2024 PA Wilds Dinner and Awards to be held at University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on July 25

Award nominations due by April 1

The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. (PA Wilds Center) is pleased to announce that the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, McKean County, will be the location for the 2024 PA Wilds Dinner & Awards. Planned for Thursday, July 25, this special event is the premier networking opportunity in the Pennsylvania Wilds. 

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is a state-related college in Bradford, in the northern part of the Pennsylvania Wilds region. Founded in 1963, it is a baccalaureate degree-granting, regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh, conferring degrees in more than 40 fields of study.

“The Pitt-Bradford campus is beautiful, and it’s well equipped for a large celebration like this,” said Abbi Peters, COO of the PA Wilds Center. “We are excited to be partnering with the University on this event as well as other initiatives related to the regional strategy to grow nature and heritage tourism to economically grow and sustain our rural communities.”

During an open call for venue hosts in 2022, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford submitted a proposal to host the 2024 dinner at the college campus. Pitt-Bradford was selected as a fitting location for the dinner and ceremony to be held this year. Exhibitors will set up in the University Room for attendees to learn more about the PA Wilds and the many organizations and businesses in the region. The dinner and awards ceremony will take place in the Pitt-Bradford Dining Hall, an impressive space with vaulted ceilings and ample natural light.

Held by PA Wilds Center and the PA Wilds Planning Team, the PA Wilds Dinner & Awards brings together more than 200 business and community leaders from across the region, along with state partners and officials from Harrisburg. The event provides a chance to recognize the Champions of the PA Wilds Award winners and get an update on the effort to grow the region’s outdoor recreation economy. 

NOMINATE A CHAMPION BY APRIL 1

Nominations are still being accepted for 2024 Champion of the PA Wild Awards, which include Artisan of the Year, Best Brand Ambassador, Business of the Year, Conservation Stewardship, Event of the Year, Great Design, Great Places, Inspiring Youth, and Outstanding Leader Awards. Nominations for these awards can be made at PAWildsCenter.org/nominate. 

The deadline for 2024 award nominations is April 1, 2024. Award winners will be announced by early June.

The Champion Awards celebrate individuals, groups, organizations, communities and businesses that in the last year have made significant contributions to help grow and sustainably develop the outdoor recreation economy and nature tourism in the PA Wilds in a way that creates jobs, diversifies local economies, inspires stewardship and improves quality of life. The region’s 13 county governments, visitor bureaus and many local organizations participate in the effort, along with the PA Department. of Conservation and Natural Resources and the PA Department of Community and Economic Development. 

Learn more about the PA Wilds Champion Awards and Dinner at PAWildsCenter.org/programs-and-services/awards-dinner.

ABOUT THE PA WILDS

The Pennsylvania Wilds is a 13-county region that includes the counties of Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Warren, and northern Centre. The PA Wilds is home to the greatest concentration of public lands in the Commonwealth. The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to integrate conservation and economic development in a way that inspires the communities of the Pennsylvania Wilds. Based in the region, the Center is the lead nonprofit for the PA Wilds Conservation Landscape effort, a 15+year collaborative effort by local, state and federal partners to establish the region as a premier outdoor recreation destination as a way to diversify local economies, attract investment, inspire stewardship, improve quality of life and attract and retain the region’s working-age population. PA Wilds Center works closely with PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, the region’s county governments, and other investors in the regional strategy.

For more information on the PA Wilds Center, visit www.PAWildsCenter.org. To learn more about the WCO, visit www.WildsCoPA.org. Explore the PA Wilds at www.pawilds.com. Find products made in the region at www.shopthepawilds.com.

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Media Contact

Britt Madera | Communications Manager

PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

[email protected] | 570-948-1051