The Daily - January 27,2022 - 54

The Pulse
B I G P I C T U R E
Seirus Innovation has devoted
its booth space to an
inclusive gathering space.
Onward
and Upward
We're having an awesome winter season-
and we can make the most of it.
By James Edward Mills
DESPITE THE SURGE OF
COVID-19 infections that are
sweeping the nation, the Outdoor
Retailer Snow Show 2022 is happening
as scheduled. Though the
Show typically welcomes attendees
and exhibitors from around the
world by the tens of thousands, the
risk of exposure to the Omicron
variant has compelled many companies,
entrepreneurs, and athletes
to stay home. As I watched a skeleton
crew of personnel assemble a
handful of display booths on setup
day, it was hard not to wonder if I
was witnessing the slow and inevitable
death of the outdoor industry
as we know it.
But less than 24 hours earlier,
on a Monday morning in Madison,
Wisconsin, I shoveled my car out of
three inches of fresh snow that was
still falling. Had I not been on my
way to Outdoor Retailer, I would
have been plotting an afternoon of
cross-country skiing with my wife
on a 15-kilometer blanket of newly
groomed corduroy. In the time
since I arrived in Denver, a fresh
dump of powder covered the Rockies.
And with a quick scan of the
country from coast to coast, there
appears to be great conditions for
cold-weather activities from backcountry
skiing to halfpipe snowboarding
from the Sierras to the
eastern slopes of New England.
For all intents and purposes, we
seem to be smack in the middle of
54
an awesome winter season! And
we can make the most of it. If we
can just get out of our heads and
stop agonizing over the state of the
world, we can easily realize that
the outdoor industry is doing just
fine and our respective businesses
will be as great as we are prepared
to make them.
I came out of the Outdoor Retailer
Summer Show with a great
deal of optimism. The COVID-19
pandemic notwithstanding, there
was a lot to celebrate. As a journalist
who covers the intersection of
outdoor recreation and diversity,
equity, and inclusion (DEI), I was
excited to see an emerging number
of Black, Indigenous, and persons
of color creating new professional
opportunities for themselves and
others. The presence of these BIPOC
individuals and institutions
revealed to me the strength of an
expanding economic environment
that is capable of sustaining a
variety of different entities that
can grow the outdoor industry as
a whole. More than a few of those
folks who share my optimism will
be in attendance at this year's
Snow Show, and that's exciting.
Jahmicah Dawes, the founder
of Slim Pickins Outfitters of
Stephenville, Texas, and last year's
winner of the Outdoor Industry
Association Inspiration Award, is
attending the Show with his wife
and two young children. The 2021
/ OUTDOOR RETAILER SNOW SHOW 2022
THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY IS DOING JUST FINE
AND OUR RESPECTIVE BUSINESSES WILL BE AS
GREAT AS WE ARE PREPARED TO MAKE THEM.
Title Nine Pitchfest winner, Brittany
Coleman, founder of Tough
Cutie Socks, will also be walking
the aisles. Though she won't have a
booth to display product, Coleman
said it's important for her to attend
the Show so that she can continue
to build her community network.
With an excellent lineup of
events, this year's Show continues
to demonstrate much of the
growth we have seen in recent
years. On Day One, Gerry James
of Together Outside, a division of
the Outdoor Retailer Round Table,
announced its new resource guide
to explore DEI and social justice
issues in outdoor recreation. Day
Two welcomes a conversation
with inclusion evangelists Teresa
Baker, José González, and Wyn
Wiley (a.k.a. Pattie Gonia) to share
their new education initiative, the
Outdoorist Oath (see page 10).
And on Day Three, the glove and
accessories brand Seirus Innovations
will host a panel discussion
moderated by Langston Clark with
Philip Henderson, leader of the
Full Circle Everest Expedition, the
first all-Black team of climbers to
attempt a summit of the highest
peak on Earth.
Much of our work at Outdoor
Retailer is less about selling goods
and services and more about the
relationships we create as we work
together toward our goals as business
professionals. Though Seirus
Innovations will not have a booth
on display this year, the company
has devoted its space to giving
show attendees a comfortable spot
to meet and share information.
With a banner that reads " Inclusivity
Starts Here, " the booth is
the first thing that most attendees
will see when they enter the Show
floor. Though numbers this year
will definitely be down, there can
be no doubt: As an industry, our
aspirations to unite in the spirit of
diversity and inclusion have never
been higher.
LAUREN DANILEK
The Daily - January 27,2022

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