Common Ground Research Networks

• 2019-01-25

We are pleased to announce that Charles Kropke will be speaking at the Fourth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies.

Overseeing a family of companies in creative financing, sustainable tourism, sustainable development and radical environmental change, Charles J. Kropke, 54 is an energetic entrepreneur with a concentration of knowledge in financial markets and trends, demographics, energy technologies, history, and town planning.

As CEO of Dragonfly Expeditions, Florida’s largest corporate tour company, Charles is a leader in educational, ecological, historic, and cultural tours in Florida and the Caribbean basin. He has created over 150 distinctive tours in Florida. These tours have been featured by The Travel Channel, The Weather Channel, National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler and many other media outlets around the globe.

In October 2012, the very first tour for Margaritaville Adventures (an affiliate of international singer, songwriter, author Jimmy Buffett) was launched. Seven new programs for the 2017/2018 seasons have recently been launched. This is a fast-growth enterprise in Charles’s business interests.

In October 2017, Mr. Kropke launched a new seaplane manufacturing company called Aquarius Seaplanes. The company hopes to have the first aircraft roll off of the assembly line in 2019.

Charles is also behind the resurgence of a schooner-based Cruise company called Windjammer Sailing Adventures patterned after the beloved 60 year old Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. These combined companies would complete a trifecta of adventure by land, sea and air.

Other endeavors in this family of companies include Green Heron Gifts / Made in Florida (A Florida gift company), Earth Lion Expeditions, an international expeditionary tour company; and Terraqua Innovations, a sustainable products company.

Mr. Kropke voluntarily served for over ten years as a First Lieutenant in the Everglades Restoration Movement, working to restore large sections of degraded Everglades habitat. There, he gained daily exposure to the habits and temperament of such Florida wildlife as alligators, water moccasins, Everglades snail kites, river otter and the many varieties of Florida wading birds. He is currently a driving force in the ecological recreation of an extinct ecosystem, the Pond Apple forests of Lake Okeechobee and frequently donates time, resources, and his expertise to advance fundraising efforts for The Nature Conservancy of Florida.

Charles’ first book, written in collaboration with Eleanor Goldstein prolific author and international speaker, is South Beach: Stories of A Renaissance. The book captures the individual accounts of economic, cultural and political renewal that has created the dynamic international resort that is today’s South Beach. The book is a treasure trove of original stories and nascent legends. These stories are the culmination of over four dozen personal interviews with influential leaders of South Beach. When added to the original artwork and stunning photography of painter/artist Joe Davis, the book is a masterful addition to the existing literature of Florida history lavishly illustrated with 150 full color images including 4 double page gate folds. His next book, already underway is titled; The Everglades: Stories of A Legendary Wilderness.

Through his media company, Tropic Moon Media, Charles created three hour-long PBS documentaries in 2015. One of those documentaries, “The Unseen Everglades, Inside A Legendary Wilderness,” garnished an Emmy Award and was shown on PBS affiliates throughout the country. The much-heralded new, six-part national PBS series “Battleground Everglades” began airing in January 2018. His new documentary on the beginnings of New York City, “Hidden New York”, is being picked up by a national network this fall.

Mr. Kropke’s second media company is Adventure Life Productions, creator of the provocative art photography project, Abandoned Vehicles of the Everglades.

Finally, Mr. Kropke started Florida’s first home automation company (IntetelliNet Corporation), was a stockbroker with Dominick & Dominick NYSE and has acquired over twenty-five years experience hiking, canoeing, exploring, interpreting and restoring Florida’s unique historical and environmental treasures. He is a regularly featured presenter on Florida’s speaker’s circuit.

Charles is the father of 15 adopted children and resides in Miami, Florida.

Submit your proposal to the 2019 conference here.