Voiijers, a social media app used by explorers to collect and share images and data, recognized Bob as one of seven " Heroes of the Planet " in 2024. Fellow honorees included Titanic explorer Bob Ballard and astronaut Katherine Sullivan.
He ' s also been awarded 10 Explorers Club Flags – very prestigious and difficult to receive – for scientific field expeditions in archaeology, paleontology, botany, and zoology in Mongolia, Belize, the Yucatan of Mexico, Guatemala, the Western Pacific Ocean, Japan, India, Bhutan, Columbia, the Marshall Islands, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba.
Bob was also presented with the very rare and renowned Sweeney Medal from The Explorers Club in New York City for distinguished service in exploration.
This May, Bob will receive recognition from Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden.
" I have with me a 10-page summary of TA ' s very own 6 ' 5 ", 225-pound Indiana Jones for any of you to review," said Alumni Association president David Pendleton `81, who presented the TA award. " Bob has likely amassed several lifetimes worth of adventures since leaving Thornton Academy."
His work career includes 30 years in the US government in various roles, such as a Border Patrol Agent, Senior Special Agent, Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner, and Investigations with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Assignments included an organized crime task force, work with INTERPOL, and the Chief of Field Investigations for the Department of Transportation. Bob also served as Chief of Police for communities in Maine and Utah.
With his law enforcement career well behind him, Bob heads to Mongolia in June to lead a trek across the Gobi Desert, bringing researchers to study the region ' s archaeology, paleontology, topography, biology, zoology, and cultural heritage. This trip, Bob ' s sixth to Mongolia and the 54th that he has led or participated in worldwide, will also look for fossils. His last trip, in 2018, uncovered 200 new fossil sites and identified three new species of dinosaur.
Did we mention the June trek will be the largest camel caravan in 100 years?
Planning for the trip began nearly a year ago. Bob selects the participants himself, from medical and veterinary staff to the 30 explorers. The journey isn ' t for the faint of heart. Daytime temperatures can soar well over 100 degrees, while nighttimes drop into the 40s. During his 2018 trek across the Gobi, the caravan encountered a significant wind and sand storm. While trying to secure a tent, Bob was hit in the head with a 10-foot pole and suffered a concussion. He was evacuated, along with a photographer stung by a scorpion, and returned the next day.
Most of Bob ' s expeditions bring medical doctors and dentists to help the Indigenous people with their health care, as well as eyeglasses, books for local teachers, water purification systems, stoves, and other hard-to-get items.
" I try to come up with something that ' s helping other people," he says. " I learned that in the Boy Scouts."
In addition to his lifelong affiliation with the Boy Scouts, which began with Troop 310 in Saco, Bob is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Life Fellow, and a past vice president and former member of the Board of Directors of The Explorers Club.
Despite his long list of accomplishments and accolades, those who speak with Bob universally describe him as friendly, humble, generous with his time, and incredibly modest about his achievements.
The most interesting man in the world? We think so, and we ' re proud to say he ' s a Thornton Academy alumnus.
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