Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition has seen a significant increase in both individual membership and corporate supporters. In just two years, OIWC has grown from 400 to 800 individual members and now serves women of the outdoor, ski, and cycling industries. In addition, OIWC sponsors now include 49 companies, up from just 22 two years ago.

“Our corporate partners provide us with the means to do more for our members and are, in large part, the primary reason for our growth,” stated Kristi Rummel, Chair of the Fundraising committee and National Advertising Director for Sierra magazine. “It is extremely exciting to have so many industry leaders recognize the value in OIWC sponsorship.”

Mary Margaret Sloan, Chair of the Membership Committee and Alumni Director for Student Conservation Society, said “OIWC has been working hard to increase the value of membership for women in the outdoor industries. We offer many more valuable benefits to members than we did two years ago, and members can expect to see even more benefits during 2007.”

The OIWC hosts many quality events for women throughout the trade show season to promote professional growth. At the recent SIA trade show the OIWC hosted a Selling to Women Panel & Luncheon, the First Ascent and Pioneering Woman Awards presentation, and the ever popular ‘Groomed’ gathering. These functions were made possible by the support of SIA and Burton.

The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Trade Show also played host to many popular OIWC events. The Backcountry Betties ski clinics, sponsored by Manzella, were held in tandem with the OR demo day and received a record amount of participants. Simultaneously, professional development seminars on many challenging topics such as ‘team building’, ‘hiring and firing’ and ‘finding the right job’ were held in Salt Lake City. The final OIWC event of the season was the OR Gathering. This event was the largest to date with nearly 400 attendees networking and celebrating the Pioneering Woman recipient, Carolyn Cooke.

Manzella, The Glove Company, was pleased to co-sponsor the Backcountry Betties event. “What transpired during and after the event is most notable. Meeting and skiing with the participants and clinicians has led to a lot of dialog and now co-creation of new authentic glove styles for women athletes in the outdoor arena. This co-creation to meet women's needs in fit and warmth is Manzella's approach when designing all of our gloves,” stated Manzella’s National Promotions Manager, Debbie Goslin.