NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Western Carolina University's website.
WCU reports on the Outdoor Economy Conference, held Oct. 10 in Asheville, and how this year's outcome compared to its first year. Organized by the Growing Outdoors Partnership, the conference focused on discussing the four building blocks that are essential for outdoor recreation to be an economic driver – workforce development, branding and marketing, supply chains, and recreational assets and infrastructure.WCU staff writer Randall Holcombe relays in his article, "Participation more than doubled, compared to the sell-out crowd that attended the inaugural conference held last fall on the Western Carolina University campus. A total of 530 attendees turned out for this year’s event. Twenty states and 39 North Carolina counties were represented for the gathering, which focused on harnessing business opportunities available in the outdoor recreation industry and boosting the Western North Carolina economy." The conference included a specialized track, “Building Thriving Outdoor Communities,” that was designed to help rural areas capitalize on their outdoor assets. It was directed at teams of three to eight local leaders and included an opportunity for an additional half-day workshop at Sierra Nevada Brewing on Oct. 11. Learn more about WCU's participation in the Growing Outdoors Partnership here.
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