Recreation Northwest announced two Keynote Speakers for the 2017 Outdoor Recreation Summit. From the state capitol of Washington in Olympia, Governor Jay Inslee’s Policy Advisor on Outdoor Recreation and Economic Development, Jon Snyder, will be returning for a second year as a Summit speaker.
Traveling from Colorado, Cailin O’Brien-Feeney, local recreation advocacy manager with Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) will join Snyder on stage as a keynote speaker in Bellingham, WA.
The Outdoor Recreation Summit will be hosted Friday, February 24 from 9-5 p.m. at Bellingham Technical College’s Settlemyer Hall. The full-day conference brings together outdoor recreation manufacturers, retailers and organizations, as well as state and local-level policy makers for networking, learning and sharing ideas on how to grow Washington’s recreation economy and get more people outside. The event builds community and connections among Washington state’s recreation business professionals.
Snyder will give an update on the status of Washington’s Recreation Economy. He will speak to the positive trajectories that established Washington-based outdoor manufacturing and retail brands like REI, Cascade Designs and Brooks are experiencing and to the great strides smaller startups like Nuu Muu, Swift Industries and Evo are making as well. Snyder will also address the challenges we face in how to continue to support our shared objective of providing the public access to the outdoors.
Snyder will provide historic perspective when he speaks about “our heritage of outdoor recreation as a part of Washington’s history since the dawn of time. We have inherited the outdoor pursuits of canoeing and fishing, for example, as local living traditions that have been unbroken for generations.” His talk will also address the challenges we are facing and how we can work together solve them.
Representing the national interests of OIA, O’Brien-Feeney will speak about the collective impact of the outdoor industry nationally and how states like Washington are providing a model for others to emulate. “When I speak to people around the country, I use Washington State as a leading example for other states to follow. Over the past year, I have enjoyed working directly with Jon (Snyder) in the Governor’s office to increase the impact and the value of the recreation economy. I’m looking forward to joining him as a Keynote Speaker for the Summit in February,” O’Brien-Feeney iterated.
Following the Summit, the Recreation Northwest EXPO is open and free for the public on Saturday, February 25 from 1-6 p.m. at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in the Fairhaven district. The EXPO offers outdoor recreation-related exhibitors the opportunity to provide information to the public about their products, services and causes. Learn more at OutdoorRecreationSummit.org.
