Join our Honorary Hosts—all recipients of the Club’s highest honor, The Explorers Medal—along with extraordinary explorers from around the world, to celebrate the 2024 Lowell Thomas Awardees.

Honorary Hosts:

Sylvia Earle, MED’81
Johan Reinhard, MED’86
Kathy Sullivan, MED’81
Victor Vescovo, MED’18

Master of Ceremonies: Dan Goodgame, Editor-in-Chief, Texas Monthly

Veteran journalist, bestselling author, and Pulitzer-prize finalist Dan Goodgame has been a White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief for Time Magazine, a correspondent in the Middle East for The Miami Herald, and now oversees Texas Monthly, whose readers rely on its print magazine, website, videos, podcasts, books, live events, TV shows and movies, to help them better understand and enjoy the Lone Star State. In the spirit of Lowell Thomas, for whom this awards ceremony is named, Dan Goodgame is both a journalist and an explorer.

Destination: Austin, Texas

Dubbed the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin has a soundtrack all its own. Steeped in history, it is also one of the most exciting modern cities in the country with its cutting-edge industries (think Amazon, Dell, Tesla), hiking trails and waterways, art scene, Circuit of the Americas, and of course, world-class culinary offerings (not just barbecue…but that’s hard to beat).

If you’re arriving in Austin early, please be sure to take advantage of the early arrival events set up by the Texas Chapter. See the events offered here, including everything from hikes to sea turtle conservation and tours of the NASA Johnson Space Center to cocktails and bingo.

7 – 9 AM

Registration and Packet Pick-Up

Location: Driskill Hotel Lobby

Check in with the Lowell Thomas team and get the official guide to the weekend.

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Tesla Gigafactory Excursion

All Ticket Holders

Location: Tesla Gigafactory

Event attendees will experience, via a private guided tour, the 10 million square foot global headquarters of Tesla—the manufacturing hub for its Model Y and Cybertruck. Located on 2500 acres just outside Austin, Gigafactory is a marvel of modern technology.

Explore Austin

You can find an extensive list of options to explore a remarkable city, including cowboy boot and hat experiences, behind the stage at ACL Live, museums, hiking, and more, here.

1 – 3 PM

Registration and Packet Pick-Up

Location: Driskill Hotel Lobby

Check in with the Lowell Thomas team and get the official guide to the weekend.

5:00 – 6:30 PM

VIP Tequila Tasting & Reception at the Bullock Museum

Honorary Hosts, Awardees, & VIP Ticket Holders

Location: Rotunda of the Bullock Museum with Private Access to Exhibits

From its giant copper star in the courtyard to its extraordinary mosaic floor in its Rotunda, the Bullock is the State’s official history museum, with hundreds of artifacts that tell the story of Texas. Taste some tequila and you’ll be an honorary Texan!

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Boots & Bling Welcome Event

All Ticket Holders

Location: Coopers BBQ

Cocktails at 6:30 PM, Dinner at 7:30 PM

Old time pit barbecue amidst cowboy memorabilia, just a 5-block walk from the Driskill. Dust off your hat and mingle with Explorers from around the world.

9:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Symposium

All Ticket Holders

Location: Texas State Capitol Auditorium

Architect Elijah E. Myers used native limestone and beautiful Belgian glass when he designed a new seat of government for the state of Texas in 1881. At the time of its construction, the capitol was billed as “The Seventh Largest Building in the World” and today it is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

Master of Ceremonies: Martin Nweeia, Flag & Honors Chair

Presentations:

2024 Lowell Thomas Award Winners
- Carole Baldwin, Ph.D.
- Ellen Pikitch, Ph.D.
- Sammy Ramsey, Ph.D.
- Andrés Ruzo
West Hansen – Kayaking the Northwest Passage
Karina Marshall-Goebel, PhD – Effects of Zero Gravity on Internal Blood Flow/NASA
Shari Wilcox, PhD – Wildlife Habitat Protection/Big Cats

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

VIP Private Tours of the Texas Capitol Dome

Explore the secret spaces of the State Capitol, including the Blue Oculi Room and nine levels of its imposing dome, with spectacular views of Austin. Note, this excursion requires good mobility and ability to climb ladders. Tours depart at 1:00 PM, 1:40 PM, 2:20 PM.

Explore Austin

You can find an extensive list of options to explore a remarkable city, including cowboy boot and hat experiences, behind the stage at ACL Live, museums, hiking, and more, here.

5:00 – 10:00 PM

Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner Gala

Black Tie or Fancy Western Chic

All Ticket Holders

Location: The Historic Driskill Hotel

Built by a wealthy cattle baron in 1886, the Driskill Hotel has been Austin’s most elegant meeting place for more than a century… in fact, President Lyndon Johnson met his future wife Lady Bird in its beautiful marble lobby. Surrounded by Austin’s downtown food scene, nightlife, and an easy walk to the Capitol, the Driskill is even said to have some friendly ghosts that wander its elaborate corridors. The Driskill is our weekend headquarters, but there are other accommodation options within a few blocks.

Schedule:

5:00 – 6:00 PM

Cocktail Reception

Driskill Hotel Mezzanine

6:00 – 7:00 PM

Lowell Thomas Awards Presentation

Driskill Ballroom

Welcome: West Hansen, Texas Chapter Chair, The Explorers Club

Master of Ceremonies: Dan Goodgame, Editor, Texas Monthly

Lowell Thomas Awardee Presentations

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Gala Dinner

Dine amongst marble columns, under an elegant mosaic ceiling. Swap stories of exploration with old friends and new acquaintances. Discover special surprises at every table. Toast the extraordinary 2024 Lowell Thomas Award Winners!

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Treasures of The Explorers Club VIP Brunch

Honorary Hosts, Award Winners, and VIP Ticket Holders

Meet Top Medalists of the Explorers Club and View Their Expedition Artifacts

Location: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

As the name suggests, the Wildflower Center was originally established by the wife of former President Lyndon B. Johnson (along with her friend, actress Helen Hayes). A “must see” showcase for the native flowers and plants of Texas. It comprises 284 acres and has been officially designated as the state’s botanical garden and arboretum.

Sylvia Earle, PhD was awarded the Explorer Medal in 1996 and was in the first group of women to be elected to the Club in 1981. She is an Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic and was named Time Magazine’s first “Hero of the Planet” for her work to save the oceans. The founder of Mission Blue, “Her Deepness” has established more than 200 marine protected areas around the world.

Johan Reinhard, PhD was awarded the Explorer Medal in 2002 and is an Honorary Director of the Club. He has conducted anthropological research for more than 10 years in western Nepal and explored Tibetan Buddhist sacred valleys throughout the Himalayas. He is best known for discovering frozen Inca ice mummies on the mountain summits in the Andes. New DNA testing is bringing new facts to light about these mummies and Dr. Reinhard will begin new research in Peru in November.

Kathryn Sullivan, PhD was awarded the Explorers Medal in 2007 and was in the first group of women to be elected to membership in the Club in 1981. She is both an oceanographer and astronaut, helped design the Hubble Telescope, and was the first American woman to walk in space, as well as the first woman to dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (with Victor Vescovo).

Victor Vescovo was awarded the Explorer Medal in 2020 and has completed the famous “Explorers Grand Slam” by climbing the world’s highest mountains—the Seven Summits—and skiing to the North and South Poles. He did not stop there—he flew to space on a Blue Origin mission in 2022 and has descended to the deepest points in all five oceans and discovered the two deepest shipwrecks in history.