Commander of the Sterling Price Camp from 1988 to 1990 and member of the John S. Bowen Chapter of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars. He is best known to the St. Louis community as Director of Tower Grove Park, where he has orchestrated the historical restoration of the park to its original condition when Henry Shaw opened it in 1868.

     The St. Louis Post Dispatch (June 17, 1999) wrote, "Mr. Karel, the park's director, has been an adroit conductor, leading the players who will make the park resonate once more with Mr. Shaw's score. He has set the tempo for the park's Board of Commissioners, generous donors, governmental grant-makers and the architects and skilled crafts people who are bringing about this renaissance. The best way to thank Mr. Karel and all those who joined in this endeavor is to visit his, and Mr. Shaw's, park."