Keynote Speakers:

Jon Snyder is the first ever Policy Advisor on Outdoor Recreation and Economic Development to Governor Jay Inslee. Snyder grew up in Spokane and graduated from The Evergreen State College. He later worked on the Spokane City Council where he promoted the expansion of urban biking and walking trails. He was also founder and publisher of Out There Monthly, a free magazine covering outdoor recreation in the Inland Northwest. Snyder’s current mission is to create more jobs out of outdoor recreation and encourage more participation in outdoor recreation in Washington.

Cailin O’Brien-Feeney is the Local Recreation Advocacy Manager at Outdoor Industry Association. Previously he was the Policy Director at Winter Wildlands Alliance, worked on a range of recreation-conservation issues with Outdoor Alliance and ran the Idaho Outdoor Business Council. Prior to working “for the outdoors” he worked in the outdoors – spending the better part of a decade as an outdoor educator and guide across the West.

 

 

Breakout Session Details:

Building Loyalty through Creative Consumer Engagement

Learn from some of the best in the industry on how they’re building customer loyalty and engagement.  This open panel discussion connects brands, retailers, manufacturers and brand ambassadors to discuss best practices and lessons learned on the trail to brand longevity.
Facilitator: Brian Roche – GearAid
Steve Roguski – Fairhaven Runners  
Martina Brimmer – Swift Industries  
Jenn Seva – Geocaching.com

Highlighting unique projects that increase outdoor access and improve community wellness.

Learn about connections and correlations between outdoor recreation and conservation projects and the health and wellness of the communities that supports these projects. Come engage with the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, Group Health and Mayor Boudreau of Mt. Vernon as we discuss a highly successful WWRP project and use FACT based health data to provide perspective on how and why all communities should be supporting access to the outdoors.
Facilitator: Rob Sendak – Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition
Mandy LaBlanc – Group Health & National School Based Health Alliance
Jill Boudreau – Mount Vernon Mayor

Growing Bellingham’s Recreation Economy Through Mountain Biking

Join local mountain bike manufacturers, retailers, coaches, professional athletes, stewardship organizations, tourism professionals, advocacy groups, land managers and public officials for a dynamic conversation and idea sharing session. Are you from a community who has leveraged a specific sport or outdoor activity for economic growth or do you hope to? Please come and share your learnings and ideas. 
Facilitator: Laura Todd, Laura Todd Consulting

How does your business define success?

Join in a dynamic conversation with industry professionals who are on the road to balancing their business values and profits. Sustainability, conservation, employee engagement, made in the USA, how do we make the choices we make to give back and build a thriving business?
Facilitator: Ashley Fullenwider – Nuu Muu
Jason Martin – American Alpine Institute 
Amy Olive – Superfeet 
Martin Maisonpierre – MSR-Mountain Safety Research

 

Snohomish County Trail Towns: Re-imagining community connections along the trail

Snohomish County residents have long valued regional trails for recreation, open space and transportation. More recently, long-distance trails in the County are recognized as important geo-cultural routes, bringing economic benefit to the communities located along the way. Now, Snohomish County is supporting new, regional grass-roots tourism efforts between diverse cadres of stakeholders, to re-imagine downtown districts as trail towns, where visitors can find needed services and amenities along the trail.

Using examples from the Whitehorse Regional Trail, this session will explore the nature of this grass-roots process; discuss the significance of the trail town concept and how through budding regional collaborations, diverse groups with interests in access, small business opportunities, history, culture and education, can work together to re-imagine visitor amenities for trail users along shared regional routes.

Facilitator: Annique Bennett, Snohomish County Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Amy Lucas, Snohomish County Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Amy Spain, Snohomish County Tourism Bureau

 

Peer to Peer Conversation topics:

• Public lands advocacy at the state & local level: what’s going on and what can we do?
• Public lands advocacy at the National level: what’s going on and what can we do?
• Mountain bike trail and advocacy issues “i.e. E-Bikes in the Wilderness”
• Commercial Permitting: what’s the latest and what’s needed?
• Successful public and private partnerships to get more people outside
• Trails: Creating Connections, Shared Use, and Community Challenges
• Public Water Access: Days on Water, Nights Ashore on the Cascadia Marine Trail
• Balancing recreation with conservation (walking session)
• Partnering with health professionals through Park Prescription Programs (walking session)
• Wellness Programs, what is your company doing to promote health and wellness? (walking session)
• Identifying and reducing barriers that inhibit people from getting outdoors (walking session)
• What are your most effective advertising mediums? (walking session)