Terri, you are in for a treat, if you like panels, that is.
I've used gessoed panels from realgesso and I love them. The linen/board samples I've seen look great to me, though I haven't done a painting on one yet.
I've tried the New Traditions linen panels bonded to Gatorfoam; I love them, too. When I use them I put masking tape along the Gatorfoam edge to keep paint from getting on the foam and looking messy. Gatorfoam panels are dentable and dingable so be careful. NT also makes linen/birch panels and linen/Dibond panels (aluminum), neither of which I've tried but I'd like to.
Both companies offer great service.
Here are the sites if anyone doesn't know about them:
www.realgesso.com
www.newtraditionsartpanels.com