Outdoor Retailer and adidas Outdoor have named the finalists for the 7th annual Outdoor Inspiration Awards. The Outdoor Inspiration Awards recognize “those whose efforts go above and beyond in inspiring others to engage in outdoor activities.”
An awards ceremony will take place during Outdoor Retailer Winter Market at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 6 p.m., the second night of Outdoor Retailer.
General and sponsored category nominations gathered from the outdoor retailer community include Individual, Retailer, Non-Profit, Manufacturer sponsored by JanSport and Youth sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America.
Finalists include:
- Individual: Zac Adair, Chris Enlow, Peter Metcalf
- Retailer: Evo, Next Adventure, Tahoe Mountain Sports
- Profit: Conservation Alliance, Leave No Trace for Outdoor Ethics, Veterans Expeditions
- JanSport Manufacture: Hippy Tree, Keen, United by Blue
- Boy Scouts of America Youth: Christian Branch, Lillian Rose Weihert, Trevor Burke
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by adidas Outdoor, honors Kris Tompkins, an American conservationist and former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. At age 15, Tompkins met and befriended rock climbing legend and equipment manufacturer Yvon Chouinard, who gave her a summer job working for Chouinard Equipment. After finishing college at the College of Idaho in Caldwell, where she ski-raced competitively, she started to work full-time for what later became Patagonia, Inc. During her tenure, Patagonia started to donate 10 percent of their profits to environmental organizations such as Earth First! Tompkins is the widow of businessman and conservationist Douglas Tompkins, who died in 2015. The two worked together to create large wilderness conservation areas in Chile and Argentina. She continues with strong efforts in South America today.
“The Outdoor Inspiration Awards is about honoring leaders in our industry who promote participation in outdoor activities, and this year’s list of finalists truly embody that mission,” said Greg Thomsen, managing director, adidas Outdoor U.S. “In addition to the finalists, we look forward to recognizing Kris Tompkins for her conservation work across the globe from park creation to restoration and activism. This night is an inspiration to everyone in the industry and the finalists deserve all the credit for what they have done.”
