Since this is a somewhat futile attempt to describe Charles J. Kropke in a single article, I want to make clear that the following lines are a very subjective view into Charles’ life – one that he has allowed me during the years that we have been working together as business partners.

Charles’ family roots lie in the hard-working crabbing community of Chesapeake Beach in Maryland.  The town was home to a resort from the Victorian era, so Charles’ early years were influenced by the many days he roamed the surrounding wooded hills in search of antique bottles, by the crab houses along the tidal creek and the original Ferris-wheel in the old amusement park, but also by the many abandoned vacation homes in the nearby town of Randles’ Cliff whose varied contents would hold young Charles’ fascination.  His family moved to the West coast of Florida when he was at the tender age of 11.  But growing up to become thoroughly Floridian has not prevented him from also becoming someone who is highly educated in global and regional issues from any continent.  Charles’ keen interest in all the learning sciences from an early age on had him absorb in a sponge-like manner all things pertaining to the history and ecology of Florida and far beyond its shores.  After graduating from High School in Fort Myers he pursued majors in Political Science and Business Administration while attending Barry University in Miami.  The desire to lead an entrepreneurial lifestyle grew stronger during this formative period of his life.

Upon his graduation with a thesis comparing the politics and history of South Africa with the settlement of the American West, Charles left Barry University and started a career as a stock broker with a New York Stock Exchange firm in the late 1980s before venturing into the startup and growth of various businesses from home automation (IntelliNet) to food manufacturing (Great American Foods Company),  inventions brokerage (American Imaginations), an online grocer (OmniGrocer.com), and running the Hurricane Harbor Bar and Grill among many other ventures.  The variety of entrepreneurial undertakings took him from Orlando to Boca Raton and from Deerfield Beach to Fort Lauderdale and finally back to Miami throughout the years.

Charles has been involved in a multitude of volunteer efforts that are too numerous to be listed here. One of the most influential ones would become the Everglades Restoration Movement where he was a 10-year First Lieutenant engaged in the removal of the invasive Melaleuca quinquenervia tree from many square miles of the Everglades.  Although Charles was always aware of the possibility of “mission creep”, he never let himself be completely usurped by these causes but rather made sure that his entrepreneurial life was permeated by his own form of “social capitalism” that would allow him to transform the world around him through the power of a free market economy.  This mantra he carries on to the present.

Charles had pondered on the idea of starting his own eco-tourism company many years ago, but also saw the uphill battle a new company would face in this then nascent industry.  It was around that time in the year 2001 that Charles came across a distinctive flyer by a tour company named Dragonfly Expeditions in need of Everglades guides.  Shortly thereafter the original founder of Dragonfly Expeditions Michael David Cushing was looking for business partners to continue the company during the tourism downturn following the 9/11 attacks. So Charles was presented with the perfect opportunity that would enable him to carry out the many dreams he had in the field of sustainable tourism.  This led to the quite unusual situation that a business partnership was formed among 3 partners that had not known each other before: Charles, Michael and myself.  After Charles and I bought out Michael’s share, we had to adapt to each other’s diverse working style.  Over time it became clear that our different approaches to business and our personal lives were not opposing but rather complementing each other.  Charles’ vision and deep knowledge of South Florida early on became the driving factors in the turnaround of the company and keeps on challenging the team to continuously rethink the status quo.  Whereas many people might initially dismiss him as an eclectic dreamer (like I did at times in the early days), they fail to see that Charles’ forward thinking is what inspires everybody around him.  He has the unique ability to attract people to a cause – both in- and outside the business world.

There are countless other admirable qualities that Charles displays in his day to day life – among them incorruptible ethics and a keen sense of helping anybody who might be less fortunate than he is.  The most remarkable expression of the latter is that he adopted 6 teenage sons out of the foster care system.

I have to say that I have been very fortunate to have come across Charles as a business partner not too long after moving to the United States from Germany and sharing with him the adventure of building a business in the exciting and rewarding field of sustainable tourism.  This has not only led to a myriad of opportunities, but most importantly to a deep and lasting friendship for which I am extremely grateful.