Bill Runyon (MN 01) has been a member of the Explorers Club Washington Group since 2007. In addition to hosting the monthly dinners at the Cosmos Club for three years (2010—2013), he was chapter secretary for eight years under four Chairs and was Vice Chair in 2018. Bill was also co-chair of the highly successful 2013 Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner in Washington D.C. with Jay Kaplan and Kristin Larson. He has worked on the Explorers Club Annual Dinners in NY in many capacities and served on the Centennial Committee (2002-2003) and Library & Archives Committee (2003—2004.) He has also overseen substantial financial support of the Club since 2001.

Bill carried Flag# 60 – Coastal Oregon Shark Habitat and Population Survey & Hubbard Underwater Radio Expedition and filed the scientific report. He assisted on an earlier expedition, and is planning another one. Bill has overseen the privately funded L. Ron Hubbard Young Explorers award to help five post grad and two undergrad awardees, who have all continued their chosen education and professional careers. One of those awardees went on a Flag Expedition. Another has now carried The Explorers Club Flag numerous times and one carried the Wings World Quest Flag and works at the Max Planck Institute.

A self-determined, independent researcher and historian, Bill is a member of the American Historical Association and Life Member of both the Navy War College Foundation and the Association of Navy Medical Historians. Bill has been Chairman and historian of the L. Ron Hubbard Foundation since 2005. Mr. Hubbard was a 46-year (Life) Fellow of The Explorers Club who carried the flag three times and was called by Smithsonian Magazine “one of the 100 most significant Americans of all time.” Bill began public relations work for L. Ron Hubbard in 1986 and most recently been researching the influences and applications of his works as intellectual history and field work. Prior to that, Bill was a field engineer and premed student.