Outdoor USA Magazine

This month outdoor footwear company Teva announced the addition of two new managers to its marketing department. Amy Bondurant will act as the new Marketing Manager for Teva and Molly LaMotte will act as the new Retail Marketing Manager for Teva and Simple, both of which belong to the Deckers Outdoor Corporation along with Ugg Australia and Tsubo.

Building on a history of environmental action and innovation that includes planting one million trees in China’s Horqin Desert, developing the Earthkeepers line of environmentally-forward products and launching an online “Earthkeepers movement” to motivate environmental behavior change, the Timberland Company today announced its biggest and most environmentally-focused marketing campaign yet—Nature Needs Heroes.

Launching globally over the next several weeks, the campaign showcases Timberland’s Earthkeepers collection. The collection is made with materials like recycled rubber and recycled plastic. Timberland promises that each pair of Earthkeeper boots contains at least one and a half plastic bottles.

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The Channel Islands Sea Kayaking Expedition, whose three-member team will depart on Monday, Sept. 6, is the first attempt by paddlers to visit all eight of the Channel Islands by kayak. Experienced sea kayakers Bryant Burkhard, Pedro Frigola, and Sean Morley comprise the expedition team. Kokatat will be providing the team members with equipment.

The expedition was planned for the early fall due to the season’s typical cooperative weather patterns in the region, although the California island archipelago is known for variable weather conditions. The projected route departs Gaviota on the mainland and crosses to San Miguel, and down through the islands of Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Barbara, San Nicolas, San Clemente and lastly Santa Catalina to return back to the mainland.

After 6 grueling stages, 115 miles of running and 19 hours on the trail, Bryan Dayton and Krissy Moehl of Team Vasque were the first place finishers in the open-mixed category for 2010 at the 4th Annual Gore-Tex TransRockies Run.

This was Dayton and Moehl’s first time participating in the race and also their first time running as a team. Their official winning time was 19 hours, 2 minutes and 16 seconds, putting them a full 12 minutes ahead of the second place team, Frontrunners West Shore, from Canada.

Team Wave Sport finished the 2010 season strong, with several of the athletes racking up big wins both domestically and internationally.

Just days ago, Wave Sport athlete Kelsey Thompson paddled to victory at the Canadian Freestyle Team Trials.  Not only did he succeed in making the team, but he also won the Men’s Open K1 Final and was crowned the 2010 Canadian National Champion.

Bryan Kirk and Haley Mills were named the 2010 US National Freestyle Champions after a series of five events this summer.  The final event in Missoula, MT served as the US Team Trials, where both teammates qualified for the 2011 Freestyle Kayaking World Championships, which will be held June 15-19, 2011.

On Wednesday, September 8, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (MDT) Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) will present "The Art of Feng Shui in Specialty Retail," a live webinar, led by Beth Cochran, founder of What’s Up PR, and feng shui practitioner Susan Hayward.

Cochran and Hayward will lead an enlightening discussion on how specialty retailers can integrate this powerful technology into their store’s orientation and merchandising to positively influence sales. They will also explore the modern historical references and the fundamental importance of feng shui in Asian businesses, both large and small, and compare these findings to U.S. manufacturers in the real estate and apparel industries and examine the positive results they experienced.

The Art of Feng Shui in Specialty Retail is offered free to OIA members and SNEWS subscribers and for $99 for non-members. Pre-registration by Tuesday, September 7 is required. For the full line up of Outdoor University webinars and presenters, visit outdoorindustry.org/ou2010.

The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), America’s oldest conservation and recreation organization, today announced the launch of its redesigned Outdoors.org website, the one-stop guide to the Northeast outdoors.

Significant new features include “one-click” activity search for thousands of AMC activities, guided programs, and volunteer opportunities. The AMC’s most popular content is also updated continually, allowing visitors to quickly find current trail conditions at the AMC’s New Hampshire and Maine destinations, the latest AMC blog posts, and recent AMC news on outdoor recreation and conservation. “One-click” lodging search also makes it easy to check availability at AMC lodges and huts.

The Outdoors.org website is a comprehensive resource for learning about outdoor trips and preparation, outdoor education and leadership training, urban youth programs, air quality and alpine ecosystem research, trail protection and maintenance, and land conservation advocacy. It also offers expert advice on outdoor gear, safety, and technique, plus summer and winter trip ideas from the editors of AMC Outdoors and AMC Books.

Governor Ritter announced yesterday 23 New Energy Economic Development (NEED) grants to recipients across Colorado for both renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Among the recepients is outdoor equipment brand Big Agnes, which received $12,064 to help build a five-kilowatt solar array on its headquarters in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

The grants, which total about $2.2 million and are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will go to Colorado communities, school districts and nonprofits. “These grants mean jobs, energy savings and lower utility bills for taxpayers across Colorado,” said Gov. Ritter.

The first ever 24 Hours of Leadville, an endurance mountain bike race sponsored by Buff Inc., will be held in Leadville, Colorado September 4th and 5th.

The 24 Hours of Leadville is a race dovetailing off the success of its sister event, the recent Life Time Fitness Leadville Trail 100. But unlike the solo-only format of Leadville 100, individuals and teams will race to see how many miles they can ride over a 24-hour period. The course will feature the same characteristics that have made the Life Time Fitness Leadville Trail 100 a world-famous event. The course boasts incredibly technical singletrack, fast double track, and 2,100 feet of elevation gain per 17.6-mile lap.

Outdoor clothing company Woolrich has hired Gary DeGaetano as Vice President, Direct To Consumer.

DeGaetano will be responsible for managing the catalog, internet business and the Woolrich retail operations, including all stores. He will report directly to Brian Mangione, Executive Vice President.

DeGaetano joins Woolrich from Redcats, USA, where for over thirty years he held various positions of increased responsibility, including most recently Vice President/Brand Manager, Jessica London/BC Outlet. Redcats USA is a $1.8 billion company with catalog, internet, and retail operations that specialize in apparel, home, kitchen products and sporting goods.

Gary and his wife Mary Ann will be relocating to Woolrich, PA from Massapequa, NY.

The 2010 Banff Radical Reels Tour, featuring high-adrenaline outdoor adventure films, returns to the Roanoke Region Sept. 15 at Jefferson Center. Last year’s showing sold out, prompting a larger venue this year.

Radical Reels is a popular component of Canada’s Banff Mountain Film Festival. This annual film tour shows footage in skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking. Altogether, the tour visits approximately 19 states and provinces, reaching over 35 different locations. Most screenings take place from September to October and February to May.

 

Sierra’s fourth annual list of the greenest schools in the nation keeps up the competitive pressure on universities to push the sustainability envelope as they present this year’s valedictorian, Vermont’s Green Mountain College, and the top 100 greenest schools. Utilizing an eleven-page questionnaire, Sierra asked 900 colleges and universities across the United States to detail their sustainability efforts in order to compile the list.

“From the New York Times to the Reuters blog, Good Magazine, and multiple hits on Treehugger - Sierra magazine’s 2010 Cool Schools issue is making a splash,” writes Orli Cotel, Sierra Club’s Deputy Communications Director. “The Cool Schools issue is once again a great way for us to reach young audiences and help push colleges and universities towards a greener way of doing business.”