enclosing the party goers. Attendees of the celebration included loyal customers, executives from Prevost and Temsa Motorcoach Corporations, representatives from several colleges and universities in the southeast, as well as each of their 75 plus employees and spouses. The event featured a catered meal, a concert from country music legend and Grand Ole Opry member, Mark Wills, and an extraordinary fireworks display to end the night!
With tremendous growth in recent years, the Eagle Christian Tours family had a lot to celebrate. Eagle experienced both internal and external growth post pandemic with the addition of over 25 new employees and large increases in sales in both their charter bus and entertainer bus divisions. In 2022, emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, Eagle Christian Tours more than doubled the amount of sales they had in any previous year. Since 2020, Eagle has acquired 16 new charter buses and entertainer coaches. As Eagle Christian Tours has increased in new clientele since the pandemic, they have continually strived to give each group the same high quality experience as they did their first customers. Eagle is known for exemplary hospitality. In striving to keep their customers safe, Eagle Christian Tours has achieved perfect safety scores in their past two consecutive Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) audits. Eagle Christian Tours is driven to make travel safe, fun, and memorable. CEO and Founder, Brett Roes had this to say on the recent growth of the charter bus company, “Eagle Christian Tours, from our humble beginnings to today, has stood on one simple principle, ’To love and care for people with the dignity that God has given them.’ Our goal was to bring Grace Based Hospitality to the motorcoach travel and touring industry. The application of our core values has resonated with people in a way we could never have imagined. Athletes, colleges, camps, church groups, schools, music stars, senior citizen tour groups, civic organizations and fortune 500 businesses have repeatedly expressed their appreciation for how we treat and care for their groups. We had no idea when we started Eagle Christian Tours that people would respond in such a positive manner to our culture. We were just being who we were and treating people the way we wanted to be treated. As it turns out, our guests love and appreciate Grace Based Hospitality, so much so that in just ten short years, they have propelled us to the highest Google rated charter bus company in North America”.
The team at Eagle Christian Tours has worked diligently over the past ten years to become a 5-Star transportation company. The Roes family founded Eagle by humble beginnings. The idea of a charter bus company came from a church group tour Brett took out west with his wife, Becky. Finding joy in giving the group hospitality, the couple thought perhaps starting a charter bus service would be a fun retirement hobby. Little did they know that in just ten years, it would be something much more, something bigger than the two could possibly handle on their own. In the spring of 2014, their son, Carson Roes, decided that he wanted to help out the family business and became a Host-Driver. Carson would drive for Eagle on the weekends while being enrolled full-time at the University of Georgia. Carson decided after graduation that he would come on full-time with the company. Carson’s wife, Elizabeth, graduated from the University of Georgia in the spring of 2015 and took a full-time role with the company as well. The addition of these two crucial roles helped Brett focus on the future development and direction of the company, while Carson and Elizabeth helped with day-to-day operations, fine details, and employee management. As the company grew, the need for an onsite bus shop became a necessity. In Fall of 2015, Eagle Christian Tours leased its first bus shop in the city of Rome, Georgia. By 2016, Eagle Christian Tours had contracts with four college athletic departments, serving over 2,500 student-athletes across the southeast, in cities like Birmingham, Chattanooga, Nashville, northwest Georgia, and the metro Atlanta area. Also serving several hundred church groups in the Atlanta area and beyond, the rapidly developing charter bus company grew with several unexpected opportunities and opened doors. Today, Eagle has a broad customer base, including dozens of collegiate athletic teams, musicians in the entertainment industry, and church groups.
Roes comments on the journey to 10 years, “What makes this celebration so special is the knowledge of how we started. Becky and I began this journey with extremely humble means. All we knew how to do was love people. That is what we did. There were multiple times we almost quit from internal pressures and were almost forced to quit by external pressures beyond our control. There were times when we made poor decisions that almost cost us everything. The truth is, look around. All that you see here tonight- 36 buses, 23 acres, 80 talented team members, 8 buildings, state-of-the-art technical facilities, friends who have all played a part in our journey, as well as being the top-rated motorcoach company in the nation, is all here because of God’s grace. He is the reason we are all here tonight. Yes, we have all worked hard, and some very talented people have poured their time, talent, and treasure into what you see here. But, at the end of the day, I can’t take any credit for it. I know how many times I saw the end of the road, how many times I almost threw in the towel, and how many times it was impossible to move forward. God knew. He made a way when there was no way. He brought together all of these talented people. He made our paths cross. He has shown us all grace and mercy beyond our wildest imagination! For all of these things, Becky and I are truly grateful!”
In celebrating a decade of business, the goal of the party was to thank those who helped Eagle Christian Tours get its start as well as to honor those who have been faithful in helping the company progress. In attendance were key figures in the company start, such as the Shorter University women’s volleyball team, which Brett Roes served as traveling team chaplain in the 2013-2017 season. There were members of Northside Church whom Brett served as the teaching pastor for eight years. Friends of the Roes family who were pivotal in supporting the company by their continuous prayers were also in attendance. The celebration kicked off with a special presentation by Brett Roes, followed by the rest of the evening’s festivities. Brett Roes spoke these words at the party, “Every person here tonight is connected to our story. Had you not intersected with us, we would not have made it. I am overwhelmed by your kindness in continually choosing Eagle Christian Tours to fulfill your travel needs. To each team member who calls Eagle Christian Tours home, thank you! Our family thanks you and I owe you a great debt of gratitude. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
The night ended with a surprise fireworks display that lit up the sky behind the full concert stage that was backed by Mark Wills, surrounded by Eagle Christian Tours charter buses. An evening of heartfelt appreciation, entertaining music, and enjoyable memories was exactly what Brett Roes had envisioned for the party celebrating a decade of hard work.
As year ten comes to a close in 2022, the company looks back on the first ten years as we remember the prayers, work ethic, and faith it took to make it through this first decade. Eagle Christian Tours stands by their core values: driven, humble, and kind. The company strives to incorporate these values to the best of their ability to encourage employees to strive for excellence, as they work to be thankful stewards of the resources they have been given.
In the rear view mirror of an Eagle Christian Tours charter bus is the past ten years. From humble beginnings, to ten year celebrations, the first ten years of Eagle will always be remembered with joy and adoration. As Eagle Christian Tours looks onward to the next 10 years, the future is bright with many new destinations and adventures on the road ahead.
For those interested in renting a charter bus for group travel, visit Eagle Christian Tour’s website to get an instant quote from Eagle: Get My Instant Quote or call Eagle’s office at (706) 314-8684 to get a quote today!