Event to be held at Bald Birds Brewing in Jersey Shore, Lycoming County

The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. (PA Wilds Center) is pleased to announce that registration is open for the 2022 PA Wilds Dinner & Awards, to be held on Thursday, July 28.  This special event is the premier networking opportunity in the Pennsylvania Wilds. 

The location for the dinner is the Bald Birds Brewing Company in Jersey Shore, Lycoming County. Bald Birds is located in a rejuvenated, 153,000-square-foot distribution center that was opened by owners Joe and Abby Feerrar in the fall of 2020. The facility is home to a taproom, a wedding and event venue, outdoor seating and gaming areas, and a production brewery.

“We are so excited to be able to gather with PA Wilds stakeholders and enthusiasts to celebrate the 2022 Champions of the PA Wilds,” said Ta Enos, Founder and CEO of the PA Wilds Center. “Typically held annually, the PA Wilds Dinner has been postponed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and amazing things have been happening during that time that deserve to be uplifted and celebrated. Our businesses and creative makers are the core of our tourism economy – and we know that the entrepreneurial spirit is robust and continues to grow in the region, creating jobs and economic growth in our communities. The PA Wilds Dinner & Awards provides a perfect opportunity to gather together and celebrate these achievements, the partnerships that make them possible, and what is on the horizon.”

The theme for this year’s dinner is “Grow Wild: Rugged and Resourceful,” reflective of the last two years of resilience seen in communities across the Pennsylvania Wilds and harkening back to the original Declaration of Principles for the Pennsylvania Wilds Team.

More than 250 businesses and community leaders from across the Pennsylvania Wilds, along with state partners and officials from Harrisburg, will gather for the dinner to recognize award winner Champions of the PA Wilds and get an update on the effort to grow the region’s outdoor recreation economy.  Award winners will be announced by early June.

The Champion of the Pennsylvania Wild 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 Pennsylvania Wilds in a way that creates jobs, diversifies local economies, inspires stewardship and improves quality of life. The region’s county governments, visitor bureaus and many local organizations participate in the effort, along with the Department. of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of Community and Economic Development. 

The July 28 PA Wilds Dinner & Awards will open at 3:00 PM with networking opportunities, followed by dinner and award presentations between 5:00 and 8:00 PM.

Registrations are due by 11 PM ET on July 20, 2022. Learn more and register at www.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.

Among its many programs, the PA Wilds Center operates the regional visitor site pawilds.com and related marketing; manages The Wilds Cooperative of PA, a robust network of makers and other rural entrepreneurs and partner organizations that are helping to grow the region as a destination; houses the PA Wilds Design Guide for Community Character Stewardship, a free planning resource for communities; manages the PA Wilds trademark for the public good; is scaling a commerce platform (brick and mortar PA Wilds Conservation Shops and the online marketplace ShopThePAWilds.com) that fills gaps in visitor services while expanding market access for rural entrepreneurs and raising funds for conservation. The Center is also the fiscal and administrative home of the PA Wilds Planning Team, a regional stakeholder group formed in 2006 through a ground-breaking Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement.

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.

Media Contact

Britt Madera | Communications Manager

PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

[email protected] | 570-948-1051