Ambassadors Group, Inc. was a

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

educational travel company based in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. It was originally an operating division of Ambassadors International, Inc., but was divested into a separate corporation in 2002 to form the company under its current name. The CEO was Jeffrey Thomas, whose 2009 compensation totaled over $1.7 million. This for-profit company has a close business relationship with

People to People Student Ambassador Program The People to People Student Ambassador Program was a travel service based in Spokane, Washington, offering domestic and international travel opportunities to middle and high school students. The group was founded in 1956, during the Eisenhower ...

and several other related cultural exchange groups involving students from several countries. According to the company's end of year filings, in 2008 and 2009, Ambassadors Group served 41,929 and 34,248 travelers, respectively. In 2010, the company estimated that it would serve 26,674 participants (a net decrease of 22%.)

History

* In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded People to People. * In 1967, Ambassadors Group is founded * In 1995, Ambassadors Group became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambassadors International, Inc. Jeffrey Thomas joined the company. * In 1996, acquisition of Marc L. Bright (professionals). Jeffrey Thomas becomes President. * In 1999, acquisition of Travel Dynamics (sport) * In 2001, Jeffrey Thomas became CEO * On February 28, 2002, Ambassadors Group spun off from Ambassadors International * In March 2007,

Ambassadors International Ambassadors Group, Inc. was a publicly traded educational travel company based in Spokane, Washington. It was originally an operating division of Ambassadors International, Inc., but was divested into a separate corporation in 2002 to form the co ...

bought Windstar from

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

for $100 million. * On May 15, 2008, Ambassadors Group bought

BookRags Ambassadors Group, Inc. was a publicly traded educational travel company based in Spokane, Washington. It was originally an operating division of Ambassadors International, Inc., but was divested into a separate corporation in 2002 to form the co ...

, an

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

al website for $18 million. The

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

was a friendly takeover. * On March 17, 2009, Ambassadors Group announced its partnership with

Discovery Education Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...

to become the travel provider for the new Discovery Student Adventures learning and adventure-based trips for students in

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

5– 12. In 2010 approximately 125 students traveled. * On April 30, 2013, Jeffey Thomas resigns from Ambassadors Group. * On July 13, 2015, the company announced its imminent dissolution. Ambassadors Group cites losses of over $17.5 Million in 2014 and floundering sales as causes for closing up shop at the end of this year. A bankruptcy court in Delaware held a two-day auction and

Anschutz Corporation The Anschutz Corporation is an American private holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, United States.

won Windstar Cruises with a bid of $39 million. * On October 8, 2015, it was announced that beginning in 2016, Enriching Cultural Experiences (ECE) International will serve as the travel provider of People to People International replacing the Ambassadors Group. Travelers (thousands) :

BookRags

BookRags is an

al website that provides summaries,

study guide A study guide can be anything that facilitates learning in a particular topic. It may be a textbook or other resource that fosters comprehension of literature, research topics, history, and other subjects. General topics include study and tes ...

s, and

lesson plan A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teac ...

s on

literary works Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, th ...

. Based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States, the website is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Gradesaver LLC. BookRags was founded in 1999 by James Yagmin and David Lieberman, who had recently graduated from college. On May 15, 2008, BookRags was bought by Ambassadors Group for $18 million. The

was a friendly takeover. BookRags contains concise book summaries and thorough analysis of more than 6,000 literary works, which is, according to one source, the largest collection online. It also has a list of characters and their descriptions, as well as an important quotes section. The website has over 10,000

e-Book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

s in its collection and 8,400 biographies in its database. It facilitates students purchasing duplicates of fellow students' papers. In a 2010 interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Carl Fisher, the department chair of the comparative world literature and classics at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

, criticized BookRags for being "simplistic" and "forc ngpeople to pay up front".

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Companies based in Spokane, Washington Transport companies established in 1967 Education in Spokane, Washington Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 1967 establishments in Washington (state) Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011