#ORSummer

#ORSummer, Black Lives Matter, Books, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Magazines, On Assignment, Outdoor Retailer, Outside Magazine / 09.08.2021

After more than a year of social isolation due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, our community of outdoor professionals is finally getting back together. Today I’m heading home after the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market where I spent a busy week of reporting on a few events meant to celebrate the continuing growth and prosperity of the outdoor recreation industry. The week before many of us gathered at the first ever edition of The Big Gear Show in Park City, Utah. That incredible outdoor venue at the Deer Valley Ski Resort...

#BlackLivesMatter, #ORShow, #ORSummer, An American Ascent, Art, Black Lives Matter, Commentary, Diversity, Expedition Denali, Outdoor Retailer, Special Events / 05.08.2021

One Day One of the first annual Big Gear Show in Park City Utah, I had the great privilege of presenting to the outdoor recreation industry a commemorative portrait of Charles Madison Crenchaw, the first Black climber to reach the summit of North America’s tallest mountain, Denali. This original painting by the artist Lamont Joesph White celebrates the enduring legacy of an American mountaineer. On July 9, 1964 Charles Madison Crenchaw ascended to the highest physical point on the continent of North America. Just seven days after the...

#BlackLivesMatter, #ORSummer, Diversity, Outdoor Retailer, Outside Magazine / 31.07.2018

  On Day Zero of the 2018 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market I strolled around the Colorado Convention Center. As exhibitors set up their booths in advance of the four-day trade show I began plotting a course of travel to traverse a path from one end the sprawling structure to the other. As I made my way to the front of the building I was excited to see a crew of familiar faces. My friend Rue Mapp had just arrived with a few leaders of her empowerment group known as...

#ORSummer, Charitable Giving, National Parks, philanthropy / 30.07.2017

The most exciting thing I saw this year at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market was an old fashioned outhouse. That’s right. Surrounded by aisle after aisle of the latest in camping equipment, technical clothing, action footwear and flashy accessories, this sturdy wooden structure with a crescent moon carved into its door, set my mind and heart racing as I imagined all that it might accomplish. In a prominent spot at the Outdoor Research booth this no-tech privy was a display that symbolized the company’s efforts to do good things...

#ORShow, #ORSummer, Commentary, Diversity / 10.08.2015

On the last day of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market I received a message on Facebook. Walking briskly down one of bustling aisles of the Salt Palace I paused for a moment to read this text. “Anything interesting come out of the diversity conversation?” The question came from my friend and colleague Teresa Baker, founder of the African-American National Parks Event and an advocate for bringing more people of color into the world of outdoor recreation and environmental conservation. Without breaking stride I rattled off a quick reply. “Only that smart...

#ORShow, #ORSummer, Business, Outdoor Retailer / 04.08.2014

The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market starts this week in Salt Lake City Utah and everyone is excited about the many new products on display at hundreds of booths across the Salt Palace and out in the Pavilions. With thousands of attractions to tantalize the attention of attendees each exhibitor will do all that they can to catch the eye of every passing buyer. But even with the latest in design innovation and state-of-the-art technology vendors will have to ply a little more creativity to bring more customers into...