Honorary Chair Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008	President Daniel A. Bennett	Honorary President Don Walsh, Ph.D.

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SPECIAL EVENTS Explorers Club Annual Dinner 2007  The Importance of Polar Places Waldorf=Astoria Hotel New York City Saturday, March 17, 2007 Broadcast journalist Dan Rather served as Master of Ceremonies for the 2007 Explorers Club Annual Dinner. The theme of dinner, "The Importance of Polar Places," took on particular significance when a crippling blizzard closed the airports in the New York metropolitan area for two entire days. Despite the inclement weather, ECAD was a great success. Enjoy photos from the dinner here! Honored Speakers Rune Gjeldnes,  the explorer who in 2006 became the first and only person in the world to successfully cross the world's three largest ice sheets unsupported after successfully skiing across Antarctica via the South Pole. He had previously crossed Greenland lengthwise in 1996 and the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole in 2000. Lonnie Dupre, the explorer whose 2006 One World Expedition completed the first summer crossing of the Arctic Ocean using canoe/sleds to reach the North Pole. Paul Mayewski, Ph.D., the explorer/scientist who has walked, sledged, climbed, flown and traversed every important ice cap, ice field and polar plateau on earth in pursuit of scientific knowledge. His research has yielded key information on the implications of climate change. Barry Lopez, the noted author who has been to many remote parts of the world in the company of field scientists and traditional hunters and gatherers. His book, Arctic Dreams, received the National Book Award and another nonfiction work, Of Wolves and Men, won the John Burroughs Medal.   Awardees The Explorers Medal, the Club's highest honor, was awarded to Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., the noted astronaut, oceanographer, CEO and educator who gained fame as the first American woman to walk in space. Kathryn Kiplinger received the Sweeney Medal for her outstanding contributions to the welfare of the Club while serving as Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer for the past six years. The Medal was presented by David Hempleman-Adams. The Citation of Merit was awarded to Students on Ice for its program that takes youth from around the world to the Arctic and Antarctic. The award was accepted by the organization's founder and executive director, Geoff Green. The Finn Ronne Memorial Award for accomplishment in polar field research was presented to Gerald Kooyman, Ph.D., a research professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who is well-known for his groundbreaking research on the diving behavior and physiology of Antarctica's Weddell seals. The award was presented by Edith M. "Jackie" Ronne.   Flag Returns Explorer Dr. Martin Nweeia returned Flag 33, which he carried on his Narwhal Tusk Research Expedition.

SPECIAL EVENTS Annual Dinner Lowell Thomas Film Festival Photo Competition Centennial Year Honors Image Gallery Reservations

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