ANTARCTICA

Antarctica! Maybe I should have used a question mark instead of an exclamation point. Some of my friends and family have definitely asked why I would want to visit one of the coldest places on earth. In fact, how many of you in your lifetime have considered joining an expedition to the continent of Antarctica? Be honest....see what I mean? Not many would consider Antarctica as one of their "hottest" vacation destinations (pun intended).

Let me introduce myself and provide a little background into my new adventure. My name is Drew Frogley and I'm a 46 year old father of seven beautiful children....and a very supportive wife. My profession has been in the technology field and I'm currently the Director of Hewlett Packard's Home and Home Office sales center. The company I work for is fantastic and the people are some of the best in the industry. I'm a bit biased, but the people who work in our center rock!

I enjoy life! There is so much to see and experience in our world and I have always enjoyed experiencing those things that stretch my comfort zone. Meeting new people, learning a language, trying new foods, understanding cultural differences and the list continues. In essence, I like doing things that many people probably might not dare. We live in a time where depression often wins out over inspiration. If we will exert a little energy and lift our heads and open our eyes and minds, we will find something or someone that inspires us. Or better yet....who we can inspire.

On March 12, 2009, I will be departing on an expedition to Antarctica with Sir Robert Swan of Great Britain and his 2041 team. While I have wanted to visit Antarctica, I figured it would be one of those unfulfilled dreams in life, remember, I do have seven children, so I do my part in stimulating the economy.

On May 15, 2008, Robert Swan spoke at an executive lecture series at Hewlett Packard. As I mentioned earlier, if we are looking, we can be inspired. In 1989, at the age of 33, Sir Robert Swan was the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Pole. On both polar Journeys, Mr. Swan witnessed first hand the profound effects of climate change. These dramatic experiences resulted in Mr. Swan’s promise to Jacques Cousteau and Sir Peter Scott to use his story for the preservation of the Antarctic. Since this time, he has been appointed as UN Goodwill Ambassador and spoke at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro where he reported on his environmental mission. He is now on a journey to promote awareness for cleaner energy.

I left that lecture inspired by his presentation and wondered how I could more involve myself and family in the dialog for Antarctic preservation. Within the next couple of days I found myself writing a proposal to Mr. Swan. In that proposal, I wrote of desiring myself and two oldest children to attend his next expedition. As far as I knew, they would be the “youngest” students to visit Antarctica. On this expedition, the intent was to have my children transmit their journey and expedition findings through the Internet from Mr. Swan’s E-Base (worlds first education base in the Antarctica), to schools in Idaho. His team loved the proposal and I was selected to join the March expedition. The plan is to have me attend the expedition this year and have each of my oldest children join the expedition over the following two years. On the expedition this year I will be sending information to my children at their schools.

This blog will be used as a communication tool between me and students at Paramount Elementary, Heritage Middle and Rocky Mountain High Schools in Meridian Idaho. In addition, colleagues, friends and family will be monitoring the expedition through this blog, twitter and Facebook. There are only eleven short days before I board a plane bound for Ushuaia, Argentina. From there I board a Russian scientific vessel that will cross the Drake Passage for two and a half days. In future posts, I will be providing information on Robert Swan's organization 2041 and the treaty that currently protects Antarctica. I think it is important that everyone understands the preparations that go into an expedition. This blog only shares mine, I can't imagine what the expedition leaders go through. For the students that will be reading this blog, the preparations are intense. Especially when you are working to anticipate any technical issues with computers, phones, etc. I will also include my details regarding physical and mental preparation and what gear is needed on an expedition....attention to detail is critical.

It is my sincere desire that my children and students in Idaho and the Meridian School District are inspired. I hope that our educators will be inspired and inspiring to their students...our future leaders.