“Outdoor Recreation as an Economic and Community Engagement Catalyst in Western North Carolina” is WCU’s name for a regional collaborative designed to boost an already-thriving outdoor industry to an even higher level. The project was nominated in the innovation and talent category of the Awards of Excellence. Award winners will be announced at the association’s annual summit, to be held in Reno-Tahoe, Nevada, Sept. 29 to Oct. 2. 

“Success in our modern economy is about innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Arthur Salido, WCU’s executive director of community and economic engagement and innovation, who leads the initiative. “It is about fostering talent in young people from preschool through life to embolden them to think and create outside the traditional academic or professional requirements. It is about creating environments that attract those people who want to make and do things in new ways and retaining that talent to start the process over again in the next generation.”

In the last year, WCU’s involvement in boosting the region’s outdoor economy included creating two outdoor recreation industry liaison positions among its faculty to ensure that new academic programs are meeting industry needs; organizing and holding the university’s first annual Outdoor Economy Conference; and hosting a televised regional town hall examining the impact of the outdoors and natural resources on job growth. The second annual Outdoor Economy Conference is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 10.