Our Stories
Outdoor Retailer: Supporter Spotlight
Outdoor Retailer (OR) is the largest trade show serving the outdoor industry community of retailers, designer and manufacturers, but this event also serves as a place for stakeholders, like the North Country Trail Association, to be represented in the important conversations facing the outdoor community.
by Andrea Ketchmark, NCTA Executive Director
The NCTA has strong relationships with several companies that support our work financially as well as help us bring greater awareness of the Trail and the NCTA to the broader outdoor community. And Outdoor Retailer is the perfect place to get face time with our current partners and introduce ourselves to new ones, to hear about research on trends in use, and listen in on panel discussions on important issues facing our public lands.
At the OR Winter Show this February, I connected with REI, who supports the NCTA at the national level through their Foundation and at the local level though stores supporting Chapter projects; and Osprey Packs, who has supported the NCTA with funding and promotion for the past few years. I met with National Geographic Maps to discuss the opportunity to do a collector’s edition wall map, and Crescent Moon, a snowshoe company that sees great opportunity for partnership with the Trail.
At this year’s OR I met with 22 companies. Not all conversations or ideas will come to fruition but the face time with our current partners, meeting new ones and the opportunities to build on these relationships over time make it a show worth attending for the NCTA.
As consumers, it’s equally important that companies hear from you about what you value. The work we do fuels this economy by providing the public for a place to use outdoor clothing and gear. Let’s make sure they remember that.
The Outdoor Industry Association has been increasingly seen as a force in promoting outdoor recreation and public lands advocacy in support of the Outdoor Recreation Economy, an 887 billion-dollar industry that surpasses the pharmaceuticals industry, auto industry, and oil and gas. Learn more about Corporate Giving and the NCTA.