Dean McDowell
Travel Consultant
Meet Dean
Your travel partner.
When you plan your first high school band trip for your students yourself, it tends to shift the course of your life. Dean has loved music and travel for as long as he can remember and knew from that first trip that he wanted share the power of performance travel with as many students as possible. After studying music education in college, Dean taught music for over ten years before entering the travel industry in 1986. For the next 30 years, he gave students unique travel and musical opportunities, from performances abroad to bowl games and parade appearances stateside. Though he retired in 2016, Dean is thrilled to be back to the industry that he loves.
Dean McDowell
Travel Consultant
My favorite travel memory
After 30 years in the travel industry, it is impossible to select just one favorite travel memory. Travel has been a way of life that has brought me, my students, teachers, friends, and my spouse a life full of extraordinary experiences and stories that could fill a book!
My favorite destination
New York City has been my favorite city since I visited there as a 14-year old seeing my first Broadway shows, the Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera all in one week. And it will remain my favorite domestic destination! But life would not be complete without visiting the rest of the world. My other favorite cities include Edinburgh, Venice, Paris, Jerusalem, Istanbul and Athens.
The personal touches that BRT provides. Your company gets to know the people they work with. I have never felt like a "number" with BRT.
Leslie Schmidt
Class Trip, 2018 DC tour
Columbia Central Junior High School
I appreciated the flexibility Bob Rogers showed us with the billing and various payments we had to make. We thought we were adding more and ended up not but you were great about giving us extra time to work out what we needed to on our end.
Loraine Wistrom
Band, 2017 Chicago tour
Plum Grove Junior High School
BRT is always on top of all details. Even when something has slipped through the cracks, changed, or something unexpected comes up, BRT is flexible enough to make the changes needed to make everything right. We have always been so well taken care of and the personal attention is what makes your company special.
Dameon Place
Band, ’18-19 Orlando tour
Pella Community High School
This was my 5th trip with Bob Rogers, and I appreciate the professionalism and also the willingness to work with me and my students to make each trip the very best it can be.
Trey Jacobs
Choir, ’18- 19 Atlanta &Tuscaloosa Tour
Nashville School of the Arts
You make the process so easy - step-by-step of what needs to be done, guidance along the way, available (and quick) to respond to questions and making me feel like me and my students are your priority.
Beth Vaughn
Choir, ’17-18 New York City tour
Bowling Green High School
The quality of service that you provided us with was second to none. The organization and communication were exceptional and we always felt we were in “the loop” on things both before and during the trip.
Bob Mecozzi
Band, ‘17-18 Orlando Tour
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
BRT hands down has been the absolute best travel company I have worked with in my 18 years in education. My interactions with BRT have always been so much more than just traveling from one destination to another...the focus has always been on people and providing them with experiences of a lifetime.
Barry Houser
Band, ’17-18, Ireland tour
University of Illinois
From the scheduling, to planning, to overseeing, to leading, to customer service, everyone involved was courteous, prompt, and hospitable. Everyone did their jobs well and turned the trip experience into something better than we had anticipated.
David Dvorak
Band, ’17-18 Nashville Tour
Lakewood Middle School
Very Organized - even when problems develop. We've gone on enough trips with Bob Rogers to know how BRT operates - always first class, always prepared.
Joe Carl
Band, ’17 Los Angeles Tour
Sumner High School
The whole BRT team was extremely attentive, accommodating and reliable. Every detail was attended to and my stress level the entire trip was at an all-time low.
Joel Vanderheyden
Band, ’17-18 New Orleans Tour
Jefferson College
