Our History
Inspired by the International Caravans of Wally Byam, creator and founder of Airstream, the Wally Byam Caravan Club (WBCC) was chartered in 1955 in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada during the Wally Byam Eastern Canadian Caravan.
The WBCC was registered in the State of Ohio as a 501-C7 on June 21, 1957 with the name amended in December, 1963 to Wally Byam Caravan Club International, Inc. (WBCCI). Helen Byam Schwamborn, one of the 80 Charter Members, organized and supported the Club until 1979.
WBCCI legally operates under one of eight (8) "doing business as" (dba) names including Airstream Club International.
Our Story
We are a Club with a rich history of Airstream exploration around the globe. For over 60 years, we’ve been inspired by the excellent navigation skills of Wally Byam and his desire to “encourage clubs and rallies that provide an endless source of friendships, travel fun and personal expressions”.
That same wanderlust spirit continues to inspire Airstream owners although our packing lists no longer require axles, transmissions & other large automotive parts!
Some of those local club leaders continue to volunteer at a region level, with the Presidents of each of the 12 Regions serving for two years as members of the International Board of Trustees.
The "over-achievers" - those with a shared passion for this club and our members, continue their volunteer journey as members of the Executive Committee which enables them to participate in the on-going leadership of the Airstream Club International throughout the year.
Our Passion
Inspired by Wally Byam, we strive to exemplify his creed:
“In the heart of these words is an entire life’s dream. To those of you who find in the promise of these words your promise, I bequeath this creed… my dream belongs to you.”
- To place the great wide world at your doorstep for you who yearn to travel with all the comforts of home.
- To provide a more satisfying, meaningful way of travel that offers complete travel independence, wherever and whenever you choose to go or stay.
- To keep alive and make real an enduring promise of high adventure and faraway lands… of rediscovering old places and new interests.
- To open a whole world of new experiences… a new dimension in enjoyment where travel adventure and good fellowship are your constant companions.
- To encourage clubs and rallies that provide an endless source of friendships, travel fun and personal expressions.
- To lead caravans wherever the four winds blow… over twinkling boulevards, across trackless deserts… to the traveled and untraveled corners of the earth.
- To play some part in promoting international goodwill and understanding among the peoples of the world through person-to-person contact.
- To refine and perfect our product by continuous travel-testing over the highways and byways of the world.
- To strive endlessly to stir the venturesome spirit that moves you to follow a rainbow to its end… and thus make your travel dreams come true.
– Wally Byam
Our Culture
To be ever mindful of our responsibility to the Airstream Club International, and through our actions, indicate to the public that membership in the Club is a reflection of who we are and what matters most: leaving a place better than when we found it.
To be ever mindful of what we say or print with respect to its effect on our diverse membership, and community, so as to avoid disharmony and ill feelings among club members of differing ethnicities, religious beliefs or orientation and to dedicate ourselves, as members of the Airstream Club International, to continuously demonstrate compassion, acceptance and good will.
