Mission: Find the ultimate Road Warriors
Entries: Almost 7,000
Categories: Four
Requirements: Share travel tips, favorites, and road stories.
The rewards: One Lincoln Navigator, Three European AA Vacations
The winners: Read on!
Total AA miles traveled by winners in 2001: 487,280

When we asked you to share your travel experiences with us in
the American Way-Lincoln Road Warrior Search it was a little like throwing a party for a list of mystery guests. We wanted this contest to find the globe's most engaging, interesting, and active business travelers to be fun for readers. We had many of the same anxieties - What if no one participates? What if the guests turn out to be dull? What if we forget an important detail? - and the same kind of jittery, sweaty-palmed excitement.

What a party it turned out to be. Almost 7,000 of you showed up with the kind of stories that make lively cocktail conversation (which our families and friends soon discovered, when we told Road Warrior stories to them ad nauseam). We heard from musicians and a professional horsewoman; sole proprietors and executives of megacorporations; a solar energy expert, a forensic psychologist, and a professional racecar spotter. We discovered more than a few amateur philosophers among you, and found out that there are as many tips and tricks for managing life on the road as there are business travelers.

On the following pages, you'll meet our Road Warrior of the year, who took home a Lincoln Navigator, and three other winners, who won European trips from AA Vacations. You'll also learn about one winner's family, which we thought deserved kudos as much as the traveler himself, and a Road Warrior couple we wanted you to meet. And you'll read excerpts from the remaining 15 finalists. We think you'll agree that these 20 Road Warriors would be welcome additions to any guest list.

If you're not among the names listed, don't worry. Beginning in May, you'll have another chance, with the launch of our second-annual American Way Road Warrior Search.


MANUEL RIVERA: GRAND PRIZE WINNER (above)
Overall Winner, from Executive/Managerial Category
Principal
Strategic Alliance Executive
Business Innovation Services, Latin America
IBM Global Services
Age: 40
Headquarters: Belmont, Massachusetts
Travel route: All of Latin America and the Caribbean, plus the U.S.
AAdvantage miles logged in 2000: 137,477