--HELEN KELLER

For the past six years, the New England Chapter has celebrated the time-honored tradition of coming together in a Round Table forum to share old or new perspectives on exploration, research, lessons learned, and tales from afield. Please join us for our Sixth Annual New England Explorers Round Table, to be held on Tuesday, October 24th. Whether you recount expeditions past, offer sage counsel, share artifact treasures, speak about your current research, or simply show your scars, please join us for an evening of camaraderie and cheer. Each of us who wishes to present can talk for any length of time up to about 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the number of participants. This event will also be in the hallowed tradition of the early Explorers Club and of many explorers while in the field, in that there will be no slides shown; each of the presenters will tell his or her story verbally, while, if desired, passing around any kind of map or device or artifact or other illustrative item that augments the tale. Additionally, and importantly, those wishing to just come and listen are just as welcome as are those who are willing to come and present.

As Chapter Chair Greg Deyermenjian notes: “Our New England Chapter Roundtable is one of our most important events, because it allows us to indulge in what is the spiritual lifeblood of the explorer: the sharing of ideas, interests, experiences, places and people and feelings. We all have not only a right to put forth our exploration thoughts to our peers; we, indeed, have a duty to do so, to allow our peers the benefit of our experiences and ideas. For, we all have built, and are building, our accomplishments and our projects on the foundation of what others before us have done, and have, in various ways, told us about. Also, know that all ideas and experiences are welcome at the Roundtable. One doesn't need to do extensive preparation or have the CV of a Sir Richard Francis Burton. Come and talk, in whatever manner comes naturally to you, to and with your fellow explorers."