2023 PA Wilds Dinner and Awards to be held at Gobbler’s Knob on July 27

Award nominations due by April 3

The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. (PA Wilds Center) is pleased to announce that Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney will be the location for the 2023 PA Wilds Dinner & Awards. Planned for Thursday, July 27, this special event is the premier networking opportunity in the Pennsylvania Wilds. 

Gobbler’s Knob is best known for being home to the annual Groundhog Day celebrations each February 2, with Punxsutawney Phil making the prediction of either an early spring or six more weeks of winter. Groundhog Day was one of the winners of the 2022 PA Wilds Champion Awards, being named as the Event of the Year.

“Gobbler’s Knob holds a special place in the hearts of many of our residents, as the Groundhog Day celebrations typically bring thousands of visitors and a boost in tourism revenue to the region. It’s a perfect location to celebrate creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, history and hard work,” said Britt Madera, Communications Manager for the PA Wilds Center. 

The Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce applied to host the 2023 dinner in Phil’s hometown, and Gobbler’s Knob was selected as a fitting location for the dinner and ceremony to be held this year. The Gobbler’s Knob Visitor Center is a newly built facility, complete with indoor and outdoor spaces for the celebration. Being in a rural location, it features magnificent views of PA Wilds plants and wildlife.

“We’re honored to host the 2023 PA Wilds Champion Awards and Dinner,” said Katie Laska, Punxsutawney Area Chamber of Commerce President. “Punxsutawney embodies the spirit of the Pennsylvania Wilds. The people, businesses and organizations in our community are proud to live and work here, and we’re blessed with some of the best natural assets and landscapes in the country. We’re thrilled to help celebrate these kinds of achievements and determination.”

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. 

NOMINATE A CHAMPION

Nominations are still being accepted for 2023 PA Wilds Champion Awards: 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 2023 awards is April 3, 2023. 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 13 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. 

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.

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.

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Media Contact

Britt Madera | Communications Manager

PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

[email protected] | 570-948-1051