Honorary Chair
Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008
President
Daniel A. Bennett
Honorary President
Don Walsh, Ph.D.
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Honorary Chair Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008 |
President Daniel A. Bennett |
Honorary President Don Walsh, Ph.D. |
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EXPLORERS CLUB ANNUAL DINNER 2003 March 22, 2003 Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City
Official photos of ECAD 2003 may be ordered online at:
In 2003, 1,100 Club members and invited guests gathered for a "Celebration of Exploration". Legendary aviator and Club member General Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier, was the featured speaker at the dinner. Steve Fossett, who made headlines in 2002 when he successfully completed the first solo circumnavigation of the world in a balloon, received the 2003 Explorers Medal, the Club’s highest honor. A special Communication Award was presented to filmmaker and undersea explorer James Cameron of Titanic fame, who in 2002 led an expedition to film and explore the World War II German battleship Bismarck nearly three miles deep in the North Atlantic. Captain William R. Anderson, U.S. Navy (Ret.), received the Finne Ronne Award for Polar Exploration. Captain Anderson was the commander of the nuclear submarine USS Nautilus during its historic first transpolar expedition under the ice of the Arctic Ocean in 1958. ECAD 2003 also featured a posthumous tribute to Club member Matthew Henson, who in 1909 co-discovered the North Pole with Robert E. Peary. An African-American, Henson never reached the same degree of fame as Peary for this achievement. With the encouragement of The Explorers Club, the City of New York has agreed to name a park in Harlem in Henson's honor. Jim Fowler, perhaps best known for his appearances on television’s Today and Tonight Shows and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, was on hand as well, along with several surprise "ambassadors" from the animal kingdom. President’s Message, ECAD 2003
Essentially, every great explorer of the 20th Century was a member of our ranks. The first to the North Pole, the first to the South Pole, the first to highest and lowest points on Earth, the first person to solo fly a balloon around the world (tonight’s honoree, Steve Fossett). Even my own father, Captain Richard Wiese, was the first to solo fly the Pacific Ocean in an airplane. Tonight, we continue the tradition of celebrating the world’s greatest explorers. General Chuck Yeager is an aviation pioneer, and his breaking of the sound barrier can be seen as the midpoint of the hundred-year history of manned flight, which we celebrate tonight. James Cameron’s visionary films and documentaries about the sea have inspired and informed literally billions of people around the globe. But what really makes tonight special is simply the joy of celebration. The quirky, the unabashed, the brazen, the unexpected, the absurd – these are all aspects of explorers and exploration that we gather to celebrate tonight. To quote our honorary chairman, Sir Edmund Hillary, "Don’t take yourself too seriously, enjoy yourself while you can, because you never know how long it lasts." Viva The Explorers Club! Richard C. Wiese
The 2003 Dinner featured some of Honorary President Jim Fowler's special friends, including this Komodo Dragon. The dinner was delicious, and as usual was preceeded by an array of truly exotic appetizers which reflected the great diversity of culinary tastes throughout the world.
Suzi Zetkus
Chairperson, ECAD 2003
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