Six Floors, Centuries of Discovery, and a Journey Toward Peace

An unforgettable day at The Explorers Club headquarters. With Ann Passer (center), whose knowledge and dedication brought the Club's extraordinary history to life, and my wife, Janice. Behind us is one of the Club's historic expedition flags, symbols of courage, discovery, and the enduring human desire to explore.

Our guide was the extraordinary Ann Passer, a longtime member whose leadership, dedication, and remarkable knowledge transformed our visit into a journey through time. Together, we explored six floors filled with the legacies of individuals who dared to venture beyond the known world. From the frozen polar regions to the depths of the oceans, from the highest mountains to the surface of the Moon, the stories surrounding us were extraordinary.

Having recently been accepted into membership of The Explorers Club, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride, gratitude, and humility. To walk through these historic rooms as a member of an organization associated with so many remarkable human achievements was an honor I will always treasure and sharing that experience with Janice made it even more meaningful.

My recent acceptance into membership of The Explorers Club carries an especially personal meaning because of the remarkable friend who sponsored me: Gary Bowersox. Gary is an internationally recognized explorer, gemologist, historian, author, and former U.S. Army major whose extraordinary adventures have taken him deep into the mountains and remote valleys of Afghanistan and Central Asia.

For more than 50 years, Gary has pursued some of the world's most extraordinary gemstone treasures, navigating rugged mountain terrain, exploring remote caves, and working alongside local miners in search of emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. His journeys have taken him to elevations of 14,000 feet and into environments where determination, courage, and perseverance were essential. Yet Gary's story is about far more than precious gemstones. 

His decades of exploration have also fostered a deep appreciation for Afghanistan's people, history, and extraordinary cultural and natural heritage and that is where Gary's remarkable life connects so beautifully with the mission of Destination Peace.

Exploration, at its best, is not simply about discovering what lies beneath the earth or beyond the horizon. It is about discovering the people, traditions, and shared humanity that make our world so extraordinary.

Gary has spent much of his life doing precisely that.

I had the privilege of welcoming Gary as a guest on our Destination Peace: Groundbreaking Conversations Survivors series, where we shared his remarkable story of courage, resilience, adventure, and discovery.

His experiences remind us that some of life's greatest treasures cannot be measured in carats or monetary value. They are found in the friendships we form, the cultures we come to understand, and the respect we develop for people whose lives may be very different from our own.

I am deeply grateful to Gary for his friendship, his encouragement, and his sponsorship of my membership in The Explorers Club. His belief in me makes this new chapter of my own journey especially meaningful.

Write Join us for an extraordinary journey into the mountains of Afghanistan and the life of a man whose adventures seem drawn from an epic film yet are entirely real.

Watch Gary Bowersox: An Unforgettable Adventure 

Part of Destination Peace's Groundbreaking Conversations Survivors series. 

Sometimes the greatest discoveries are not the treasures we uncover, but the humanity we encounter along the way.

Standing beside a display featuring a flight jacket bearing the name of astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot of Apollo 14, along with space exploration memorabilia. A reminder of humanity's extraordinary journey beyond Earth. 

One of the most fascinating moments came as we encountered artifacts connected to space exploration. Standing beside a flight jacket bearing the name of Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa, I was reminded of how recently humanity first ventured beyond our own planet and how much courage, imagination, and scientific determination those journeys required.

Janice and I beside the imposing polar bear display at The Explorers Club headquarters, surrounded by reminders of the daring expeditions that helped expand our knowledge of the polar regions

Throughout the building, historic artifacts and remarkable displays offered glimpses into the challenges faced by explorers who traveled into some of Earth's most remote and unforgiving environments.

Among the Club's most meaningful traditions are its historic expedition flags. These are far more than ceremonial banners. Numbered flags have accompanied significant scientific expeditions across continents, to both poles, into the ocean depths, and into space. The flag's red represents courage, its blue fidelity, and its compass rose the worldwide reach of exploration.

To stand before these flags was to feel connected to generations of explorers who believed that the world still held important mysteries waiting to be understood.

Janice and I standing before the portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt in the Club's Roosevelt Room. Roosevelt, himself an Explorers Club member, embodied a lifelong passion for exploration, conservation, and the natural world.

Another memorable moment was our visit to the Roosevelt Room, where Janice and I stood before a beautiful portrait of Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt's commitment to exploration and conservation reminds us that discovering the world's wonders carries with it a responsibility to protect them. His legacy also offers an important connection to the values we celebrate through Destination Peace: respect for the natural world, curiosity about the unknown, and a commitment to preserving our shared planetary home.

As we moved through the building, I found myself reflecting on a belief that has become central to the mission of Destination Peace. The more we explore our world, the more opportunities we have to understand one another. And the more we understand one another, the greater our possibilities for peace.

Exploration is not simply about reaching distant destinations. It is about opening our minds, questioning assumptions, discovering new perspectives, and recognizing the extraordinary connections that unite humanity.

Through Destination Peace, Janice and I seek to celebrate not only the places we visit, but also the people we encounter, the cultures we experience, and the friendships that transcend borders. The great explorers expanded our understanding of the physical world.

Exploration opens doors. Understanding builds bridges and peace begins when we recognize our shared humanity.

Standing outside the historic Lowell Thomas Building at 46 East 70th Street in Manhattan, home of The Explorers Club since 1965. Behind these remarkable walls lives more than a century of exploration history.

As I stood outside this magnificent historic building, I reflected on what this new chapter in my life might mean for the continuing journey of Destination Peace. Membership in The Explorers Club is a deeply meaningful personal honor but beyond that, it strengthens my commitment to sharing stories that encourage curiosity, understanding, compassion, and respect across cultures.

It is also filled with people whose stories deserve to be heard, whose traditions deserve to be respected, and whose humanity deserves to be celebrated. As Janice and I left The Explorers Club, we carried with us wonderful memories, renewed inspiration, and a deeper appreciation for the enduring human spirit of discovery.

The greatest destination of all is not a place on a map, but a world in which we learn to understand, respect, and live peacefully with one another.

The journey continues.

DESTINATION PEACE: Exploring the World. Connecting Humanity. Inspiring Peace