Club News

The 122nd Annual Meeting was held late last month in New York with members attending from around the country. New officers and governors were approved. Newly elected President Dan Peterson accepted the historic whale tooth gavel from outgoing President David Mink. After the luncheon, Mink “wrapped up” his six-year term with club history and travel reflections. 

Chapter Highlights

Pacific Northwest Chapter…Members gathered at the home of Circumnavigators Jim & Caroline Farrell in Bellevue, WA to socialize, share travel experiences and to review objectives and plans. The group enjoyed Caroline’s outstanding Italian buffet which included Italian and international wines. Members then viewed a video presentation by Rick Steves about Cinque Terre, Milan, Lake Como and the Dolomites. 

Palm Beach Chapter…Circumnavigators heard a presentation by member Tareq Salahi who is “Circumnavigators Club Polo Team” captain. Tareq provided fascinating info on the sport of polo. The Washington DC Chapter is hosting a World Cup Polo Event in Leesburg, Virginia in July and looks forward to cheering on Tareq and our team.

Chicago Chapter…Circumnavigators enjoyed an event at Evanston’s premier pan-Chinese restaurant (KOI) where their local Foundation scholar Elizabeth (Liz) Hyun debriefed the chapter on her recently concluded circumnavigation. She presented on how countries are handling long term area-wide Trauma (such as experienced by the Northern Irish troubles between the local Roman Catholic and Anglican populations).  Over 20 members and spouses attended this presentation.

Naples Chapter…Twenty members of the Naples Chapter attended the first G.E.M.S. of the season at the Seasons 52 Restaurant in Naples. Circumnavigators were treated to a presentation on Brazil by Betty and Marcelo Alvarez, who lived  there for seven years. G..E.M.S.  stands for Globetrotters Exchanging Memorable Stories and the group meets during the Florida “off season.”

Circumnavigator Elaine Christian (Naples Chapter) enjoyed a two-week visit to Morocco where she rode a camel in the Sahara Desert and visited Rabat, Fez, Marrakesh, Essaouria and Casablanca.

Circumnavigators Kathleen and George Beebe (Pacific Southwest Chapter) made it from A to Z with a visit to Zanzibar. It was their 200th “country” visited. We love the enthusiastic fan in the background of this photo).

Circumnavigator Donna Suddeth (Naples Chapter) spent several days in  Tunisia recently where she visited Carthage, Sidi Bousaid, the Medina of Tunis, Kairouan, El Jem and Monastir. El Jem was the third largest Roman coliseum.

Circumnavigator Jason Chang (Washington DC Chapter) flew straight to Morocco after the Club Annual Meeting in New York. Jason is the Club’s new Second Vice President.

Circumnavigators were part of the group traveling to the Azores for the Travelers Century Club conference. Among Circumnavigators on San Miguel Island were Melanie & Dan Peterson, Pam & Bill Girtman, Ray Olson, Cathy Shelton, Sherri Donovan, Mary Houston, Steve Fuller, and others. 

Foundation News

Follow our Foundation scholars as they travel around the world. 

Scuttlebutt

Honorary Circumnavigator Graeme Dingle reconnected with the Club after receiving his issue of The LOG. Graeme is a New Zealander who was honored in 1993 for his accomplishments in adventuring and mountaineering. He says he would welcome Circumnavigators who visit Auckland. In addition to his continued adventuring, Graeme co-founded the Graeme Dingle Foundation to help young people across New Zealand to overcome life’s obstacles. The Foundation reaches nearly 30,000 through their school and community-based programs that help build self-confidence, resilience, and promote good values and life skills. He has also written numerous books, his newest, The One Tree Hill Promise, to be published in October.

Circumnavigator Neil Mandt (at large, Los Angeles) is working on an exciting new project. The Emmy-Award winning movie maker is producing a documentary The Great World Race.  Amazingly, the show will record seven marathons run on seven continents in seven days. It should be ready for viewing in the fall and there are still a few more spots left for runners if any Circumnavigators feel ambitious. There is a web site www.thegreatworldrace.com.

Congratulations to Circumnavigator Charlotte Peterson (At Large, Texas) who recently married Joe Breslin in Naples, Florida. Charlotte is the daughter of Circumnavigators Dan and Melanie Peterson and her two brothers, Andrew and Matthew are also Circumnavigators.

The Last Shot

Do you have a good photo for The Last Shot? Please send to club@circumnavigators.org.

Luck to you!

Dan Peterson, 
International President 

Spring is here! 

Circumnavigators enjoy every month of the year, but there is something special about April with its flowers, gentle weather and anticipation of summer ahead. Best wishes to all for a wonderful month.

New York Metro Dinner

Join us for dinner and share your travel bucket list with fellow Circumnavigators on April 25 at Evergreen Chinese Restaurant. Guests welcome! Click here for details.

Annual Meeting in May

Our traditional Annual Meeting, now for the 122nd time, will be held in New York City on Friday, May 17. The late-morning meeting (open to members only) is followed by lunch and a presentation. Guests are welcome. Invitations will be coming soon.

Chapter Highlight

Pacific Southwest Circumnavigators celebrated Chinese New Year at the home of Circumnavigator Lynn Payette.

Circumnavigator Greg Wojcicki (Chicago Chapter) sent us a photo with his fiancé at Cape Aghulas, South Africa, the southernmost point of Africa and another shot with his son in Nambia.

Circumnavigators Lion & Donna Curran (New York Metro) were in far west Jamaica on their annual visit to monitor coral reefs there.  

Circumnavigator Mark Pross (Washington, DC Chapter) recently visited the two most famous towers of Bologna, Italy — the Torre degli Asinelli and the Torre Garisenda. Both were built between 1109 and 1119. The leaning Garisenda Tower is not accessible and the Asinelli Tower is closed to the public for area maintenance. Mark climbed the Asinelli Tower’s 498 steps several years ago, which afforded unique views of medieval Bologna.

Circumnavigator Brian Baum (Pacific Northwest Chapter) is on his way home from Antartica. On the way, he sailed north via the Atlantic “stepping stone” islands. These included the Falklands, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena, and Ascension Island. He also got a look at the uninhabited Gough, Inaccessible, and Nightingale Islands on our way to Cape Verde. Here are a couple of his photos. More photos can be viewed on the Circumnavigators Facebook page.

Circumnavigator Katie Koontz recently was transferred to Los Angeles from Manhattan. Here she takes a skiing junket to Mammoth. Katie writes “Collectors Corner” for the LOG, so she would love to hear from members with travel-related collections.

Circumnavigators Vincent & Fran Cucchiara (Naples Chapter) traveled to Antarctica, their seventh continent. On the way, they stopped in Chile where they got this photo at San Rafael Glacier.

Circumnavigator Bill Ashley (Washington DC Chapter)was supposed to visit Libya in 2006, however, 2 weeks prior to the departure, Muammar Ghaddafi decided that no Americans were allowed to enter. Well, now Bill was finally was able to complete an 8-day sojourn without any hitches. Here is a photo of Bill at Leptis Magna enjoying the best Roman ruins in the world!  

Scuttlebutt

This writer had the opportunity to meet television celebrity Margaret Hoover who hosts Firing Line on PBS, thanks to an invitation from WGCU, the Southwest Florida PBS outlet. Margaret is the great granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover who happened to be an early member of the Circumnavigators (1930) and recipient of the Order of Magellan (1963). I told her that I might have some info about her famous relative that she didn’t know. Skeptical, she said, “Try me”. I gave her a packet on Hoover info from our archives. She laughed and said, “You got me!” During her presentation, she called out the Circumnavigators Club and the fact that her great grandfather circumnavigated five times.

The Last Shot

Do you have a good photo for The Last Shot? Please send to club@circumnavigators.org.

Luck to you!

David A. Mink
International President
club@circumnavigators.org