Letter from Vermont: On strength, community and the 2023 Outdoor Economy Summit
Two Thursdays ago, looking westward across a crisp and cold Lake Champlain, a crowd of 155 rallied around a single big idea — that in a small rural state, there’s a far greater role for outdoor recreation than just something to do on Saturday afternoons. That it can be a geographically agnostic economic driver. A multi-level benefactor of community health. A flexible tool to enhance current success stories as well as address some very real challenges. And, potentially, a political winner.
The gathering itself was the fifth running of the Vermont Outdoor Economy Summit, and was hosted by the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance, an organization formed back in 2017 to build community around a sector that delivers more than $1.5 billion of economic impact in the state each year.
Held for the second consecutive year at the remarkable HULA Lakeside complex – a perfect meshing of Vermont coolness, business savvy and optimism – the VOBA summit was the biggest, most robust, and most eloquent event in the organization’s relatively young history.
The event drew business leaders, eager students of the industry, and key conservation minds. It attracted makers of skis and snowboards, apparel and accessories, glove makers, hat makers, trail designers and those known for creating lots and lots of wool socks. There were retailers and resort managers, trail associations and adaptive sports advocates, bike tour operators and national environmental non-profits. There were magazine publishers literally just off the boat from Antartica, and owners of new companies who’d recently relocated their North American headquarters to Vermont. There was even a member of outdoor recreation royalty, Werner Von Trapp, who was awarded the organization’s coveted Trailblazer award.
The summit also seemed to attract the full attention of the Vermont political sector, with speakers including Gov. Phil Scott, who gave the event’s robust keynote address, as well as State Treasurer Mike Piecak, who eloquently verbalized the strong role that outdoor recreation will play in the future economic reality of Vermont. Also in attendance were representatives from all three of Vermont’s congressional delegation, key members of the State legislature, and essential advocates for outdoor recreation from essential Vermont departments agencies incuding Commerce and Community Development; Economic Development; Forests, Parks and Recreation; Tourism and Marketing; and, of course, the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative.
In the last couple decades, I’ve been to dozens (and dozens more) of outdoor recreation-themed events around the country. Some have been devoted to business, some to education, and some to advocacy. What I love about the fresh and growing number of state-based outdoor economy summits popping up all over the place is that they all follow generally the same playbook – they are devoted to building community by building on strengths, pulling people together around a small number of key topics, and doing it in all in a limited amount of time with a precariously small budget. Focus is hard, particularly in event creation, but it’s essential to success. As Twain might have quipped about event organization, “I would’ve given you a more concise event but I didn’t have the time.”
The focus, energy and remarkable attendance at the VOBA summit resonated throughout the day. The biggest compliment I heard from an attendee was that he immediately saw the value beyond just his own participation – “I wished I’d brought some of my younger team members. This is exactly what they needed.”
