"Have Pink Suitcase, will travel!" That's the motto of the Pink Suticase Sisters, a sisterhood of women travelers out of West Cobb.  This unique group of women was formed so that women who wanted to travel and see the world could do so without having to "go it alone."

Two years ago, travel agent Traci Hildreth was having a conversation with a client who had just returned from Egypt with her husband. They were talking with Traci and the lady mentioned that she had always wanted to go to New York City. Traci thought it was odd that this lady had now been to Egypt, but had never been to NYC. Traci couldn’t leave it alone, she just had to ask the client why she didn’t go. The client replied, “My husband would NEVER go to New York!” Well, Traci wondered, “Why don’t you just go with your girlfriends?” The client responded that she just didn’t have any girlfriends that would feel comfortable going by themselves.  

This conversation gave Traci an idea, why not form a women’s group for traveling?  The wheels started turning and Traci emailed another travel agent friend, Kathy Lowery, about the idea. Instead of Kathy emailing her back with her thoughts about this plan, Kathy emailed it to all the ladies on her contact list. Immediately 15 people wanted to join! Traci and Kathy then sat down, ironed out all the details, and scheduled their first Open House Feb 4th 2008 at Bubbalini’s….and the "Pink Suticase Sisters" were born!  They expected around 25 people to show up and were overwhelmed when they had 75 ladies sign in and 68 to join that first night! 

Since then, the Pink Suitcase sisters have traveled all over the world and are still going strong…but they are much more than just a travel club. “We are consistently told how much our group has meant to some of these ladies and we have met some great friends that we would have never met, otherwise.”

The Pink Suitcase Sister’s have also sponsored some great causes, including  a camp for cancer kids and their families, for which they raised over $3000. They are also very involved with raising money for the Pink Ribbon Golf Classic, this is a cause near and dear to the Pink Suitcase Sisters because one of their members, Judy Manning, was an original founder of the Pink Ribbon Classic. Another member, Cissy Chastian, was the honored breast cancer survivor at the 2008 Pink Ribbon Classic.  The 2010 Pink Ribbon Classic will mean so much more when they participate this year. “We will work hard to raise money this year in honor of our PS Sister Anne Wieder who died suddenly in December from breast cancer. “ Anne had gone on the last three trips with the Pink Suitcase Sisters and she was very vocal in how much the Pink Suitcase Sisters meant to her.  The sisters raised $1540 for the 2009 Pink Ribbon and have already come close to that amount for the 2010 tournament.  

No story about the Pink Suitcase Sisters would be complete without mentioning how much fun they have! They plan trips to destinations all over the world. The PSS organizes the group airfare, hotel and transportation into the city. Once you are there, you can do whatever you wish to do. Once a year, they even plan a trip with the husbands.  Last year, 28 couples and members had the trip of a lifetime in Alaska.

The Pink Suitcase Sisters also host many local events. “We try to help out the local economy.” This year at Christmas, the PSS had a “girl’s night out on the Marietta Square”. The shops opened just for them and they had a couple of hours of shopping and eating snacks that the shops provided.  Afterward, the Marietta Historic Trolley picked them up for a trip to see the Lights of Life. The sisters also periodically host Open Houses where members can bring their friends and potential members can find out what the PSS is all about. The next Open House will be February 25th, 2010 at the Gem City Grill.

Find out more about this amazing group of women at http://www.pinksuitcasesisters.com/