2014 Trans-Antarctic Expedition on U.S. Tour in February

Online, January 6, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Centenary Expedition 2014 (ITACE, www.south2014.com) honors the memory of Sir Ernest Shackleton's1914-17 expedition, which attempted to cross Antarctica for the first time. ITACE aims to send six skiers across the frozen continent in 2014, using Shackleton's intended route and so completing his "unfinished business".

In the second half of February, expedition leader Joanne "Jo" Davies, team member Stewart Stirling, and U.S. liaison Glenn M. Stein, will be on a speaking tour of Washington, DC and New York City. Among the organizations to be addressed are the Library of Congress, Explorers Club, Rotary Club, and the Girl Scouts.

ITACE also recently added two new members - Expedition Manager Alan Ward and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Simkins, OBE, FRGS.

Alan Ward brings a wealth of knowledge, including experience from the oil industry, where he was an expert in logistics. He is an international mountain leader and runs Bigfoot Services (www.bigfootservices.co.uk), a company providing worldwide guiding services. Alan is responsible for coordinating the management of operational activities, logistics, fundraising, liaising, and ensuring the team has appropriate equipment and clothing. He will also be responsible for the team's health and safety before and during the expedition, and will accompany the team to the Union Glacier base in Antarctica. Alan will set up a base camp and be waiting for the team after it completes the crossing.

Andrew Simkins spent many years in the Army Air Corps, during which time he completed several operational tours, where he gained a wealth of experience in logistics, management, communications and financial management. After retiring from the army in 2008, Andrew became the Chief Executive of the Museum of Army Flying and successfully ran it for a year. In 2008 he won a traveling Fellowship awarded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, studying veterans' welfare issues in Chile, the U.S. and France. In addition, he is also the Trustee for the Menière's Society. A keen outdoorsman, Andrew has climbed in the Himalayas and made a winter attempt of Mount McKinley.