RICHARD C. WIESE: Wow, a little all over the place. I have to say I'm amazed at 7:00 a.m. that people would show up anywhere. And someone was mentioning -- the Governor was mentioning that in New York you'd really need, you know, a big celebrity and I said it certainly would be not me. But I thank you all for coming down here.

I'm kind of curious. How many members of the Explorers Club do we have here? Very good. I'm very happy about that.

I live in Manhattan and I ride my bicycle every day. And even in the winter when it's snowing and raining people go how can you ride your bicycle it's snowing out there? And I said for 10 minutes of my day I fantasize that I'm up in the arctic, I'm up in Alaska and I'm in a snow storm. So this is a true story, I'm not making this up, so I'm very pleased to be here.

I purposely chose to come here in the winter. One of my fantasies since I came here as a boy of 15, in fact when I came at 15 it was in the summer and I went gold panning with my father. And I remember I was so intrigued by the whole gold panning that I took a bag of dirt this big back to Long Island where I was from and all summer I'd sit there and sift my gold panning, check to see if I found any gold. At that time I think gold was $50 an ounce and I actually did find a little bit of it.

But I'm real thrilled to be coming up here in the winter. As I said it's been sort of a fantasy of mine, maybe like Pamela Anderson is a fantasy of yours, but for me all I really want to see is big sky, a lot of light, and even if -- you know, even if you have to get outside my tent or wherever I'm staying and howl like a wolf just do it so I can go back and say wow, it was great there was wolves howling out there.

Anyhow, tonight's topic -- today's topic is really about partnering in the 21st century with nonprofits with big business and environmental groups. And a lot of you will say really what do they have in common. And, you know, basically the message is going to be survival, a symbiotic relationship. But before I get into that I'm going to go real quickly to what is the Explorers Club. Mead had mentioned our annual dinner. It was started in 1904 by Henry Collins Walsh. And a bunch of other guys who are, you know, heading up into the arctic so our roots are really here and in Canada. And it was to unite explorers in the bonds of good fellowship and to promote the work of exploration. And our mission is very much the same.

One of the things I like best about the Explorers Club is I like being with like minded people. I like people who think the way I do. Now my archivist, Claire Flemming, suggested that I show some of these documents. This was the first document we have in our archives. And we really are considered to have one of the best collections of pre 1950 Arctic and Antarctic documentation, but the idea of the club is to limit membership to those who travel and brought back results.

And what we mean by that is that so many not for profits and sort of like minded organizations have gone in different direction. For example, the Royal Geographical Society which we have a good relationship with, they in order to join that now you really just have to fill out an application, put your 75 pounds in and you're a member of that. I had joined the American Alpine Club when I was much younger and I actually had to give a climbing resume. Now with the American Alpine Club, again, because they're looking for funding they've opened it up to everyone, so it doesn't have that feeling of exclusivity for me anymore. Oh, by the way the dues were not to exceed $5 per annum.

And there's a little -- one little thing in that paragraph that really no longer holds true. There'll be the necessity of adding afterwards men of means. You know, you can (indiscernible) afford to what we do. Right now the Explorers Club is purely a meritocracy. People are vetted because of their deeds, not because of -- is that a question? Oh, it's a question. That it doesn't really matter whether you are well to do, famous. Especially in New York City. We see that all the time. In fact, last summer, Mead you'll recall had a certain British actor on a motorcycle from Alaska coming down to New York and he wanted to join the club. And I said I'd love to meet the guy, but I mean riding a motorcycle to New York does not qualify to be a member of the Explorers Club.

We have approximately 3,000 living members. And in our 100 year history out of the 3,000 currently living we probably have about 3,800 deceased members. We kind of modernized our membership office because I know that the King of Belgium had been on our roster up until this past year and I know he's been dead for 15 years. Ironically enough he paid his dues until five years ago, so someone was paying his dues.

Originally we were at 27 West 67th Street in Manhattan. In 1913 we took on the rolls of the members of the Arctic Club which I think, again, has its roots very much here. Today our headquarters, the Lowell Thomas Building, is in Manhattan. In 1965 they paid 650,000 for it. We recently got an offer for $25 million. New York City real estate is very expensive. And it is really a place that people from Alaska or anywhere else in the world can stop by and, you know, have a beer or a pint of something or a drink, tell tall tales.

I just want to show you some architectural details of this because the building in and of itself is very extraordinary when you walk in. The beams in the actual ceiling of the club are from Lord Nelson's ship, the first sled to the North Pole is in our lobby. The room you're looking there on the bottom floor, you notice the wood paneling, that is called rennin (ph) old wood. Old wood was imported from English manor from the 17th century. The fireplace that 17th century marvel we bought from the British Museum. And even outside on our terrace we have columns that are from the Burgundy region of France that are from 1460. Also in that room you were just looking at we have Henry the Navigator's table, so it really does have a lot of effects.

We have art work throughout the building. This particular painting is done by a man named William Lay (ph). And the reason I'm showing you this is that the original field studies for the American Museum of Natural History for the Great African Diorama all those original field studies were done by William Lay and Carl Akeley who I think is considered the father of modern taxidermy.

The Explorers Club flag it really does have a rich tradition and one of the honors if you're a member of the Explorers Club is being able to carry that flag on an expedition. And I put -- this is my favorite flag and hangs it on the lecture hall, it's by a guy named Roy Chapman-Andrews flag number 2. We don't use this style anymore. And a lot of people don't know who Roy Chapman-Andrews, who is that hyphenated name. Well, when Harrison Ford stood in front of that flag he knew who Roy Chapman-Andrews was. That was who Indiana Jones was based on. In the 1920s he smuggled dinosaur eggs out of Mongolia. He was shipwrecked in the Philippines. He was a president of the Explorers Club and also the American Museum of Natural History. Thor Heyerdahl we have the original application of -- for Kon Tiki. And this was the flag if you have ever seen anything from Kon Tiki. Our flag has been carried to the moon.

Now I want to give you an example of when someone fills out an application to carry the flag what it might or might not look like. If you notice the purpose of this is to repair the Hubble telescope and, you know, you always put on there where am I, you know, coming from, where am I going. We're coming from the Kennedy Space Center to earth orbit and return. And you know, there's always a part which how much does it cost and who's paying. And he said, of course, by the taxpayers, total cost several hundred million dollars.

Okay. But you know, really what makes up any club is its members. And at that annual dinner that Mead was talking about I asked the audience this question, I said who here has been to the North Pole? I'd say about 24 people raised their hand. I said who's been to the South Pole? I got about 20 people that raised their hand. Who's been on the top of Everest? And about 10 or 15 people raise their hand. I go anybody first? And of course, Ed Miller raised his hand. Deepest point in the ocean? Don Walsh was there. And I said has anybody to the moon? And Buzz Aldrin raised his hand.

Incidentally when Buzz Aldrin was speaking that night I think that Mead graciously omitted a few things. When we came up on that stage with horses my horse plopped right on Ed Hillary's place setting, but when Buzz Aldrin was speaking, Governor, I don't think you've had that happen to you, right as Buzz Aldrin was speaking a heckler came out of the crowd, I put my hand up to stop him, he grabbed me and he bit me. The guy bit me, broke the skin and bit me. And I -- what an evening this has been. But anyhow those are some of the firsts.

And I think, you know, when I do mention those in lectures, you know, there's probably no other room in the world in which you could ask those questions, whose been to those places.

The first president of the Explorers Club was Adolphus Greely. Now everyone is aware of the Shackleton Expedition. But in 1884 Adolphus Greely led a group of men, 24 men, to the northern most point that had been achieved. It was Ellesmere Island. And there had been a little sort of scruff with the government on who was going to come and pick them up. So they stayed up there for three years. This is sort of the anti-Shackleton Expedition. There had been cannibalism on there. They executed a guy for stealing food. I think out of the original 24 only six survived. And he lived here 20 years later and became the first president of the Explorers Club.

Someone I think Alaskans are very familiar with, another explorer Frederick Cook who claimed to have been the first person on Denali. Claimed to have been the first person on the North Pole. But we are for sure certain that he is the first person that actually did circumnavigate McKinley. So even though there was some clouds of controversy surrounding his life he added a lot to the fabric of what I call the Explorers Club. In fact, if you look at the early entries into the minutes of our meetings you'll see that Robert Peery who was the first to the North Pole we think and actually Frederick Cook actually had fist fights at board meetings. So the next time you're at any group, I don't care whether it's your PTA and you think somebody is trying to ruin your life or somebody is out to get you, well, these two guys actually were out to get each other.

Matthew Henson is a name, face in history that most people don't recognize, but he was with Peary at the North Pole. His sledge is in our lobby. One of the projects I'm working on right now is, after he came back from the North Pole he became a janitor at the American Museum of Natural History for the next 45 years. And we're right now in a process of getting a park dedicated to him in upper Manhattan close to where he lived because to me this is a man who overcame a lot of obstacles. He didn't have a Nike contract. And he truly was a role model, so I think role models at least in upper Manhattan can be other than sports heros.

James Chaffin, ornithologist. Roald Amundsen, of course, the first person at the South Pole, a great Norwegian. Carl Akeley, I mentioned, a modern taxidermist, president of the American Museum of Natural History. Also invented some interesting cinemagraphic cameras that we use for early wildlife photography. Roy Chapman-Andrews, Indiana Jones who I mentioned to you. Richard Berg, of course, everyone knows that expedition of the earth. Some characters that certainly went along with him. Albeit this picture was, I think, at least 50 or 60 years later. Norman Vaughn of course.

Sir Edmund Hillary, Tensing Norgay. And you know, Ed Hillary, I have to tell you, I've been privileged to meet a lot of great explorers and obviously his place in history is set, but he truly is a great man in terms of what his goals have been since he achieved his fame. You know, if you were to approach him, he's very approachable. He's dedicated his life to building schools in the region in which he climbed, but someone asked me the difference once of, you know, some of the character explorers. And I said, you know, I've met about six our of 10 people that have gone to the moon, and I said you know what, they're all nuts. They're all nuts.

But I said mountain climbers in my estimation tend to be the nicest of any explorers. And I thought about it. Any person -- and Jim Whittaker I can include in this, too, any person who's a mountain climber at one point in their career had to be a guide. And when you're a guide you have to get along with people. And I think you can talk about that for fishing or here, you know, sledding. When you're a guide you just have to make it happen. An astronaut, boy, you're just fixed on your parameters there.

Sylvia Earle, everyone knows. Jane Goodall. Buzz Aldrin who I just mentioned. Chuck Yeager. Chuck Yeager, the year before, it's funny, there's always that cliche, that question if you saw the movie, The Right Stuff, where people go, you know, who's the best damn pilot you ever saw. And then, you know, they'd always mention Chuck Yeager. So when I met Chuck Yeager I thought I'd take the opportunity and I go, Chuck, who's the best damn pilot you ever saw? And he goes the son of a bitch shot me down over Germany. And he said that -- but he goes, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell they're going to catch this jack rabbit from West Virginia and he said, 'cause growing up he had spent so much time in the woods he knew he could easily allude his captors.

Bob Ballard, who discovered the Titanic. Joan Connolly who is a MacArthur genius award grantee. And she does a lot of archeological work. Some of it's a little more controversial. And here's the case of someone she's an N.Y.U. professor, but because of her fame, you know, the New York Times writes her up a lot and she's been on TV, she's had a lot of difficulty within her academic community due to probably jealously.

Jim Fowler, of course, everybody knows from Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom. Don Walsh, first guide, deepest point in the ocean. And actually, that's a picture of me on the left, but on the right is my own father. And many people don't realize it. The first person to solo the Pacific Ocean in an airplane was my father, so I guess it's somewhat in the genes. I'm very fortunate that I had a role model like my father who would after dinner take me out and we'd learn about celestial navigation. And to this day I know when I call my father after this lecture he'll ask me about the weather, you know, we always talk about the weather.

Okay. Now this is where I'm going to get into the heart of the meat of the matter. And I want you to read this. If a species does not continue to evolve or if it becomes irrelevant it goes extinct. And I think this really applies to corporations, universities, not for profits, I think even to some extent individuals. And when I became president of the Explorers Club two and a half years ago I didn't necessarily have a business training, but I always sort of thought underlying all this that most not for profits arose hand and sort of to mouth. They're always oh, will you please give us money. This is a really good cause, please come support us. And I thought that -- that's Lowell Thomas, by the way, bottom of the picture in India. Much like Colonial rule, survival by philanthropic dependency is a thing of the past.

And so what I did was I had Harvard Business School come and do a case study on the Explorers Club. And this road map, I think, has been so instrumental for some of the partnerships I've put together. Just in a short time I've put together corporate deals with Microsoft, Disney, United, Norwegian Coastal Voyages, Rolex, Redwood Creek Wines. And I know I'm missing about three or four other ones. And people say, you know, how were you able to do this? And a lot of this happened during a time when the economy really post 9/11 was not doing so well. I know some of the other not for profits that I work with like the Lindbergh Foundation, I mean right now their questioning to whether they have enough money to move forward.

So how do we move forward? Well, I've always had -- you know, so they came for six months, you know, once a week spoke to people. And they spoke about corporate partnering, the need for, for example, a not for profit to come to you and say hey, listen, I have an opportunity for you that I think will work out well for you. And this picture here is from something called the Central Park Bioblitz. And I'm actually going to encourage you to do a similar project here 'cause I think it's a great project, but basically what Central Park Bioblitz was, was we had 500 scientists and students go into Central Park in Manhattan for 24 hours and the goal was to catalog every living organism we could within that 24 hour period.

The beauty of bioblitz is that is it's in your own local community. No one has to be shipped anywhere, flown in, no special speakers, no special A/V equipment. It's educational obviously for the students. But people really care what's in their back yard. You know, we can speak about the Amazon Rain Forest. We can talk about melting ice caps which probably are a little more germane to you here, but even a student in Anchorage, I don't know necessarily would, you know, feel simpatico to someone in Point Barrow. It's just world's apart.

And we also partnered with Microsoft. Did you see -- I'm being interviewed by CNN right there. And I have one of their PC tablets something that Microsoft was very interested in selling last year. And what we did is we developed a software program that would work that, say for example, you saw a blue jay it would auto populate all the necessary kingdom phylum, species, you know, the whole thing. It had a little GPS stamp in there so when I touched my pad it would mark exactly where I was. There were just so many other things that were in it. So of course, when I was on CNN part of their interest was the technology and I bring in Microsoft and I said, you know, if Charles Darwin had, you know, one of these little tablets he would have gotten so much more done and yatta yat.

Well, it worked out so well that Bill Gates called me, we're in the middle of this bioblitz and said wow, I think that's really neat. And, you know, the light bulb went off in my head because now when I approach companies, you know, you were talking about funding for this organization, I think really what you have to say to people is, you know, what can they get out of it. I take my not for profit hat off all the time and I always put myself in the big CEO desk of some other company and I think okay, what is it that we need, what is it we need, you know, what is it that will further our mission.

So I'm going to go to two false premises. You know, of course we know that lions do not see aurora borealis. And aurora borealises do not see lions. And incidentally, I hope I do get to see some of those northern lights while I'm up here.

But the false premise I have is that all oil companies are evil and all environmentalists want to save the environment. And what I mean by this -- in fact, Mead and I were talking about this in the car last night, is hey, let's face it, we all use oil here. There's not one of us who does not use oil. So -- and at the moment, you know, whether you like it or not that is our -- you know, the lead dominant energy source.

The next question is, okay, if we accept the fact that we all use oil how can we work with an oil company so it's a win/win situation for environments. And I'm going to bring up a case study to sort of bring this point home. Several years ago Greenpeace was suing or protesting Shell Oil UK. And they would go out -- it had to do with their offshore oil rig. And they would be out there protesting and it really was having very little effect. They found that British people at the end of the day really don't care as much about the environment as they would lead you to think, but the Germans do. And so Greenpeace had a very effective protest organized and boycott in Germany such to the point where their profits were down 65 percent in Germany. Well, you know, the German Shell Oil people certainly had something to say to the UK Shell Oil people.

Now the reason I bring that up is that I have friends in Greenpeace, I've interviewed people from Greenpeace, but I don't think everyone in Greenpeace necessarily is looking for a solution. And this is what I'm talking about. What are not for profits, what are for profits, everyone is looking for survival. You know, every time Greenpeace hoists a flag on an oil rig I could, you know, without even having to study, you know that their donations or their corporate entities go up, they're getting more donations for showing up oil companies. Not working with them, it's really showing them up.

And so, you know, is that the way to proceed in the future? I don't think so. Now Shell Oil on the same theme -- I've met guys who work for oil companies. I've gone fishing with them. I can't believe that, you know, they just don't give a damn to where they wouldn't want, you know, to have clean rivers. So the real challenging goal, you know, is how do you work together.

Well, as a result of this particular case study, and I saw this up in Kellogg Business School, British Petroleum benefitted. If you look at the advertising of British Petroleum it's green now. Everything is about the environment, you know, how can we help the environment. And it has ancillary effects for British Petroleum. It's good for their bottom line. People perceive them as an eco friendly company. I think that British Petroleum, on the other hand, has actually had to come forward and work with some not for profits and environmental groups and figure out a good way.

So I think that, you know, for these organizations they're really -- the way to move forward is really sort of looking into the eyes of the other person say, you know, what can we give them, how can it be to our benefit? And I have a little cartoon. And it just says, you know, I guess the reason we're not flying is we haven't been flapping hard enough.

So, listen, I'd like to thank you all for having me here this morning. I'd love to take questions on this because as I said the model that we've used at the Explorers Club has been extremely successful, not only in raising conscientiousness about our organization in making our goals happen, but also in some very successful partnering with for profit organizations.

I'm sorry, does it work where? Do you read these questions or.....