I have stood on top of a podium listening to the national anthem in front of international competitors. I have earned awards for community involvement in front of a room full of CEO's. I have dipped a paddle into a river and taken the first satisfying strokes on a SUP that I spent years dreaming about and months building. All of those memories bring me an extreme amount of pride, but none can compare to how proud I am to say that I have been involved with Outdoor Nation. Not the feeling of brushing the last bit of sawdust off of another creation or even the adrenaline that comes from pushing out of the gate at a Telemark World Cup race can compare to knowing that I stand in the middle of a for youth by youth movement that WILL get kids re-engaged in the outdoors.
Outdoor Nation brings together kids from across the nation every year at its summits to create projects that will break down the barriers preventing youth in the US from connecting to the outdoors. At the end of each summit, the top voted projects are sent home with grant funding to pursue their project and tools to raise more money and awareness.
Just this weekend, I went down for another ON summit in NYC. It has been a year (and a jam packed year at that) since my last summit. I sat down and immediately knew that I was at the right table. Most of the kids were from New Jersey, and we immediately started talking about Ramapo Reserve, a favorite NJ recreation spot. We named our team Soul Rock, close to the backwards spelling of one team member's name (extra points if you can guess the name!), and a tight knit group was formed. With such great chemistry, we had an intense think tank, and our project is sure to go far. I am leaving you hanging on details on purpose because we are planning on launching shortly - stay tuned!
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