Each year, the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship Inc. recognizes outstanding individuals, organizations, programs, communities and places that exemplify the great work being done across the region to develop nature tourism and the outdoor recreation economy in a way that creates jobs, diversifies local economies, inspires stewardship and improves quality of life.
Among the winners for 2019 are: Scott Dunkelberger (Outstanding Leader (Individual) Award); West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (Outstanding Leader (Organization) Award); Alicia Dankesreiter of Bradford Regional Airport – McKean County (Great Design Award);
Rich Valley Apiary – Cameron County (Artisan of the Year Award); Quiet Oaks Campground – Clinton and Potter Counties (Business of the Year Award); Jamie Caskey & St. Marys Area H.S. Ecology Club – Elk County (Inspiring Youth Award); and Tracy Smith – McKean County (Best Brand Ambassador Award).
The 2019 PA Wilds Annual Dinner & Awards will be held Nov. 7 at the DuBois Country Club, 10 Lakeside Ave,. The event will open at 3 p.m. with networking opportunities, and the program will begin at 5 p.m.
The theme of this year’s events is “The PA Wilds: A Rural Development Hub,” which will focus on an innovative approach to community and economic development in rural America and uplift the many people involved in such work.
Scott Dunkelberger, executive director of the Commonwealth Financing Authority and Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, will receive the Outstanding Leader Award for his role in helping to advance the Pennsylvania Wilds cause while at DCED, particularly the small business development components. He has put his experience to work for people and organizations across the Pennsylvania Wilds, including the PA Wilds Center. He helped build awareness about the Wilds work inside his agency over many different administrations, supported new initiatives designed to help the effort grow, mentored PA Wilds Center leadership, and has helped countless businesses in the region connect to resources, networks and strategies to help them grow.
West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund is the winner of this year’s Outstanding Leader Award for an Organization. West Penn has done an incredible job of finding passionate projects in the Wilds, inviting stakeholders to think big about how sustainable energy fits into them, and then investing in those ideas. West Penn has gone beyond just being an investor or funder of projects in the Pennsylvania Wilds; they are a strategic partner helping PA Wilds Center find models to tackle pressing issues in rural PA. West Penn invested more than $150,000 to support the development of the Center’s PA Wilds Media Lab, a business accelerator space in uptown Kane, which will also serve as an interpretive model for energy-efficient Main Street revitalization.
Alicia Dankesreiter and the Bradford Regional Airport are being honored with the Great Design Award. When planning the revitalization of the Bradford Regional Airport, Dankesreiter and her advisory team recognized the importance of utilizing the PA Wilds Design Guide for Community Character Stewardship from the very beginning to position the airport as the gateway to the Pennsylvania Wilds. She and her team chose a local design firm in the Wilds Cooperative to redesign the airport’s logo to tie into the PA Wilds brand, and also worked with PA Wilds Center to lay the groundwork to establish a PA Wilds retail and branding presence in the airport’s newly-designed terminal to further support the PA Wilds Center’s mission of supporting regional entrepreneurs, with a goal of attracting new customers to the airport for dining and shopping experiences.
The Magaro family at Rich Valley Apiary will be honored with the Artisan of the Year Award. Rich Valley Apiary, a juried artisan member of the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania, a network of 300 place-based businesses and artisans across the Pennsylvania Wilds, produces honey-based products including soap, lotions, beard products, candles, pet care items, and cleaning products. What began as a beekeeping hobby soon turned into a family-operated business.
Quiet Oaks Campground will be honored with the Business of the Year Award for their investments and growth in their property serving travelers in both Clinton and Potter Counties as well as their commitment to leveraging the Pennsylvania Wilds as part of the overall experience. Owners Dave and Carla Flack purchased the 13-site campground in 1985, with Dave’s parents, to give people a camping option that allowed pets. In 1998, when Dave Flack retired from the Air Force, the couple moved back to the area and took over the business full-time. Since then, they’ve added about 25 campsites and six cabins. This year, they embarked on a project to add up to 40 more campsites, an investment of about $100,000.
Jamie Caskey is the 2019 recipient of the Inspiring Youth Award for her dedication, work and commitment as advisor of the St. Marys Area High School Ecology Club. Under Caskey, the Ecology Club works tirelessly in assisting with environmental activities in Elk County. Each year the club does at least one river cleanup; they’ve planted native pollinator gardens, conducted litter pick-ups, built and installed bluebird boxes, and more.
Tracy Smith of Sixty Foot Films will be honored with the Best Brand Ambassador Award for his outstanding work to promote and develop the Pennsylvania Wilds brand through visual storytelling and place name recognition. Sixty Foot Films is a growing small business that brings Hollywood-level cinematography, storytelling and photography to the Pennsylvania Wilds, and helps to elevate pride of place, business development and tourism through visual storytelling.
“The PA Wilds Center Board of Directors was truly inspired by the nominations this year, which touched on so many projects and initiatives across the region,” Enos said. “These ‘champions’ demonstrate pride in and commitment to our region, and ultimately make our communities better because of their efforts.”
Hosted by the PA Wilds Center in coordination with the PA Wilds Planning Team, the PA Wilds Annual Dinner & Awards is a premier annual networking opportunity in the Pennsylvania Wilds. More than 250 businesses and community leaders from across the region, along with state partners and officials from Harrisburg, gather to celebrate the Champions of the Pennsylvania Wilds award winners during the PA Wilds Annual Dinner & Awards.
Katharine Ferguson, Associate Director of the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group (CSG) and Director of CSG’s Regional and Rural Development Initiatives, will keynote the event and report on innovative community and economic development models in rural America.
Event registration is now open at http://www.pawildscenter.org/awards-dinner/registration.
