A few days ago I shared a link to Greg Bledsoe's blog, in which he wrote about the on going controversy at the Explorers Club. Greg happens to be a member of the EC, and in that post he wrote about his concerns with the way the leadership of the organization was handling some internal disputes amongst members.Today, Greg follows up that story with another post, this time sharing more details of what is happening inside the EC, including some memos that were sent internally regarding the situation. This second post, which you can read here, offers some insights into why ten members of the prestigious Flag and Honors Committee resigned last month in a dispute that started when President Lorie Karnath, and some of her close confidants, nominated certain people for awards from the EC. The committee didn't find some of those nominees met their standards, and rejected them as award winners, which set off a whole string of events that questioned the integrity of some of the people at the very top of the organization.
If you've been following this controversy, you'll definitely want to read Greg's post. There isn't anything in it that I hadn't already been told, but I was reluctant to post some of the details because I'm not a member of the club. He spells out exactly what caused the friction with the Flag & Honors Committee, and why those ten people took a stand against Karnath, and were then summarily dismissed without having an opportunity to express their grievances to the Board of Directors.
I know some readers have wondered why this is a big story and deserves on going coverage and to that I would say that the Explorers Club is a venerable and honorable organization whose history dates back more than a century. It has had some very impressive members over the years and has long held an important place in the annuals of exploration and adventure. On top of that, a number of members of the club read this blog and I've heard from many of them that they are happy that this story is getting told. There is a crisis of leadership with in the EC at the moment, and some of the members are fighting to maintain the reputation and history of the organization, which they feel is in jeopardy because of how the club is currently being run. Because of that, I think this is a story of note to the broader adventure community as well.
